by Keith Maczkiewicz, SJ | Jan 13, 2015 | Blogs ~ Approx. 3 mins
I field many questions when I’m home for the holidays. The lightning round began this year on Christmas Eve sometime between the salad course and the appearance of the seven fishes. There were no bonus points. As I stood to clear plates smeared with Caesar dressing...
by Joe Simmons, SJ | Jan 9, 2015 | In the News, Spirituality ~ Approx. 5 mins
As we offered a toast in the last minutes of 2014, a Jesuit friend said soberly, “To the end of 2014. May it never be repeated.” By most accounts, 2014 was a pretty dreary year for humanity. Planes fell from the sky, lost in stormy seas and...
by Dan Dixon, SJ | Jan 8, 2015 | Education, Justice ~ Approx. 4 mins
We speak often of our rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; the Bill of Rights; which (and whose) rights we ought to prioritize. Although such “rights” language is very common, it rarely refers to the beautiful. Beauty is seen as a matter of preference....
by Vinny Marchionni, SJ | Jan 7, 2015 | In the News, Sports ~ Approx. 1min
The sports world lost a titan of the teleprompter over the past weekend. Stuart Scott, the charismatic, energetic African-American host of ESPN staples like Sportscenter and Monday Night Countdown, passed away after battle with cancer. He was 49. Rightfully, there are...
by Eric Immel, SJ | Jan 6, 2015 | Blogs ~ Approx. 4 mins
“I was angry for a long time,” he said. “But then, I had a dream that changed everything.” I was sitting with Ray, a Minnesota prison inmate, and he was sharing his story with me. He had been in and out of the prison system the majority of his adult life. His first...
by Michael Rossmann, SJ | Dec 28, 2014 | In the News, Pop Culture ~ Approx. 4 mins
Few things give me as much joy as reading something that expands my mind or heart, and we live in a seems-too-good-to-be-true world where fantastic writing is available at our fingertips for free. Here are some of the best articles I read this year. I’d love to hear...
by Tim O'Brien, SJ | Dec 25, 2014 | Uncategorized ~ Approx. 6 mins
“Despite its beauty, this is a place of brokenness.” So said the guide sheet handed to tourists (like me) upon entering Ely Cathedral – a massive, spectacular Anglican church that rises out of the English countryside some 80 miles north of London. Mine was an...
by Brendan Busse, SJ | Dec 23, 2014 | Blogs ~ Approx. 4 mins
I come seeking the child and long to be the person I am when I hold him. I long to feel myself a father, an uncle, a distant cousin, by adoption or by chance, at this point, by any means necessary. I long to feel the bend in my arm and the warmth in my chest as I curl...
by Jason Downer, SJ | Dec 18, 2014 | Holidays ~ Approx. 3 mins
My family always decorated for Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving, regardless of if it was the first week of Advent or not. We had an artificial tree so there was no worry of it dying before the big day. The container of cassette tapes and CDs filled with...
by Eric Immel, SJ | Dec 16, 2014 | Blogs ~ Approx. 4 mins
There’s a book for everything. Everyone Poops is a seminal tale that comforts children when they start to realize that their bodies produce smelly, tummy-turning gifts for their parents. Other books teach us where our belly buttons are, how bulldozers and cranes rest...
