Jesuit Collaborative

When evening comes, never lie down to rest without the intimate conviction that you are ready to appear before God. Remind yourself that if death were to come that night, the sovereign Judge would give a verdict... on your conduct and on your whole life.

Click to Enlarge

The world is more magical, less predictable, more autonomous, less controllable, more varied, less simple, more infinite, less knowable, more wonderfully troubling than we could have imagined being able to tolerate when we were young.

Click to Enlarge

The Ascension of the LordMay 20, 2012Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:17-23; (or Ephesians 4:1-13); Mark 16:15-20
                Mark's Gospel concludes with the proclamation to "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature." (Most scripture scholars see this as a later addition to text to bring it to a positive conclusion. It has often been a source of conflict with evangelicals who believe in a literal textual explanation.) It points out that Jesus is validated as Lord of heaven and earth and is seated at the right hand of God. It emphasizes that the risen Lord confirmed the disciples as they healed and preached the kingdom in his name.
          Luke takes a polished approach to his account of the Ascension. He writes the Acts of the Apostles as an historical book with an emphasis on teaching new Gentile converts about the factual and mysterious accounts of the life of Jesus and the early church. He addresses it to Theophilus, an unnamed lover (filial) of God (Theos), to explain the significance of the divine actions. In the passage we read today, Luke describes Pentecost as the apt conclusion of God's saving work. He illustrates the forty-day period of appearances before Jesus is taken up to heaven where his spirit is sent forth from God to console and strengthen the disciples. The energizing Spirit baptizes believers and guards them in all their ways. The work of Jesus is to continue on this earth as he is still present to his faithful ones.
          As his baptized, we are called to extraordinary care for our fellow believers. Our work is not easy to do. Ephesians 4 outlines the work of the Spirit in a believer who is open to continued growth and discipleship. Whether at an institutional level or the most personal, we have great amounts of work to do to let the Spirit speak. Paul, in Ephesians, says we are to live in a manner worthy of the call we have received. Too often, our insecurities and our propensity to compare prohibits our capacity to be free enough to honor our call.
          Sometimes it seems that the humility and gentleness Paul writes about is largely withheld. It has little room in public discourse and in a competitive workplace environment, we tend not to build up one another and yet when we do, it transforms our culture. Many broken lives can be healed by these thoughtful gestures.
          Many confuse enabling actions with being patient and bearing with one another in love. Being patient means that we forgive tumbles and stumbles and we help the other person stand tall and see new ways of achieving his or her goal. I think many recognize the world is rife with overwhelming suffering. Bearing with another means that we simply show up for the one who feels beaten down at the moment.                     Paul also writes about "preserving the unity of spirit through the bond of peace." Our language mirrors that of the larger society. We learn to critically examine and analyze various situations and we offer suggestions to solve problems through our own individual ways. Rather, we have to learn to build up and assemble rather than to criticize and deconstruct. The Spirit works when we see ourselves as a contributor to the solution. We decide to construct a world where unity and virtues can be more easily grasped. Paul reminds us that the Spirit uses our unique gifts to testify to the good work of God that passes through our hands. Our attitude is important.
          We need to act out of our trust in the Spirit rather than from our insecurities and jealousies. When we believe the success of an endeavor depends upon how well we do things, we have sorely missed the point. Our gratitude goes to the Spirit who opens up the possibilities for us and we celebrate the small contributions we make. We make things far too difficult for ourselves. Suffering is far too omnipresent for our sensibilities. We do not need to pile up more hardships upon ourselves. When we give up control and see where it rightly belongs, we act out of grace that makes life a whole lot more pleasant. In these next days, let's pray fervently that we receive Christ's Spirit anew as we await Pentecost. If we let it, this Spirit can certainly renew our world and bring us greater joy.
Themes for this Week’s Masses
