What we know on God is important, but what we do and so we know on God it is still more important.
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Spiritual Zen
A spiritual path towards enlightenment.
May
30
Practicalities • Find a quiet place where distractions are minimized. • Aim to be still (seated, standing, kneeling or prostrate.) Avoid moving around. • If you have been busy or agitated, allow a little time to quiet and center your heart and mind. Try muscle relaxation – slow deep, and conscious breathing. • Allow sufficient time either side of your conscious prayer so that you do not feel hurried. Approach to Prayer 1. After going to bed, think for one or two minutes about the time to get up and the prayer that I am going to make. 2. Upon waking, let your thoughts attend to the subject of the prayer. 3. Maintain this recollection as you wash, dress, etc. 4. To establish a context for prayer, stand for a minute or so to acknowledge and welcome God’s presence with you and offer God this prayer as an act of love. 5. Ask for the grace you seek. What are your deepest desires. 6. Various postures can be helpful for prayer. 7. If you sense that you are obtaining what you desire, do not change your posture. If, however, you begin to grow uneasy, restless, or distracted, perhaps a change of posture may help. 8. Stay quietly at any point where you find what you desire, with no eagerness to move on until you are satisfied. 9. Conclude the prayer time with the Lord’s Prayer or another vocal prayer. 10. After each prayer time, take a break. 11. Spend 15 minutes or so on the review. 12. Give thanks, where appropriate, ask pardon where necessary. 13. Make a few notes – See Reviewing your Prayer. 14. Maintain the mood of the particular phrase or “week” of the Spiritual Exercises as much as possible. Scripture Prayer • Slowly and reflectively read the passage, • Pause • Read it again, • As you absorb the reading, attend to your feelings. They may be no more than zephyr strong, positive or negative. Imagination – Contemplative Prayer • Imagination engages the heart more than the intellect, the right side of the brain more than the left. • The scriptures, especially the Gospels which are well suited to this type of prayer, are more than historical biographies in the modern sense. Rather they offer a vision of faith colored by the essentials “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.” The Jesus we meet is the risen Lord active in the community today. By using our imagination we are appropriating the eternal trust of the scriptures to ourselves here and now, just as we are. We are rightly asking, “What would have happened if I had been present with Jesus?” • Use all your senses to imagine the scene described in the scripture selected. What do you see, hear, smell, feel, taste. • Then let the story take shape: the different characters. What are they doing? Saying? Where are you? Perhaps you are identified with one of the characters, one of the disciples, one of the crowd, an onlooker, etc. Perhaps you will speak with someone, or touch someone, or simply connect with someone through a gaze. • Do not hurry. Trust the experience and let it unfold itself. Do not try to intellectualize or judge what occurs. • Notice your feelings, desires, etc. (positive or negative) and stay with them; let Jesus (or God or a character you are relating to in the story) know how you are feeling or ask them to reveal something more of themselves to you. • When you sense the prayer has come to an end, do not rush to the next stage; sit with what has happened for a period, savor it especially if you have received a grace. This may motivate further dialogue with Jesus (of God, a character) or a desire simply to gaze upon Jesus and enjoy the sweetness of the moment longer in your heart (i.e., contemplation.) These suggestions to facilitate your prayer are not a mechanical technique. They are often helpful but do not guarantee an experience of God. God cannot be manipulated. All prayer is God’s gift. Sometimes prayer can be dry. Nothing much seems to happen. Providing we have given ourselves generously to prayer and sought to follow the guidelines, many saints have proven over time, we can leave the ‘result’ to God who will always offer us the best and often we grow more in dryness and shadows than in abundance, material or spiritual. Distractions: These are quite common. Simply acknowledge them and return to your prayer focus. Each turning from distraction to prayer is in effect an act of love and faithfulness. Pray as you can, not as you can’t. The goal is a relationship with God which brings conversion that bears fruit and honors God so that we make a difference in our families, communities, workplaces, nations and world. The goal is NOT to feel good or have some ecstatic experience of God. From Joseph Sobb, S.J. of the Australian province
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May
29
