About two months ago, I received an email from the Detroit Free Press/TCF Bank Marathon staff which told me that, due to continued uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the race was canceled. The message was disappointing but entirely understandable. They did say, however, that I could choose to run the full race virtually: on my […]
It took two weeks of monotony and uncertainty to realize what I really relied on. And in my most recent quarantine, I experienced what millions around the world have been going through since March. And it’s something I pray we can all return to again, in person, to celebrate the ultimate celebration.
Patrick Saint-Jean, SJ, once again invites to consider another “One Moment for One Thing.” Let us discover how to get in touch with what we feel while examining our heart and soul to more clearly experience the greater glory of God in our lives and in the world around us. Pray with us once again as we move towards a deeper and clearer relationship with ourselves, hand-in-hand with God.
TJP has an updated resource to share! Last Spring, we debuted the TJP Curriculum Guide. This guide includes articles and videos published by TJP, organized into twenty different themes, with hyperlinks to the content. This can be useful in classrooms, for retreats, for faculty formation, or however else you might find helpful. Check out the list of themes and download the updated TJP Curriculum Guide.
Eric Immel, SJ, writes: “I spent more time in my room these past nearly six months that I had the previous, say, four years combined. The same is true for the number of times I’ve washed my hands. I’ve high-fived less people in the past nearly six months than was typical for me in a day pre-COVID, and I cannot count the number of times I’ve wanted to yell at people for getting too close to me, which I don’t think I’d ever thought to do before in my life.” Eric takes us on journey of a small world that opens up to something larger than previously thought.
When I take a more honest look at life, with its’ beauty, and also its’ darkness and suffering, I’m drawn to see the meaning of seeking something that transcends worldly pleasures or pursuits, even the willingness to sacrifice those things. And I want to affirm this desire to “transcend” is not an escape from reality, nor is it inhuman. It is rather a call to become even more fully and authentically human concretely in the world. Chris Williams, SJ, invites us to see this transcendence in his newest poem perfect for prayer and reflection.
It happened when I served as a Eucharistic minister at a large suburban hospital over five years ago. When I walked into his room, he looked like anybody’s grandpa. I can still see him lying there: a 90-some-year-old man with smallish frame nestled into the middle of the recliner bed, a tuft of white hair atop a wrinkled but happy-go-lucky face, the flimsy-knit, standard issue hospital blanket pulled up just under his chin. Read as Christopher Alt, S.J. reflects on the Eucharist and our everyday life.
On a bitterly cold Thursday night in February of 2019, I was sitting on the ground hanging out with a group of folks experiencing homelessness down by the Chicago Art Institute. I spent most Thursdays this way, as chaplain to the student-run Labre Homeless ministry. Despite the bitter cold, we laughed a lot. After a particularly icy burst of wind rushed through, one of the men, named Wiz, looked at me and said “Gimme a scarf.” Jake Braithwaite, SJ, offers us a compelling parable about death and resurrection.
On the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, Brian Strassburger, SJ, reflects on his legacy and his spirituality. In short, Ignatius teaches us the value of gratitude.
Awareness drives Ignatian Spirituality. Breathing is the fire that maintains the engagement of awareness in action. One needs God’s grace to learn how to breathe. In our next installment of “One Moment for One Thing,” Patrick Saint-Jean invites us to say nothing in our prayer except only to breath and listen.
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