"Sacred Heart Of Jesus, I Give My Life To You."

Admiral Jeremiah Denton blinking in Morse Code "torture"

Admiral Jeremiah Denton knew the one he served and the one he served did not let him down. He served the Sacred Heart of Jesus. You can see a video of him that is in the national archives. Just click on "Contents" and scroll down to the last entry under "Scenes from Hell." He was shot down over North Vietnam on July 18, 1965 and wasn't released until February 17, 1973. Of his almost eight years in prison, he spent four of them in solitary confinement. The video shows him being interviewed by a reporter in North Vietnam. All during the interview he blinked his eyes in a way that seemed strange to those who later saw the footage. His blinks were Morse Code and spelled out the word "torture."

How did Admiral Denton survive? Fr. Jim Willig, in his book about his struggle with cancer, "Lessons from the School of Suffering," quoted Admiral Denton :

When I was in prison in Vietnam in solitary confinement, my captor would continually torture me. One day I was tied to a rack. A young soldier was ordered to torture me and break me. During this torture, when I honestly felt I was at my breaking point, a beautiful prayer came instantly to my mind, even though I wasn't praying. The prayer was "Sacred Heart of Jesus, I give my life to you." So, I prayed that prayer over and over again. The more I prayed it, the more I felt I truly was giving my life to the Lord. Then this peace came over me like a warm blanket, and I no longer felt pain--only peace. The soldier torturing me saw this transformation in my face and stopped his torture. He went to his commanding officer and said, "I'm sorry. I can't do this." And they let me go back to my cell. From that day on, I continued to use that prayer of peace, "Sacred Heart of Jesus, I give my life to you."

I talked with Admiral Denton about this and he said that what struck him as unusual is that he had learned prayers to the Sacred Heart as a child and they all used the word "thee," but the prayer that came to his mind out of the blue used the more familiar "you."

Admiral Denton gave his life to the Sacred Heart who did not let him down. Now we will declare whom we will serve. We will give our lives, our love, our all to the Sacred Heart of Jesus who gave His life, His love, His all to us. We will consecrate ourselves to both the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary because these two Hearts beat as one for the salvation of everyone. We want our hearts to beat as one with their Hearts.

Link (here) to the full post by Fr. James Kubicki, S.J. his blog is entitled Offer It Up!

Blogger Note: Admiral Denton attended the Jesuit's Spring Hill College in Alabama

Jesuit From Bagladesh On St. Ignatius of Loyola

Ever since I joined the Jesuits, he has become my ‘FATHER’. The more I read about him or listen to someone about him he becomes more real to me. 

I am fascinated by his spirituality, philosophy and idealism of life. I have encountered a number of Jesuits, who have lived out or are living out the life of St Ignatius.

Link (here) to the Jesuit Scholastic Ripon Rosario's full blog post on St.Ignatius, his blog is entitled Ripon Speaks.

Religious Community

As a member of an apostolic religious community, I am always particularly amazed by my counterpart in the Church: the monastics: the men and women throughout the world who haven chosen to follow Christ within the walls of their cloister or monastery. You have probably already heard of some of these groups. They have names like the Benedictines, Carmelites, Trappists, Augustinians, and Carthusians. By the time the Jesuits were starting to traverse the globe, most of these monastic groups were already considered by their contemporary society to be ancient ways of life. Yet despite their long heritage (or should I say, because of it?), each generation of the Church's monks and nuns continue to passionately follow Christ according to the specific teachings and habits laid out by their group's founder.

Link (here) to the blog entitled Two by Two the author is Mr. Sean Michael Powers, S.J. a scholastic

The Message

I'm giving a weeklong retreat to thirteen of the Sisters. It's a retreat I haven't given in a few years and it's based on the 33 invocations in the Litany of the Sacred Heart. On almost every Sunday at noon the Pope, wherever he is--at home in St. Peter's Square or at his summer home at Castel Gandalfo or on the road somewhere--prays the Angelus with the faithful. But before doing so, he gives a little message. At various times from 1985 to 1989, Pope John Paul spoke about the invocations of the Sacred Heart Litany. His Angelus Message on Sunday, July 1, 1984 was entitled "In the Heart of Christ there is a synthesis of all the mysteries of our faith." And in his Angelus Message of June 27, 1982 he said: "This prayer, recited and meditated, becomes a true school of the interior life, the school of the Christian." 