First Reading: Paul goes to Ephesus to introduce believers to the Holy Spirit. Paul recounts the ways he served the Lord with humility, tears and trials, but he returns to an uncertain fate in Jerusalem. As Paul says goodbye, he urges them to keep watch over each other and to be vigilant about those who pervert the truth of the Gospel. Paul is brought to trial. The Pharisees and Sadducees are sharply divided; armed forces are sent to rescue Paul from their midst. The Lord tells Paul he must go to Rome and be faithful there just as he was faithful in Jerusalem. King Agrippa hears Paul's case and determines Paul is to be tried in Jerusalem, but Paul, as a Roman citizen, appeals for the Emperor's decision.
Gospel:The disciples realize Jesus is returning to the Father and that he is strengthening them for the time he is away. Jesus prays for the safety of those given to him by God. He wants them to be safe as they testify to God's steadfastness in a harsh world. He prays for unity, "so that they may be one just as we are one." He consecrates them to the truth and wards off the Evil One. He also prays for those given to him through the testimony of others. The love Jesus and the Father share is available to future disciples. ~ After the Farewell Discourse ends, Jesus appears at the seashore with Simon Peter who professes his three-fold love of Jesus. Jesus forgives him and asks him to take care of his people even though the authorities of this world will eventually have their day with him.
Saints of the Week
May 20: Bernardine of Siena, priest, (1380-1444)was from a family of nobles who cared for the sick during plagues. He entered the Franciscans and preached across northern and central Italy with homilies that understood the needs of the laity. He became vicar general and instituted reforms.
May 21: Christopher Magallanes, priest and companions, martyrs (1869-1927) was a Mexican priest who served the indigenous people by forming agrarian communities. He opened seminaries when the ant-Catholic government kept shutting them down. He was arrested and executed with 21 priests and 3 laymen.
May 22: Rita of Cascia, religious (1381-1457),always wanted to become a nun but her family married her off to an abusive man. He was murdered 18 years later. Rita urged forgiveness when her two sons wanted to avenge their father's murder. They soon died too. Rita wanted to enter a convent, but he marital status kept her out. Eventually, the Augustinians in Cascia admitted her. She became a mystic and counselor to lay visitors.
May 24: Our Lady of the Way or in Italian, Madonna della Strada, is a painting enshrined at the Church of the Gesu in Rome, the mother church of the Society of Jesus. The Madonna Della Strada is the patroness of the Society of Jesus. In 1568, Cardinal Farnese erected the Gesu in place of the former church of Santa Maria della Strada. 
May 25: Bede the Venerable, priest and doctor, (673-735), is the only English doctor of the church. As a child, he was sent to a Benedictine monastery where he studied theology and was ordained. He wrote thorough commentaries on scripture and history as well as poetry and biographies. His famous work is the "Ecclesiastical History of the English People," the source for much of Anglo-Saxon history.
May 25: Gregory VII, pope (1020-1085), was a Tuscan who was sent to a monastery to study under John Gratian, who became Gregory VI. He served the next few popes as chaplain, treasurer, chancellor and counselor before he became Gregory VII. He introduced strong reforms over civil authorities that caused much consternation. Eventually, the Romans turned against him when the Normans sacked Rome.
May 25: Mary Magdalene de'Pazzi (1566-1607), a Florentine, chose to become a Carmelite nun instead of getting married. Her biography, written by her confessor, gives accounts of intense bouts of desolation and joy. She is reputed to have gifts of prophecy and healing.
May 26: Philip Neri, priest (1515-1595), is known as the "Apostle of Rome." A Florentine who was educated by the Dominicans, he re-evangelized Roe by establishing confraternities of laymen to minister to pilgrims and the sick in hospitals. He founded the Oratorians when he gathered a sufficient following because of his spiritual wisdom.
This Week in Jesuit History
·         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. ·         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) dies, the first Chinese Jesuit priest. 

It is my conviction that slight shifts in imagination have more impact on living than major effects at change... Everything associated with the heart - relationships, emotion, passion - can only be grasped and appreciated with the tools of religion and poetry.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

The one thing we owe absolutely to God is never to be afraid of anything.

Click to Enlarge

Since happiness is nothing other than the enjoyment of the highest good and since the highest good is above, we cannot be made happy unless we rise above ourselves, not by an ascent of the body, but of the heart. But we cannot rise above ourselves unless a higher power lifts us up.