May 30, 2010 Our faith is a strange one. We believe in one God with three distinct expressions of divine activities (creator, redeemer, and sustainer) and few of us can adequately explain the Trinitarian nature to another person. In fact, when I hear a person speaking about his or her images of the Triune God in prayer, the person seldom has a clear notion of these individual expressions of God. We don’t spend too much time reflection upon the names of God and their meanings either. No wonder why prayer is so hard at times. To complicate matters, the reading from Proverbs today speaks about Lady Wisdom existing with God at the beginning of time as a co-creator. This all gets complicated, but the key point for us to focus upon is the way they relate to each other and to us. The personified Lady Wisdom is a partner with God who was beside him during creation and was “his delight day by day.” This is an image of a deeply happy God who is pleased with the result of his work and has fun sharing it with Wisdom. This is a God who likes to play and recreate: as Wisdom was “playing before him all the while, playing on the surface of the earth; and I found delight in the human race.” We get the sense that God really enjoys creation. After all, he declares it ‘good’ and in this passage Wisdom also delights in us. You can almost detect the two of them laughing because they are pleased in our goodness. This is quite an image on which to chew in prayer. The question that arises is: “Do we delight in God and allow ourselves to have fun with God?” For many, it is an unusual question, but still a relevant one. How often do we turn to God in prayer and just say, “I am happy. I am happy with the life we have lived together?” In John’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that the Spirit of Truth will come and will glorify Jesus and will provide us comfort. The words of Jesus about the Father are remarkable because they are words of sharing freely what one has with the other with the lack of possessiveness. Everything exists for the other’s delight and glory, and this Triune God invites us into this relationship in which each finds the best in the other. Oh, it is so good to experience God glorifying each of us personally – just finding delight in us. We have so many burdens and concerns that we often forget to just approach God and spend some time in fun and recreation. What a world we could have if we could relax a little more in prayer and enjoy the affectionate way God longs to relate to us. Quote for the Week In honor of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, I offer the ‘Hail Mary’ in French and German. Je vous salue Marie, pleine de grâce, le Seigneur est avec vous; vous êtes bénie entre toutes les femmes; et Jésus, le fruit de vos entrailles, est béni. Sainte Marie, Mère de Dieu, priez pour nous, pécheurs, maintenant et à l’heure de notre mort. Amen. Gegrüßet seist du, Maria, voll der Gnade; der Herr ist mit dir; du bist gebenedeit unter den Frauen, und gebenedeit ist die Frucht deines Leibes, Jesus. Heilige Maria, Mutter Gottes, bitte für uns Sünder jetzt und in der Stunde unseres Todes. Amen. Themes for this Week’s Masses First Reading: Peter urges his readers to wait for and hasten the coming of the day of God and to refrain from behaviors not born of righteousness. Paul writes to Timothy to tell of his gratitude to God in the face of terrible suffering he faces. He urges people to stop disputing about words and to accept the salvation that is offered to them. He exhorts them to turn to Scripture to help them stay faithful because it will give them the wisdom for salvation. Paul is ready to turn over the church to Timothy and other leaders and he encourages them to persevere in preaching the word an doing anything that will help people receive the Gospel. Gospel : From the outset of his ministry, Jesus meets opposition. The Herodians and Pharisees try to trip him up and discredit him with a brainteaser. When asked whether to pay Caesar’s tax or not, he tells them to respect the authorities of the world in their matters and to respect God’s authority in God’s matters. The Sadducees accost him with a teaching on the resurrection and the seven marriages and he declares that God is the living God. A scribe, often an opponent, asks Jesus about the greatest commandment. Moved by the answer of Jesus, his mind and heart are moved to greater understanding. Jesus cautions about the profession of the scribes who accept worldly honors, but do not live up to their teachings; just then a poor woman comes by and drops two coins into the temple treasury causing Jesus much happiness because she lives righteously – according to the Law. Saints of the Week Monday: The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a day that celebrates the rejoicing of Mary and the formerly barren Elizabeth who both find themselves pregnant. Today is a day of wonder because of the awesome plan of God to bring about the incarnation: Elizabeth calls Mary blessed, which ushers in Mary’s great song of praise. Tuesday: Justin, martyr , was a philosopher from Samaria and he would teach others about the faith through philosophical means. His trial about debating habits is recorded and he is known to have professed with Christian discipleship and refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods. For this, he was condemned to death. Wednesday: Marcellinus and Peter, martyrs, are familiar to us because their names are mentioned in Eucharistic Prayer I. They were killed in the Diocletian persecution in the fourth century. Peter