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...
by Michael Rossmann, SJ | Dec 14, 2014 | Humor ~ Approx. 1 min
1) He had a very specific taste in natural food. Long before hipsters discovered kale and quinoa from a food truck, John the Baptist was eating locusts and wild honey. 2) J the B followed Christ before it was cool. He was even promoting Jesus back when they were both...
by Vinny Marchionni, SJ | Dec 11, 2014 | In the News, Justice, Sexuality ~ Approx. 6 mins
Dear Greek Brothers, It’s been an agonizing year for us. Violence abounds both within chapters and against those who trust us. Hazing has continued and had led to the deaths of a Sig Ep pledge at Clemson, a Kappa Sigma pledge at West Virginia, and one of my PiKapp...
by Matt White | Dec 11, 2014 | Pop Culture, Spirituality ~ Approx. 2 mins
Salvation, surprise, redemption, and peace — and all of this from just one meal! Babette’s Feast is a film about an extravagant, multi-course, French dinner. But, really, it’s not about dinner, it’s about a meal. It’s about personal transformation, food,...
by Henry Longbottom, SJ | Dec 10, 2014 | Justice, Pope Francis ~ Approx. 4 mins
The word emanating from Vatican corridors is that we can expect to see the long awaited environment-themed encyclical at some point during 2015. The exact date has not been disclosed, but it could coincide with Francis’ apostolic visit to the Philippines in January, a...
by Sam Sawyer, SJ | Dec 10, 2014 | In the News, Justice ~ Approx. 1min
Today, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released the executive summary of it’s report on the CIA’s “detention and interrogation” — i.e., torture — program. Over on our Patheos blog, I argued that What is perhaps most terrifying about...
by Keith Maczkiewicz, SJ | Dec 9, 2014 | Blogs ~ Approx. 4 mins
When I stop laughing I have to start thinking about leaving. This was my refrain when I first entered the Jesuits. Laughter was a sign of joy, of contentment. If I was laughing — with my brothers, with the people at my ministry sites, with my superiors —...
