by Damian Torres-Botello, SJ | Aug 23, 2017 | Blogs, Spirituality ~ Approx. 3 mins
There was a time when nuclear war was a regular conversation topic in my family. It’s 1987. The Cold War is four years away from ending. President Reagan just called for Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.” There are more than 65,000 nuclear warheads on the planet, my...
by Sean Hagerty, SJ | Aug 22, 2017 | Faith & Politics ~ Approx. 5 mins
The events in Charlottesville this past weekend were sickening and horrifying. A march by hundreds of torch-bearing White Nationalists and neo-Nazis in an American city was unthinkable. What is perhaps more stunning is that many of those White Nationalist and...
by Colten Biro | Aug 20, 2017 | In the News, Justice, Music, Pop Culture ~ Approx. 4 mins
A Single Dollar A single dollar was awarded to Taylor Swift in a recent legal case. While that might not sound like much in terms of a victory, that dollar was worth so more than its monetary value. But why? In December of 2013, before performing in Denver, Taylor...
by David Inczauskis, SJ | Aug 19, 2017 | Music, Pop Culture ~ Approx. 2 mins
I’ve got to be honest: when Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” was released in January and took off in the late spring, all I heard was a particularly successful link in a long chain of Latin pop-reggaetón and Spanish music in general. But don’t get me wrong: I...
by Eric Immel, SJ | Aug 18, 2017 | Education, Justice ~ Approx. 3 mins
On Saturday, August 12, 2017, Arrupe College of Loyola University Chicago held its first commencement ceremony. Ever. If you’re unaware, Arrupe College is the first of its kind: a two-year college embedded within a Jesuit university. Arrupe seeks to provide greater...
by Brian Strassburger, SJ | Aug 17, 2017 | Global Catholicism, Letters for the Weary, Spirituality ~ Approx. 13 mins
I was prepared for an ordinary workday in the field. I was dressed in nice jeans, comfortable shoes, my work polo and matching hat. Five months into my job at the Roncalli Association-John XXIII, I had adapted to the rhythm. Part of the week was typically spent in our...
by Colten Biro | Aug 16, 2017 | Blogs, Creation, Spirituality ~ Approx. 4 mins
Perhaps it’s the swamp water, bayou blood running through my veins, but whenever I see a mountain I immediately think two things: God, that’s big… I’ve got to climb it. Only, I see them all the time: great masses of granite, heights, and slopes, often appearing from...
by Lucas Sharma, SJ | Aug 15, 2017 | In the News, Justice, Race ~ Approx. 3 mins
During my junior year of high school, I participated in a university course away from home. One day during that year, I received news that I must call my mother immediately. I picked up the phone and dialed my parents number. My mother answered, telling me she had...
by Ken Homan, SJ | Aug 15, 2017 | In the News, Justice, Race ~ Approx. 3 mins
Dear White Politicians, do not go to black churches today & tell us how much you hate racism. Go to white churches and tell them. — Leah D. Daughtry (@LeahDaughtry) August 13, 2017 Dear white people, I write this to you. In the hours following the Charlottesville...
by Juan Ruiz, SJ | Aug 14, 2017 | Faith & Politics ~ Approx. 2 mins
On June 17, I anxiously watched Trump denounce Obama’s shifts in American policy towards Cuba and roll some of the changes back, at least partially. Four days later I was supposed to leave on a flight to Havana to begin a trip I had been planning for three months. It...