is said to have been an exorcist and he worked under the direction of Marcellinus. Thursday: Charles Llwanga and companion, martyrs , were killed in Uganda on this date in 1886. Charles and his friends became converts by the White Fathers. He and his companions were ordered to stop preaching and baptizing by King Mwanga who ushered in a period of persecution in which ten thousand people were martyred. Saturday: Boniface, bishop and martyr , began his missionary career in north Netherlands and was sent to make converts in 719. As bishop of Germany, he cut down the Oak of Thor and was not beset by calamities as people superstitiously expected. On this date in 754, as he was planning to confirm more converts, non Christians rose up to kill him and his companions. This Week in Jesuit History • March 30, 1545: At Meliapore, Francis Xavier came on pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Thomas the Apostle. • March 31, 1548: Fr. Anthony Corduba, rector of the College of Salamanca, begged Ignatius to admit him into the Society so as to escape the cardinalate which Charles V intended to procure for him. • Apr 1, 1941. The death of Hippolyte Delehaye in Brussels. He was an eminent hagiographer and in charge of the Bollandists from 1912 to 1941. • Apr 2, 1767. Charles III ordered the arrest of all the Jesuits in Spain and the confiscation of all their property. • Apr 3, 1583. The death of Jeronimo Nadal, one of the original companions of Ignatius who later entrusted him with publishing and distributing the Jesuit Constitutions to the various regions of the early Society. • Apr 4, 1534. Peter Faber (Pierre Favre) ordained a deacon in Paris. • Apr 5, 1635. The death of Louis Lellemant, writer and spiritual teacher. Happy Memorial Day I offer bountiful prayers and blessings for all of the deceased service men and women of the U.S. who gave their lives as their greatest gift to their country’s values and freedom. Blessings also on all our veterans and current military personnel who protect our national interests and make our lives able to live in peace and security. ATrinitarian Blessing Blessed be you, our God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the love you have shown us. You reveal yourself in the depths of our being; you draw us to share in your life and life. Be near to us for you have created us in your image and likeness, redeemed us and made us your children, and sustain us with your grace and the memory of the ways you have united your life to ours. We bless you through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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May
28
If we wished to serve God and to love our good neighbor, we must indicate our joy in the service we rendered that them to himand. We abramos wide our hearts. It is the joy that it invites to us. Nonadvance and subject nothing.
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May
27
You want La Paz of the heart so? The wisdom of the search in the God view, the small stick to the virtues, and nothing will be able to make him sad.
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May
27
The conversion of the St. Ignatius was essentially its discovery the one of greatest and more attractive of all the leaders, our Mr. Jesus Christ. Ignatius expressed with great ardor this desire “of being placed with Jesus. ”… Desire and the thirst also trained, I think, a component one doubles that it was the deepest characteristic, more general, constant, and predominant of the espiritualidad of its followers. That characteristic can be expressed thus: in order to be with Christ – to serve it…. From this point of view, it is beyond all the doubt that stops the Jesuits, as far as Ignatius, the center of his spiritual life is truth in that dedication to Christ.
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May
26
The reconciliation demanded in average life is not a return to a previous balance and a maturity, of which I have fallen during this time of the crisis or the signal of aid. It is a reconciliation within me and me with God. Counting on the dream and rearranging the polarities in my life are part of the task. I reconcile with my past, personal limitations of recognition and sinfulness of a nonpossible way before. This inner reconciliation (with same me and God) is due to often accompany by the reconciliation with loved – husband, parents, children, friendly. In the liturgical celebration of the passage of the average life, in means of eucaristía or like a part of a communal experience of the sacramental rite of the reconciliation, for example, this reconciliation is clear and it is celebrated in the faith community. The person, after certain difficulty and fights, has reached a new one and tolerance-filled stage while still alive. The cure and the reconciliation have been experienced that will send new energies in the person, who, in the form of a ampler care and one more a more altruistic preoccupation by others, will benefit to many in the community of belief and beyond. Evelyn Eaton Whitehead and James D. Whitehead
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May
25
In fact completely of the tolerance, because to others one occurs in portions, but in Maria its watered fullness in.
