Today is the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus. From its beginning as the Company of Jesus, the members of the Society were to see themselves as companions and disciples of Jesus. According to Ignatius, in every word and deed they were to seek “the greater glory of God.” To serve the glory of God is to be a servant of the hidden kingdom of God that Jesus describes in today’s gospel.…[read more]
Belief in the one, true, and jealous God is hard work. To be “owned” by God and to be a trustee of God’s truth is difficult to maintain in the everyday. Even as believers we tend to forget whose we are. In our laziness we unconsciously lay claim to an autonomy that is not ours, and, in its service, we tend to relinquish our freedom by speaking and acting out of our many unconscious idolatries.…[read more]
In the United States the citizenry is currently living in a very polarized time. The polarization is fed by a cynical and manipulative fostering of the sense that there is no actual reality to be seen and understood. There is nothing beyond what each person or collective identity purports to see and to understand.…[read more]
Our availability to receive form for our lives from the word, or, for that matter, from any encounter in our lives, depends in large part on the nature and quality of our attention. The depth and quality of our attention to the Other in whatever form it manifests itself to us correlates to the degree of both our detachment and attachment.…[read more]
What occurred yesterday at the Boy Scout Jamboree, with not only the speaking of the President but the cabinet officers and other public figures laughing behind him, speaks to the action of the demonic when we are unable “to get out of the way.” The hundreds if not thousands of Boy Scouts were but props or objects for the President’s self-promotion.…[read more]
To Moses they said, “Were there no graves in Egypt that you must lead us out to die in the wilderness? What good have you done us, bringing us out of Egypt? We spoke of this in Egypt, did we not? Leave us alone, we said, we would rather work for the Egyptians! Better…[read more]
“This is how you are to eat it; with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you shall eat like those who are in flight. It is the Passover of the Lord.” Exodus 12:11 Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and…[read more]
In the developed world today, although many are still involved in taxing physical labor, many are now freed of that demand. And yet, the result has not been greater creative and restful leisure, a deepening capacity for spiritual enjoyment. It has rather, mysteriously, resulted in an even increased culture of work.…[read more]
“I give you thanks, Father, lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to infants.” Matthew 11:25 In his notes concerning this verse of Matthew’s gospel, Daniel Harrington, SJ, writes: infants: The nēpioi are Jesus’ disciples who hear him and perceive his significance. The…[read more]
And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? You will go down to the underworld. For if the miracles that have taken place in you had taken place in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom…[read more]
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