Jesuits can often sound like broken records. We like to call schools and parishes “Ignatius” or “Loyola” — or, if we’re feeling wild, “Xavier.” We love to repeat phrases such as “men (and women) for others” or “finding God in all things.” And if you have ever attended a Jesuit school, parish, or retreat house, Read more
All Black Sonny Bill Williams has said he is most happy when he is saying his prayers. In an article in the UK Daily Mail, Williams admitted to having to fit his Islamic diet and prayer around an intensive rugby schedule. “When I’m most happy is when I’m doing my prayers,” he said. “When you Read more
Benedict XVI’s resignation and withdrawal into a life of prayer has taught the Church a lesson of doing “theology on its knees”, Pope Francis has said. Francis wrote this in the preface of a new book by the Pope Emeritus, titled “Teaching and Learning the Love of God”. It is the first volume of several Read more
I started taking piano lessons when I was fourteen and enjoyed playing, as difficult as they were, the “two-part inventions” of J. S. Bach. I’ve been playing them ever since, and so my life was been shaped in part by these supremely crafted little works of art. I wish I could demonstrate here how Bach Read more
I’ve heard that Gandhi was once quoted as saying: “I don’t reject Christ. It’s just that so many Christians are so unlike Christ.” Another variation of this quote is: “I would suggest first of all that all of you Christians and missionaries and everyone begin to live more like Jesus Christ.” Whether Gandhi said this Read more
One of the most impressive literary figures of the twentieth century was the Irish writer Iris Murdoch. You may have heard of her surprising and thoughtful novels such as A Severed Head and The Good Apprentice; or perhaps you are conversant with her more abstract philosophical texts such as The Sovereignty of Good and Metaphysics Read more
Growing up in an evangelical Protestant family, I didn’t hear much about the Christian mystics. My religious background tended to equate mysticism with occult practices, overlooking the mystics’ real emphasis: a direct experience of God. Yet, I sensed that the divine was a constant, companionable presence, someone who was simultaneously both within and all around Read more
Forget the fancy words and deep analogies; prayer is about relationship. ‘Your strength is not in numbers, nor does your might depend upon the powerful, but you are the God of the lowly, the helper of the oppressed, the supporter of the weak, the protector of those in despair, the savior of those without hope. Read more
There are many things about Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta that could be called heroic – her tireless service to the world’s most rejected and her courageous witness to millions of what it is to live the Gospel, just to name a couple. But the priest charged with overseeing her path to sainthood said that Read more
The bishops of England and Wales have appealed to Rome to change the Good Friday prayer for Jews as it is said in the extraordinary form liturgy. The prayer reads: “Let us also pray for the Jews: that our God and Lord may illuminate their hearts, that they acknowledge Jesus Christ is the Saviour of Read more