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May
24
And informal simple, friendly the conversations were earliest and the head means that Ignatius used in aid people. Straight of its conversion in 1521 that it wanted, to use its own words, “to help souls.” The way that he began was to speak with people, men and women, old young person and, on the things that really concerned to them and him, so to char it simple, such conversation, was the principle of the life and the works of the society of the term “conversation” of Jesus.In their more obvious sense mean to speak with somebody and, so doing, with the feelings of the interchange, the observations, the opinions and the ideas. Ignatius had that meaning in mind, but he also thought the oldest and inclusive meaning of the turning towards somebody: in order to live with, they keep to the company with and to even help and to the other person towards new experiences and new interpretations of them. The society in its members has continued a great variety of such conversations. Among them, to mention but some general areas, they have been conversations with the secular world in all their variety, with other religious, Christian groups and nonChristian, with the tradition and the practices and the personalities of their own church, with itself each generation of their own members enters and, finally, with the gentleman.
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May
23
The set of the position and the vision of Ignatius concentrates in the person of Christ…. The action of the God saving is due to continue after the example of the Jesus Christ, the man for others. They call to model us our lives in Jesus, who shares our portion and he becomes for us, way, truth and life – Jesus who shares his ministry with the clumsy fishermen – whom compassion in the multiplicity has and feeds the hungry one, even gives the view to the blind – that is the good shepherd that places its life for this ewe – that even pardons to its twigs and returns with the fullness of the life and the gift of La Paz of Passover – “what thinks about Christ Jesus to him” – “Who makes him to say that I am”
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May
22
This one is a version of the gold sequence that is requested before the proclamation of the gospel in Pentecost Sunday.Come, Spirit Santo, ahead sends the divine brilliance of its light. Come, the father of the poor men, comes donor from gifts, comes, light of the heart. The greatest consolador, sweet guest of the soul, sweet consolation. In work, rest, in heat, templanza, in rasgones, consolation. Or the majority of the blessed, full light the intimate heart of its faithful. Without his divine will, there is nothing in man, nothing is inoffensive. It washes the one that is dirty, water the one that is dry, cure is hurt that. Double the one that is inflexible, warms up cools off that, it does to the right the one that is incorrect. It gives his faithfuls, who trust you, the gifts of seven times. It gives the reward to the virtue, it gives the salvation in our ignited step, gives the eternal joy. Amen. Hallelujah.
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May
22
“If YE loves to me” by Thomas Tallis   is inspired by the used readings by Juan 14 -; a selection of the gospel for Pentecost. It is a stirring reflection of the promise to come from the Spirit Santo in our lives. Ignited Chasque the connection down to listen to the song. Thoms Tallis “if YE loves to me”.
