The beauty and suffering of King David, his failure and his glory, have been on my mind a lot these days. I remember hearing the story of the fateful night when he spotted Bathsheba, bathing on her roof. I remember the suppressed scandal of the words, my mind (no...
In one of the landmark moments of his trip to Iraq, Pope Francis stood in front of the rubbled-remains of one of the largest churches in Mosul, the one-time capital of the ISIS caliphate. Speaking to an audience including representatives of varying religious beliefs,...
“My parents just found my books,” a young student told me with a look of anguish on his face. I was a college teacher before I became a Jesuit, and I found that when I got to know students, they often wanted to share all sorts of trivial details from their life....
Why does Jesus get upset with people in the Temple? They keep missing the point. Christopher Alt, SJ, reflects on the need to keep our focus so that we don’t miss what (or who) is right in front of us. Based on the readings for Sunday, March 7, 2021. Thou shall...
“Bro! Tell me we still know how to speak of kings!” What a wonderful first line in Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley. There is something epic about the call to remember, and something earthy about beginning that call with a word like “bro.” This...
The morning is gentle. I’ve come at the perfect time to sit and pray near the old living room windows. The black sky imperceptibly begins to glow blue beyond the brick school outside. I’ve found a skillfully crafted wooden chair with arms sanded to sloping curves for...
Imagine that you have a cat or a dog sitting in your lap. You know the animal’s name and have fond memories of playing together, of laughing at its silliness, and of delighting in its tricks. You cuddle with it when you feel sad. Your pet means the world to you. Now,...
The Transfiguration was such a spectacular moment that Peter wanted to stay, but Jesus knew that he needed to proceed to another mountain: Calvary. Josef Rodriguez, SJ, reflects on mountaintop experiences. Based on the readings for Sunday, February 28, 2021. Have you...
What would you do if someone asked you to create a song about someone they loved who’d recently died? I’m talking on the spot. Don’t put it on paper. Just start speaking words with the hope that you could say something meaningful–something that touched the heart....
Ayan Ali is a researcher with the Slavery, History, Memory, and Reconciliation (SHMR) Project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. As we close Black History Month, I spoke with her about the focus of the SHMR Project, what she has learned from the...
