Before we celebrate Christmas, we reflect on the Annunciation in this week’s gospel. Austin Kleman, SJ, takes us through an exercise of imagining Mary at the Nativity as she recalls all that has taken place.
Grief, Relationality, and Animals: A Call to Bother to Love
Grief at the death of animals reveals a moral obligation we too often ignore. Daniel Mascarenhas, SJ argues that if we dare to feel this grief, it becomes a call to love them as fellow creatures of God.
Unstoppable Grace: Sacraments and Sinful Ministers
Reflecting on his current studies in theology, Josh reflects on how a hundreds-year-old debate on the sacraments touched his own life and brought him healing.
Atomic Pilgrim: A Book Review
In his forthcoming memoir Atomic Pilgrim, James Patrick Thomas recounts his cross-continental pilgrimage from Washington State to the Holy Land and his later activism back home. Writing for The Jesuit Post, Luke Lapean, SJ reflects on how the memoir provocatively asks whether true success in the struggle for change lies in measurable outcomes or in the quiet, interior transformation of the one who walks the road.
I Saw Love Reveal Itself in Vocations and Baptisms
Seven of my Jesuit brothers and I were ordained as deacons on September 20th. I’m helping out at a great parish in South Boston and have been incredibly grateful to dive head first into ordained ministry. I love preaching, assisting at Mass, and chatting with parishioners. But the baptisms have been the highlight.
What 7th Graders Taught Me About Prayer
I might be exhausted from the pandemic, or frustrated that I can’t control a math class, or anxious about the election, but that all pales in comparison to everyone I’m praying for. What my students have taught me, though, is that behind this faux-humility is my false belief that I can probably resolve my exhaustion or frustration or anxiety by myself. My students have taught me so much about prayer. Read and reflect with me about wisdom that can arise from seventh graders.
Pope Francis and the Inclusive Capitalists: Making Friends with Dishonest Wealth?
Pope Francis is throwing his moral weight behind the Council for Inclusive Capitalism, a group of CEOs and business leaders, but it’s not clear they agree on everything.
How God and Grace Will Find Me this Holiday Season
Perhaps, like me, you are discerning how you should spend your holidays? You are praying and asking God to show you how to be present to your loved ones and still keep them safe. As I pray with all my anger, frustration, loneliness, and hunger for loved ones this holiday season, I am reminded that God often provides for us in ways we don’t expect or even necessarily want.
Poverty in Film: Hillbilly Elegy vs. Parasite
Netflix drama “Hillbilly Elegy” has received criticism for its portrayal of rural poverty in the US, while the Korean poverty-themed film, “Parasite,” won the Academy Award for Best Picture. What’s the difference between the two?
How Other People Knew My Vocation Before Me
Sometimes God uses others to point us in his direction.