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May
22
May 23, 2010 Last week I went scuba-diving for the first time. As I began my descent, I mildly panicked and held my breath as I struggled to rise to the surface of the ocean. As I gasped for air, I realized I had all the air I needed in the tube connected to the compressed oxygen tanks. I hesitatingly submerged again and marveled at the comfort I felt when I just breathed in deeply and out slowly. Being underwater was like praying because I just needed to focus on breathing rhythmically. I could then observe the vast beauty the engulfed me. Since it is part of our autonomic nervous system, we often overlook the life-sustaining reality of breathing. On this Pentecost Sunday, we are reminded of the life-giving breath of the Holy Spirit that we receive to renew us. In our readings today we get images of Pentecost that greatly vary from one another. The Acts of the Apostles sets up our imagination to experience a sudden cosmic divine event replete with a strong driving wind and tongues as of fire that rest upon one another’s heads. John 20 brings us back to Easter night when Jesus appears to the frightful huddled disciples to wish them peace and to breathe the Holy Spirit upon them. In John 13, Jesus promises to send the Advocate who will provide comfort and counsel. We see different functions of the spirit. In Acts, the Spirit unifies all believers irrespective of their particular circumstances; in John 20, the Spirit brings peace through reconciliation with a mission to be sent further into the world; in John 14, the Spirit comforts, consoles and teaches. Paul’s description of the Spirit tells us that each person will have a manifestation of the Spirit for a particular benefit. It is reassuring to think that Christ Jesus has breathed his life into our mortal bodies. It is the richly vivifying breath from a man who lived, died, rose to new life and can never die again. Because of the life he brings us, we are compelled to live in a way that is set apart so that we can live like Jesus and carry on the tasks he gave us. Pentecost for us is a renewal of our mission to be sent as he was sent. We can do great things for Christ if we invite him more deeply into the ordinariness of our day and realize that it is his Spirit working through us and urging us on to do the good he desires for us. My choice is to let Christ’s Spirit be the breath in my oxygen tank. Quote for the Week From The Sequence that precedes the proclamation of the Gospel on Pentecost: Come, Holy Spirit, Come! And from your celestial home Shed a ray of light divine…. Heal our wounds, our strength renew; On our dryness pour your dew; Wash the stains of guilt away. Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray. Themes for this Week’s Masses First Reading: Peter writes about the enduring benefit of believing in Christ, even for those who did not know him. He then reassures them that the prophets and so many other people worked for the Good News brought by Jesus and the Spirit. We are to hope completely in God’s grace and live in holiness. Peter teaches them to live in a now and not yet world with a pure heart and fraternal love. This new holiness is set apart from the world’s desires. The faithful ones are to live up to a new standard that is built upon the rejected cornerstone of Christ. Everyone is to share his or her unique gifts for the glory of God with an intense love and a wide hospitality. All that is essential is getting to know Christ Jesus; we are to build up one another in their journey of faith. Gospel: Jesus illustrates the difficulties in following his example. A dutiful young man wishes to follow Jesus and can do all things well except for giving his heart wholeheartedly to the person of Jesus. This causes the disciples to wonder if they can make it into heaven. Jesus reassures them that they have responded well to his invitation, but they still get do not understand the radical nature of discipleship as the others find themselves in opposition to James and John who want to be the favored disciples of Jesus in the kingdom. The petitions of the blind Bartimaeus reveal the qualities of real faith: it is coming to see that Jesus is the Messiah. On his way to the Temple, Jesus curses the fig tree, the symbol of Israel, and overturns the tables of the tradesmen who denigrated the temple. All the people and the leaders intensely desired to know by what power Jesus taught, acted, healed, and preached. Saints of the Week Tuesday: Bede, the Venerable, priest and Doctor , is the only English Doctor of the church. As a Benedictine monk, he wrote many biblical commentaries and historical treatises. He provided the best and only source of data for early Anglo-Saxon history. He died in 735 CE. Gregory VII, pope, as a young Tuscan man, studied under the great canonist, Gratian. When Gratian became Gregory VI, he served as his secretary, chaplain, chancellor and counselor. Gregory VII reformed the church by asserting Papal authority over civil authorities, which caused much dissension. Wednesday: Philip Neri, priest , studied theology in Rome in the early 16th century so he could re-evangelize Rome as the Protestant Reformation was coming about. He founded an organization to help pilgrims and a hospital. As he was renowned as a confessor and spiritual director, he set up the Oratorians in 1575 as was attracted many disciples of his wisdom. Thursday: Augustine of Canterbury, bishop , was sent with 40 priests to evangelize Britain in 596. Augustine was well received and set up the church hierarchy in England and turned many of the pagan feasts into religious ones. Wales was the only holdout to conversion. Augustine set up the first Benedictine monastery at Canterbury. This Week in Jesuit History • May 23, 1873. The death of Peter de Smet, a famous missionary among Native Americans of the great plains and mountains of the United States. He served as a mediator and negotiator of several treaties. • May 24, 1834. Don Pedro IV expelled the Society from Brazil. • May 25, 1569. At Rome the Society was installed by Pope St Pius V in the College of Penitentiaries. Priests of various nationalities who were resident there were required to act as confessors in St Peter’s. • May 26, 1673. Ching Wei San (Emmanuel de Sigueira) died, the first Chinese Jesuit priest. • May 27, 1555. The Viceroy of India sent an embassy to Claudius, Emperor of Ethiopia, hoping to win him and his subjects over to Catholic unity. Nothing came of this venture, but Fr. Goncalvo de Silveira, who would become the Society’s first martyr on the Africa soil, remained in the country. • May 28, 1962. The death of Bernard Hubbard famous Alaskan missionary. He was the author of the book Mush, You Malemutes! and wrote a number of articles on the Alaska mission. • May 29, 1991. Pope John Paul II announces that Paulo Dezza, SJ is to become a Cardinal, as well as Jan Korec, in Slovakia. Plans for the week I am back in Pymble (Sydney) where I will begin a week of study of Jesuit social justice efforts that arise from a faith that does justice. Though I have enjoyed my time away, I’m glad to be back home with my brother tertians.