Click to Enlarge

Hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves so that he who gives himself totally to you may receive you totally.

Click to Enlarge

If suffering did not occur, how would endurance be achieved? Suffering plants the vine of endurance, endurance brings forth the grape of proof that we have stood the test, and this proof produces the wine of hope, and hope makes the heart rejoice because it beholds the happiness that is to come as if it were at hand.

Click to Enlarge

Just as God is compassionate toward you in a threefold way, so ought you to show compassion toward others is three ways. God's compassion is gracious, spacious, and precious. God's compassion is gracious, that is, grace-filled, because it purifies the soul of vice.... God's compassion is spacious because with the passage of time it extends itself to good works.... God's compassion is precious in the joys of eternal life.

Click to Enlarge

May 13, 2012Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; Psalm 98; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17
                Peter's major worldview shift in the Acts of the Apostles reminds us that we need to assess our faith-based parameters to deal with today's social issues. Peter begins by pointing to the risen Jesus as the source of his power and authority. He does not credit himself but points to his faith in the God as the source of his good works. He tells the assembled group that God shows no partiality since God is the creator of all life. God cares for all creatures equally, but likes when we acknowledge him as protector and care-taker.                     Peter's proclamation is revolutionary because he believes that salvation comes from the Jews and is for the Jews alone because they are God's chosen people. His whole life's teaching is challenged by his acceptance of Paul's influence about Gentiles who are admitted to the ranks of believers. A faithful Jews sees a Gentile as impure and defiled and certainly uneducated in the Scriptures, the Law, and the Prophets. A Gentile is a foreigner who can never understand the depths of religion, and Jews possess a deeply-ingrained disdain for them. Peter's act of obedience to his moral conscience transforms the life of the believers. If God shows no partiality, no cultural restrictions can be imposed on non-Jews. Certainly, many Jews and Gentiles are uncomfortable with this new alliance, but they realize they belong to the same family of God. Salvation can be extended to all who profess belief in the Lord.
          Peter's action is certainly bold. When reason and rightness tells his conscience to do one thing, he finds his religious tradition at odds with his more enlightened beliefs. One gift of the Second Vatican Council is its emphasis on the primacy of conscience. No one is expect to betray his or her informed conscience, but one has a duty to form and develop it. This means wrestling with all sides of a socially complex situation. It respects authority while questioning the reasons that originally led to a particular teaching. Peter shows us that Christ is in charge of the faith. The Spirit will lead the faithful ones to glorify God.
          The Spirit tends towards inclusion. Christ mandates us to spread the message of his kingdom to the ends of the earth and to baptize in the Trinity's name. Some among us profess the church will be better with a smaller, purer, more obedient group of followers. Everything in the Gospel points in the other direction. The early Christians provided hospitality and care to anyone who called upon the name of the Lord - even their adversaries. God's charity provides a balm for our petty divisiveness. Today, the Spirit leads many more people to Christ, even some with philosophies that conflict with our own. The church will provide. We do not have to solve all of its problems. Christ is willing to do that. We have to remember that it is his church.
          John's Gospel points to love of God as foundational. It is. We have to work at remaining in God's love. We think of love as easy; in some ways it is, but love demands that we constantly work to honor and esteem the other as we do ourselves. Love is demanding and it always confronts our beliefs. We can learn from Peter who is free enough to alter the course of history. Christ came to set us free. Let's not bind ourselves unnecessarily. Live in freedom and work at loving your neighbor. When our paradigms shift, we will see the Spirit's work in plain sight.
Themes for this Week’s Masses