Link (here) to the blog entitled, Offer It Up by Fr. James Kubiki, S.J.

Holy Week And Easter Break

I am taking a little time off,  

I will return to active blogging on Divine Mercy Sunday April 11th. 

These are a few Jesuit sites of note

Blogs

The City and the World

The Spiritual Exercises blog

Offer it up

In Alle Dingen 
Faith of a Centurion 
Słowo w Sieci
Fr. Brian Van Hove's Blog 
The Journey of a Bishop

Websites

Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J.
Fr. Rodney Kissinger, S.J.
Tulay ng Kabataan
New Jesuit Review 

I Will Serve Under The Banner Of Jesus Christ

This is the Christian battle cry, it is the simple decision one must choose at every crossroad of ones life. Jesuit Deacon Kevin Dyer, S.J. (has posted on St. Ignatius' spiritual exercise, The Two Standards. Here is an excerpt from Deacon Kevin's post. 

St. Ignatius—the former soldier—was particularly sensitive to the constant battle being waged within the world between the God who created us with dignity and the forces of evil which look to pervert that dignity to selfish ends.  Human beings either praise, reverence, and serve God—thus becoming who they were created to be—or they follow a lie and begin to break themselves down in the core of their being.  In this meditation we imagine these opposed paths of life as two armies encamped against each other, led by Christ on one hand, and Satan, the prince of lies, on the other.  The grace we are seeking is first, a knowledge of Satan’s ways so that we can guard against them, and second, a knowledge of Christ’s so that we can more easily follow His path.

Link (here) to read the full post at The Spiritual Exercises Blog.
Painting of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ by Meister von Meßkirch

Ignatian Resources

David Paternostro, S.J. recently posted this list of great Ignatian resource on prayer. At the Jesuit authored Spiritual Exercises blog.


Making Choices in Christ: The Foundations of Ignatian Spirituality by Fr. Joseph Tetlow, S.J.
Ignatius Loyola: Spiritual Exercises by Fr. Joseph Tetlow, S.J.
Meditation and Contemplation: An Ignatian Guide to Prayer With Scripture by Fr. Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V.
Armchair Mystic: Easing Into Contemplative Prayer by Fr. Mark Thibodeaux, S.J.
A Pilgrim’s Journey: The Autobiography of St. Ignatius Loyola
The website for the Apostleship of Prayer: http://www.apostleshipofprayer.org/
John Brown, S.J.’s website, Companion of Jesus (especially the section “Jesuit Review”): http://companionofjesus.com/
“Seasoned Spirituality”, daily reflections by Fr. Rodney Kissinger, S.J.: http://ignatiusresidence.org/blog/ 

Read the full post (here)

Are You Ready To Die?

Just claiming to be a Christian and to be a follower of Jesus is not enough.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (Mt. 7: 21)

Jesus further warns that we must be constantly alert.  Death and judgment will come unexpectedly.  “Two women will be grinding at the mill.  One will be taken, and one will be left.  Therefore, stay awake!  For you do not know at what hour your Lord will come.” (Mt. 24:41-42).  There is no explanation why one woman was taken from this life and one was left.  Up until the moment it happened, there was no reason why it should.  None of us knows when we will die and go before the Lord, so each of us must constantly ask the question: am I ready to die?

Link (here) to the full post by Mr. David Paternostro, S.J. entitled, Death and Judgment: In Light of Eternity at the Jesuit authored Spiritual Exercises blog. 

Drawing of "Two Women Grinding at the Mill"

This Exercise Is Suited To Every Description Of Persons, And To All Seasons And Times.

St. Ignatius includes five “points”, or steps, to go over as one prays the Examen.

1. “to give thanks to God our Lord for favors received”
2. “to ask for grace to know my sins, and to rid myself of them.”
3. “to demand an account of my soul from the time of rising [or the time of the previous Examen if it is your second of the day] up to the present examination. I should go over one hour after another, one period after another.”
4. “to ask pardon of God our Lord for my faults.”
5. “to resolve to amend with the grace of God.”

Link (here) to Scholastic John Brown, S.J. at the Jesuit group blog aptly named, the Spiritual Exercises blog, his post is entitled, the Examination of Conscience.