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May
21
Towards outside beyond ideas of right and incorrect there is a field. I will find him there.
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May
20
Loved boy watches, in my eyes, sees the one same one of thereYour, reflected in that waterFrom alive whose deep swimming pools all the images or earth are born. He sees, in the glance that the graspings you dearAll that you were, are and will be to forever.
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May
19
You, gentleman of Or, are God of which sorry, and in me you indicate his quality; for, unworthy as I am, you will save to me according to his great mercy, and I will praise continuallyall the days to him of my life. For all the host of the sky it sings his praise, and hers is the glory by always. Amen.
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May
17
The fear of the death is less than a destruction than it is of the absurdity. The death comes too much soon – the emptiness of my life will seal before it can have sense of him, before a certain past desperate attempt can finish giving the meaning him. The resources of the alcohol that are sent in the stage of the integrity of the mature life can give the force to affirm a meaning me in my life that surpasses my own death. This bad necessity that I give the welcome until death. It does not need the means that my final years doubts will not know nor will be sorry or they will not fear. But it means that these are not all. With the resources of personal integrity, the finished force of the mature development, I can affirm that, in last instance, the death will not prevail. It is in such “final consolidation” that death loses its puncture. For the puncture of the death she is not the mortal victims, but the loss of meaning. Evelyn Eaton Whitehead and James D. Whitehead
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May
16
birdA catched ruined treeIs marchitados cupA empty of shipAn that heWho despises the will of the king arrives. heWho beautiful sunFilled goldBright pure of holyIs of came-cupHappy the will ago of the king of the love.
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May
15
The song “that you educate to me upon” is an appropriate song for the stations of Pascua/de the ascent. I have two selections enumerated down for his enjoymentWestlife I am realised with a complementary video. ? The célticas women realise alive in the castle of Slane in Ireland.
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May
15
May 16, 2010 I love Luke’s question, “Why are you standing there looking at the sky?” It is reminiscent of his question during that Easter dawn when two men in white ask, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” These questions are placed there to help us transform our thinking. So what if we lived as if we were a transformed people? In the intermittent time between these two questions, we see the apostles acting with confidence and absolute trust that they are assured entrance into salvation. The disciples get a second chance to say their goodbyes to Jesus, but this time, instead of cowering in fear, they return to their lives with great joy continually praising God. Where is our joy? It makes me wonder whether our worship patterns help us to glorify God for all he has done for us. Our church is the very instrument that is designed to mediate this joy from God to us. The very same Jesus who rose from the dead and appeared to the apostles is the same Lord who is active in our lives. The Spirit that he promised and we received in our confirmation is the Spirit who brings us wisdom and revelation. The Spirit continues the ministry of Jesus by teaching us about God through the rich meaning of Scripture and consoling us in our times of need. The Ascension makes it possible for Jesus to be invisibly present to us so we can be brought closer into the heart of God. This is a tremendous reason to praise God and live in glory. The promise of salvation is ours; it is the measure by which all other events are measured. Perhaps this Ascension and Pentecost, we can fully receive the Spirit that is promised to us. Jesus has greater power than any other power in the universe and he gives us a share of this power through the Spirit. Consider the ways our church and world could be transformed if we really truly accepted the authority Christ gave to us. It is not only given to our religious leaders but to each and every believer. Vatican II says that we are to exercise our authority as priest, prophet, and king in imitation of Christ. Our church is confusion because of the conflict it faces with culture and we need our faithful ones to actively learn about our tradition, study theology, reflect upon moral issues so we can form our conscience and seek what we need. Let’s