First Reading: Paul and Barnabas set sail for Philippi, a leading city of Macedonia and a Roman colony. Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, listens to their preaching and opens her heart to them. She is baptized and invites them to stay with her. Paul is brought to the Areopagus in Athens and tells them of the "Unknown God" they worship. This God is the same God as the Christians worship and has brought about salvation, including the resurrection of the dead. This concept unsettles some who find it a difficult teaching to accept. Paul travels to Corinth and meets the Jews, Aquila and Priscilla, who were forced to leave Rome because of Claudius' dispersion edict. He learns the tent-making trade and preaches to Jews who reject him. He encounters Titus Justus and Crispus, a synagogue leader, who come to believe. The entire congregation believes the news of Jesus Christ. While in Corinth, Paul receives a vision from the Lord urging him to go on speaking as no harm will come to him. Others are harmed, but Paul escapes injury. Paul travels to Antioch in Syria. Priscilla and Aquila meet Apollos, a Jewish Christian, who is preaching the way of Jesus, but of the baptism by the Holy Spirit he is not informed. They take him aside and teach him the correct doctrine. He then vigorously refutes the Jews in public, establishing from the Scriptures that the Christ is Jesus.
Gospel:Jesus tells his friends that the Advocate will come and testify to him. Meanwhile, they will be expelled from the synagogues and harmed - even unto death. The Spirit of truth will guide his friends to all truth. Jesus confuses them by saying, "a little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me." As they debate, he tells them their mourning will become joy - just like a woman who is groaning in labor pains. As Jesus tells them again that he is part of the Father, he instructs them to ask for anything in his name and God will grant it for Jesus is leaving the world and going back to the Father. The Father loves them because they have loved him. The Father will reward them for their generosity.
Saints of the Week
May 13: Our Lady of Fatima is a name given to Mary after she appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal between May 13 and October 13, 1917. During her appearances, Mary stressed the importance of repentance, ongoing conversion, and dedicated to the heart of Mary through praying the Rosary.
May 14: Matthias, Apostle (first century) was chosen after the resurrection to replace Judas who committed suicide. In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter, quoting a psalm, told 120 people who gathered that they were to choose a new apostle - someone who had been with them from the baptism of Jesus until the resurrection. Two names were put forward and the assembly cast lots. Matthias was chosen.
May 15: Isidore (1070-1130), was born in Madrid to a family of farm laborers. With his wife, he worked on an estate and became known for his piety and generosity. His remains are the cause of several miracles most notably the cure of King Philip III who became his sponsor for canonization.
May 16: Andrew Bobola, S.J., priest martyr (1591-1657),is called the Martyr of Poland because of his excruciatingly painful death. He worked during a plague to care for the sick, but he became "wanted" by the Cossacks during a time when anti-Catholic and anti-Jesuit sentiment was high. His preaching converted whole villages back to Catholicism and he was hunted down because he was termed a "soul-hunter."
***Please note that the Ascension is celebrated in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Newark, Hartford, and Omaha on Thursday. Most of the world celebrates the feast on  Sunday.
May 17: Ascension Thursday is a holy day of obligation. It marks the event in the life of the Resurrected Christ who departed from this temporal earth to return to God. It celebrates Jesus’ visible absence while recognizing his invisible presence to the world. It is the event in the life of Christ when his physical appearances came to an end so he could resume his place at the right hand of the Father in heaven. St. Ignatius was so desirous of learning about the historical Jesus that he traveled to the places in the Holy Lands where Jesus walked and lived. As he was getting kicked out of the Holy Lands, he desired to return to the place of the Ascension to see the direction of Jesus’ feet as he ascended to God. A novena is prayed beginning on this day as we await the arrival of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
May 18: John I, pope and martyr (d. 526), was a Tuscan who became pope under the rule of Theodoric the Goth, an Arian. Theodoric opposed Emperor Justin I in Constantinople who persecuted Arians. John was sent to Justin to end the persecutions. He returned to great glory, but Theodoric was not satisfied, though Justin met all his demands. John was imprisoned and soon died because of ill treatment.
This Week in Jesuit History
·         May 13, 1572. Election of Gregory XIII to succeed St Pius V. To him the Society owes the foundation of the Roman and German Colleges. ·         May 14, 1978. Letter of Pedro Arrupe to the whole Society on Inculturation. ·         May 15, 1815. Readmission of the Society into Spain by Ferdinand VII. The members of the Society were again exiled on July 31, 1820. ·         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.