Five Sets of Faces You May Never Know

Five Sets of Faces You May Never Know

   These days, life, in general, weighs differently. I’m not yet forty, but with my thirties mostly behind, I am a new denizen of the vast realm called “the middle-age.”  My physical body is no longer fueled by the energy of youth. Yes… it is true, bodies...
Worth Watching…Or is it? Welcome to BoooTube.

Worth Watching…Or is it? Welcome to BoooTube.

Why do we stare at car wrecks? Or watch Tosh.0? Or that MTV rip-off of Tosh.0… what’s it called… Ridiculousness? Anyway, whatever. I don’t know why we watch that stuff, but whatever the reason is, it’s the same reason that I’ve spent four hours over the last couple...
Weeks in Review — Aug. 18 – Sept. 15, 2013

Weeks in Review — Aug. 18 – Sept. 15, 2013

Stop Here. Click Now. Some pieces not to miss As the world waited to find out what would happen in the aftermath of the Syrian chemical weapons attack, a young Syrian Jesuit, Tony Homsy, offered this prayer for Syria here at TJP. (Earlier, Sam Sawyer reflected on why...
9/11 and Sports

9/11 and Sports

Let’s remember a particular way that Americans sought solace in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks: sporting events. I’m always overwhelmed by the communal beauty of the American sports scene. So much pageantry, so much tradition, so many people who...
Being a Human Being, or “I Don’t Know Anything”

Being a Human Being, or “I Don’t Know Anything”

It was a recent Sunday afternoon, and I was just sitting in the hard rocking chair in the otherwise comfortable and bright meeting room of the Campus Ministry center, when my knowledgeable and eminently capable colleague turned to me. “Anything to add?” she asked. The...
So what DOES the fox say?!

So what DOES the fox say?!

Tip of the hat goes to:  Matt Spotts’s philosophy class at Brebeuf Jesuit, Indianapolis as well as Brian Konzman’s students on the Gonzaga College High School, Washington D.C. Cross Country Team Sometimes TJP looks closely at culture in search of signs of God’s...
A Prayer for Syria

A Prayer for Syria

Jesus, my friend, I don’t ask you these things often, but, what if you were a Syrian in your thirties? I ask you this naïve question – but it’s really not a question. I ask so I can tell you how the past two and a half years have brought Syria – my country! – to a new...
You Can’t Take It With You: Soul Edition

You Can’t Take It With You: Soul Edition

Sathima Bea Benjamin 1936 to three-weeks-ago Friday Ms. Benjamin was all about soul:  she sought to soothe it and agitate it.  She was a sublime jazz singer and one of the leading South African ex-pat advocates for the African National Congress’s campaign against...