boldly consider the ways we can possibly use our God-given authority. It is good to remember that Jesus is not up in the sky, but imminently present around us and within our culture. Let’s find a way of praying and of becoming more keenly aware so we can discern the power we have inherited. Imagine how Christ can transform our lives if we pray that we can receive the power he offers us. That can bring us great joy. Quote for the Week From The Acts of the Apostles for the Ascension of the Lord: When they gathered together they asked Jesus, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven. Themes for this Week’s Masses First Reading : Judaizers, the opponents of Paul’s theology, present great trouble for him and the new church, but it caused the community to come together to report what God has done with them and to show how God opened the door to the Gentiles. The church members head to Jerusalem to speak with the disciples and elders about the necessity of circumcision as a requirement for entrance to the faith, but the disciples decide no further burdens are to be placed on them. They are to be welcomed into the community as they respectfully observe the essential aspects of the worship life. Gospel : John’s Supper Discourse continues as the Twelve wonder where Jesus is going after his death. Jesus wishes them the type of lasting peace that is rare in this world so that they can continue to be with him in faith. He describes the way that they will remain together as he is the true vine and they are the branches. Discipleship, for John’s Jesus, is to believe in him and by doing so to keep his commandments – the greatest one being love of each other in the way the Father loves Jesus. Beware, though, that many people will persecute them because of the name of Jesus. Hold steadfast as God is steadfast. Saints of the Week Tuesday: John I, pope and martyr , was caught in a political feud between Emperor Justin I in Constantinople who was persecuting the Arians and Theodoric the Goth, an Arian, who ruled Italy. John was sent by Theodoric to Justine to end the persecution. John negotiated the end of the persecution and Justin accepted all of Theodoric’s demands, but Theodoric was dissatisfied. He imprisoned John and starved him to death in prison. Thursday: Bernardine of Siena, priest , became an orphan at age 7 but was taken in by his noble relatives. During an outbreak of the plague in 1400, he inspired many men to risk their lives in service to others. He entered the Franciscans two years later and was ordained a priest. His preaching attracted the attention of many in northern and central Italy. Having refused to become a bishop, he became vicar general of the Franciscans where he brought about several reforms. Friday: Christopher Magallanes, priest and companion, martyrs, worked with the indigenous people of Mexico as a priest to found schools and centers for catechism. He also began farming cooperatives and tried to form seminaries during an administration that was anti-Catholic. In 1927 because of his seditious activities of promoting rebellion, he was executed with 21 diocesan priests and 3 laymen. Saturday: Rita of Cascia, religious was married to an angry man who treated her cruelly. Her twin sons wanted revenge on the person who murdered their father, but they died before they could carry out their plan. This gave Rita, who was from Umbria, the opportunity to enter a convent. Denied three times because she was no longer a virgin and had married in life, the Augustinians accepted her where she prayed for the church and the poor. This Week in Jesuit History • May 16, 1988. In Paraguay, Pope John Paul II canonizes Roque Gonzalez, Alfonso Rodriguez, and Juan del Castillo. • May 17, 1572. Pope Gregory XIII exempted the Society from choir and approved simple vows after two years of novitiate and ordination before solemn profession. In these matters he reversed a decree of St Pius V. • May 18, 1769. The election of Cardinal Lorenzo Ganganelli as Pope Clement XIV. He was the pope who suppressed the Society. • May 19, 1652. Birth of Paul Hoste mathematician and expert on construction of ships and history of naval warfare. • May 20, 1521. Ignatius was seriously wounded at Pamplona, Spain, while defending its fortress against the French. • May 21, 1925. Pius XI canonizes Peter Canisius, with Teresa of the Child Jesus, Mary Madeleine Postal, Madeleine Sophie Barat, John Vianney, and John Eudes. Canisius is declared a Doctor of the Church. • May 22, 1965. Pedro Arrupe was elected the 28th general of the Society of Jesus. Plans for the Week Thanks for your prayers for the retreatants at Xavier Catholic School in Hervey Bay. I am now visiting the Jesuit community in Brisbane before I return to Sydney to resume our month-long period of study of the Constitutions and our history.