A Jesuit Lenten Blog "The Spiritual Exercises"

The Spiritual Exercises blog! Is a blog collaboration between David Paternostro, S.J., John Brown, S.J., Deacon Kevin Dyer, S.J., and Fr. Chris Collins, S.J. In it, they offer daily reflections over the course of Lent based on the prayers proposed by St. Ignatius Loyola, S.J., in his Spiritual Exercises. By Easter, one who has followed these reflections regularly will have a basic introduction to the whole of the Spiritual Exercises.

Each post will have roughly the same format. It will begin with a grace to ask the Lord for as you begin your time of prayer and reflection. Then, it will provide a text for prayer, either from the Scriptures or the Spiritual Exercises. After this will come the main part of the post, a reflection based on a prayer from the Exercises. Then, questions or a prayer that will help you reflect with greater depth how the day’s reflection applies to your own relationship with God. Having read the reflection and gone over the questions, you might then want to use the day’s text for further prayer, using your imagination to enter into the scene depicted.

As you read these daily reflections to grow in your relationship with the Lord, you should feel free to use as much or as little as you need, and spend as much or as little time as you can allow. If you simply wish to take five minutes to read the reflection of the day, that will be five minutes well spent. If you wish to spend 30 minutes and use the reflection, the questions, and the texts, that too, is fine. Likewise with anything in between, or even more time in prayer if you so desire. The ultimate goal of this blog is to help anyone who reads it to grow in their love for God our Lord, and to better discern His will in their daily lives. We would encourage you to let that goal of growing in the love of God be the one measure you use to determine how much or how little you make use of the materials provided here, and how much or how little time you spend in prayer.

Let all things be Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam- for the greater glory of God!

Go to the blog (here)

Engraving of St. Ignatius of Loyola at Manresa (here)

Snowed In At St. Joseph's University

"Jesuit Joe" at The City and the World has some great
"Snow Pics" of St. Joseph's University
(here)

The Word "Gaydar" Should Never Appear Anywhere At The Flagship Jesuit Magazine America

The American Principles Project (APP), founded by conservative Catholic professor Robbie George, seems to have an inordinate fixation on gay people. In dealing with presidential appointments and, now, with the President’s promise to end "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell," Professor George’s organization betrays a bigotry that is at the very least unseemly in a tenured professor.

Link (here) to the entire and ridiculous opinion editorial piece by Sean Michael Winters, his title is Professor George's Gaydar.

The meaning of Gaydar (here)

Jesuit On Exceptions And Rules

It might be a little late to write a post on the March for Life this year, but I feel that as a blog made up of Jesuit writers, we have to take every opportunity we can get to clear up the name of at least many Jesuits.

The Society of Jesus is pro-life. There are some Jesuits who are not

, such as the late Robert Drinan. But that is the exception, not the rule.

Link (here) to the full blog post by Nathan O'Halloran, S.J. at the blog entitled Whosoever Desires

Jesuit On Cyberspace

In his message for the Roman Catholic Church's World Day of Communication, Pope Benedict said "Priests are thus challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources -- images, videos, animated features, blogs, Web sites...

" That's not to say that priests aren't already on the Web. "If people live in cyberspace then the Church ought to be in cyberspace" says Father Brian Paulson S.J. a Jesuit priest in Chicago.

Paulson will soon head up a community of about 80 priests and seminarians, some of whom blog, and one of his concerns with the Pope's mandate is quality.

Link (here) to ultra-lefty NCR

Jesuit On Johnny Cash

I remember paging through a book of collected photographs and articles about Johnny Cash which Rolling Stone issued shortly after the country music icon died in 2003.

One of the authors described how we shall never have another Johnny Cash because the cultural conditions that could create a Johnny Cash

—hand-picking cotton in the Southern sun, cross-country train rides, rugged stone prisons—no longer exist.

Link (here) to the full post by Vincent L. Strand, S.J. entitled Cotton Fields and Latin Manuals at Whosoever Desires

Fr. James Kubicki, S.J. On Living In The Sacred Heart Of Jesus

From Monday to Friday of this past week I was in Hamden, Connecticut, at Mount Sacred Heart, the provincial house of a group of Sisters called the Apostles of the Sacred Heart.

