by Chris Williams, SJ | Mar 3, 2021 | Blogs, Lent, Spirituality ~ Approx. 3 mins
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...
by Dan Finucane, SJ | Feb 24, 2021 | Blogs, Lent, Spirituality ~ Approx. 3 mins
If you’ve ever tried to throw a bowl (or anything) on a pottery wheel, you’ve inevitably had the experience of trying to center the clay. This is the foundational task: as the wheel spins, use your hands to steady the clay and center it on the wheel. Everything else...
by Christopher Alt, SJ | Feb 17, 2021 | Blogs, Lent, Spirituality ~ Approx. 4 mins
I met Javier – aka Zoom-Zoom – at Otisville State Penitentiary, 80 miles north of New York City. I was there coordinating a retreat for Thrive For Life Prison Project. Javier spoke perfect Spanglish and stood five-foot-nothing, though I soon noticed his outsized...
by Brett Helbling | Feb 10, 2021 | Blogs, Spirituality ~ Approx. 4 mins
Rend my heart, O’ God, Rend my heart. These words came to me in prayer tonight, from somewhere, distant, distracted, after a long and dusty day, one of those days I’m just glad is over. Life on Zoom is exhausting. Rend my heart? What does that even mean? I am a Jesuit...
by Jake Braithwaite, SJ | Feb 3, 2021 | Blogs, Spirituality ~ Approx. 4 mins
Right before Chicago shut down in March I went to the theater. I had tickets for three shows that weekend. Two of them had to be cancelled due to the mayor’s orders closing large venues. The third, in a storefront theater on the very northern edge of the city, was...