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May
14
The WORLD is in charge of the God greatness. It will flame towards outside, as the brightness of shook the leaf; It collects to a greatness, like the exudation of the crushed oil. Why now does reck of the men then not its bar? The generations have been above, been above, been above; And everything is singed with commerce; bleared, stained with work; And La Mancha of the man and the scent of the man of the parts uses: the ground is bare now, nor can the sensation of the foot, being worn. And for all this, nature never is past; There underneath things lives the deeply considered freshness more; And although they were the lights passed of the black west oh, the morning, in the brown edge towards the east, loose because the spirit santo over the doubled world empolla with the hot chest and ah! shining wings.
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May
13
One comments frequently that there is no particular form of peculiar prayer to the society. I have never been able to understand this. It has always seemed that all the prayer of the Jesuit, in all ways, is prayer of the God government. We do what it is responds to the God tolerance and it is abre in its action whereas uses he us to foment his plan for his kingdom. The consolation of the prayer is not in the prayer itself but of the way of which they support in the mission or the work that occurs us. What I am trying to communicate here it are expressed in the formula found in the sparks of Hevenesi de Ignatius. It is known popular in its somewhat heretical form, “requests as if everything depends on God, act as if everything depends on you.” The formula of Hevenesi avoids the heresy and it express the penetration of Ignatian: “It trusts God, but with the knowledge that, if the work is going away to be done, you will have to do it; dése to the work, but knowing that, if is realised, it is God will do that it.”
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May
12
Muchos preguntarán cómo puede un hombre moderno todavía sigue siendo o hace una jesuita. La contestación a tal pregunta puede solamente ser la misma persona una de cada jesuita. Quisiera dar mi propia contestación a esa pregunta en toda la simplicidad aunque puede sonar algo piadosa. Todavía veo alrededor de mí que vive en muchos de mis compañeros que una preparación para el servicio desinteresado realizó en silencio, una preparación para el rezo, un abandono a la incomprensibilidad de dios, para la aceptación tranquila de la muerte en cualquier forma puede venir, porque sumo el esmero al siguiente de Cristo crucificado. Y tan para mí, en el análisis final no es ninguna gran materia qué crédito en la historia de la cultura o de la iglesia va a una línea de hombres con un alcohol como ése, ni importa a mí si un alcohol similar se encuentra en otros grupos, nombrado o sin nombre. El hecho es que existe el alcohol aquí. Pienso en hermanos eso que mismo he sabido – de mi amigo, Alfred Delp, que con las manos encadenadas firmó su declaración de la calidad de miembro final en la sociedad; de uno quién en una aldea en la India que es desconocida a los intelectuales indios ayuda a gente pobre a cavar sus pozos; de otro que por largases horas en el confesonario escuche el dolor y el tormento de las gentes normales que son lejos más complejas que aparecen en la superficie. Pienso de uno quién en Barcelona es batida por la policía junto con sus estudiantes sin la satisfacción realmente de ser un revolucionario y de savoring su gloria; de uno quién asiste diariamente al hospital en la cabecera de la muerte hasta que ese acontecimiento único se convierta en para él una rutina embotada; de la persona que en la prisión debe proclamar una y otra vez el mensaje del evangelio con nunca un símbolo de la gratitud, que se aprecia más para el folleto de cigarrillos que para las palabras de las buenas noticias él trae; de la persona que con dificultad y sin ninguna evidencia clara del éxito anda con paso pesado lejos en la tarea de despertar en apenas algunos hombres y mujeres una pequeña chispa de la fe, de la esperanza y de la caridad.
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May
11
It gives a hollow greeting of La Paz or never gives return far when somebody needs its love.
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