I first visited the Mount a few years ago when I gave the Sisters a retreat based on the Litany of the Sacred Heart. This time I was there to give a talk on Monday night at the Caritas Christi Center "Living the Eucharist," and to give classes about the Sacred Heart to the Sisters in formation. From Tuesday through Thursday, for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon, I talked about the Sacred Heart. We began by discussing the meaning and importance of the heart and the symbol of the heart in contemporary culture. Then we talked about the the importance of a heart-centered spirituality and the Scriptural basis for talking about the Heart of God. From the Bible through the Patristic era and the Middle Ages, to St. Margaret Mary and the present, we looked at the history of devotion to the Heart of Jesus. We concluded by talking about how to practice devotion to the Sacred Heart today: the meaning of reparation, the role of lectio divina, the Eucharist and living the Eucharist in our daily lives.

It was a good opportunity for me to pull together a lot of things about the Sacred Heart and I'm hoping that the recordings we made of the classes will turn out so that I can share my thoughts on this devotion which Pope Benedict has called "indispensable for a living relationship with God" and of "an irreplaceable importance for our faith and for our life in love" (see his May 15, 2006 letter marking the 50th anniversary of Pope Pius XII's encyclical Haurietis Aquas:

Link (here) to the full post by Fr. James Kubicki, S.J. , his post is called, Mount Sacred Heart, his blog is entitled Offer It Up.

A Jesuit And The Elephant Crossing

How many Jesuits have to watch for elephants as they go about their business? This picture is from the Jesuit authored blog entitled, In the Crosshairs of Providence. Fr. Marty is currently in Dodoma, Tanzania.

I'm a Jesuit priest originally from Toledo, Ohio. I've started this blog as a way to share with friends and family what it means to be caught in the crosshairs of providence.

Fr. Marty Connell, SJ

Jesuit On Ignatian Speak And Proper Conclusions

Below is testimony on Ignatius of Loyola by Louis Da Câmara Conçalves S. J. met Ignatius in Rome. He has long lived with Ignatius in Rome. In his Memoirs he describes how concrete Ignatius lived and worked. The following quote is about the art of conversation.

February 26, 1555

The Father speaks thus: he limited himself to mention the cases, in very few words. He does not comment on things. He confined himself to telling.Thus he gives the opportunity to those who listen to him to think for themselves and to decide to withdraw from the premises, thus convincing him admirably, without any preference for one or the other to show. He limits himself to an easy way to tell.

His art consists in that it touches all the key points that can convince him and all ancillary leave aside, as he deemed appropriate. His conversational style is associated with such divine gifts it really difficult to describe.

Link (here) to the original post at the great Jesuit blog In Alle Dignen, by the Jesuit, Fr. Nicholas Sintobin S.J. , from the Netherlands. Put this blog in your "bookmarks"

New Jesuit Blog

National Jesuit News, highlights the coming and goings of Jesuits in today's headlines.

In The Crosshairs Of Providence: Fr. Marty Connell, SJ

This is from a new Jesuit blogger, Fr. Marty Connell, S.J. Fr. Marty has found himself in Dodoma, Tanzania. His blog In the Crosshairs of Providence is like no other.

Here is a post I like in particular.

28 Years

It was twenty-eight years ago that I entered the Society of Jesus with 14 others. Many of the fifteen of us remain, beating the statistics re: perseverance in religious life/priesthood.

I don't have a lot of memories of our entrance day except this one -- forgive me, Jim O'Leary, SJ, for telling it.

Jim took a long puff on a cigarette before going into a Mass for us and our parents/families. He was standing with his parents, my mom, my Aunt Rita, and me. After taking that puff, he exclaimed as he flicked the butt into the flower pot (such was done in those days!), "Well, that's my last cigarette." Chapter Two of this vignette takes place after Mass. My mother, my aunt, and I were standing outside, and Jim came up to us: "Mrs. Connell, can I bum a cigarette."

Incidentally, Jim, whom I haven't seen in some years, remains among the top five funniest Jesuits I know. An example of his wit: In theological studies preparing for ordination there was a decree from the superior of the scholastics that under no circumstance were they to step foot in a bar. Jim, a good Irish lad known to step foot in a pub now and again, was heard to say on the way out of the meeting where this was decreed (so it was reported), "Any establishment that sells a bag of chips is a restaurant in my mind."


Happy Anniversary classmates!


Usiku mwema. (Good night)

Link (here) to the original post.