SG #30 Alludes To The Fact That The Japanese Mission Over The Last Fifty Years Is A Failure

Fr. Nicolás says he is also ready to face apparent failures. Following the second world war, the Jesuits were convinced that Japan was fertile ground for a great missionary expansion.

For this reason, they sent top-notch personnel to the country. But the massive conversions to the Catholic faith didn't happen.

Japan is not the only crucial frontier for Christianity in Asia. But in any case, it is coming under increasing attention from the Church of Rome. A sign of this attention will come on November 24, 2008, with the beatification in Nagasaki of the Jesuit Peter Kibe Kasui and his 187 companions, martyred between 1603 and 1639.

Link to a lengthy and compelling article in Chiesa Espresso (here)

Fr. Eduardo Hontiveros S.J. "Rest In Peace"

Fr. Eduardo Hontiveros S.J.

By Teodoro Bacani Jr.
Mabunga, not mabongga (productive, not ostentatious) is how I would characterize the late Fr. Eduardo Hontiveros S.J., who died on Jan. 14, and whose mortal remains were buried last Saturday. As if to confirm this assessment, one newspaper write-up on him began with the words, “While his name may not ring a bell, his music certainly does” (Beverly Trinidad).
At the funeral mass, Fr. Catalino Arevalo S.J., a classmate of his who had known him for 57 years, made a homily which was a moving tribute to the man Jesuits called “Eddie,” and whom we, San Jose Seminary alumni, called “Father Honti.” Father Arevalo structured his homily around three points: (1) Father Honti’s joy and song, (2) his goodness and gentleness, and (3) his suffering.
Father Honti was indeed a happy man. His happiness showed in his whole body and demeanor, his face, his smile, his laughter. You felt good when Father Honti was around. When he and Father Arevalo came from their doctoral studies to teach theology in San Jose Seminary, they introduced a new way of being professors. They mingled with us, their students, during break time and recreation. They came down from their ivory towers to share with us their humanity. When we gathered around Father Arevalo, we had serious talk, usually. But with Father Honti there was much laughter. He was a person who was always “light on the soul” (if I may borrow a phrase from Ambassador Tita de Villa).
You can feel this joy in his compositions. “When the heart is happy, it sings,” said St. Augustine. Father Honti not only sang. He composed songs which our people have been singing happily for many years. According to Father Arevalo, he composed 400 songs, and some of them at short notice when needed for an important occasion. “Pananagutan” is perhaps his most recognizable song, but it is likely that the Filipino songs you sing at mass are his compositions. Father Gil Alinsangan SSP, commented that through his songs, he has had even greater effect on our people than many preachers and writers. “Imagine how many millions have sung his songs,” Father Gil added. And indeed, how many! Father Arevalo said that Filipinos have sung his songs in Iceland (!) and in Rome as well as in other foreign lands.
His goodness and gentleness was so common and routine to him that you were not so much awed by him as touched by him. Bishop Nes Ongtioco of Cubao shared with me an example of how he kept his cool even when one of the seminarians (in the turbulent ’70s when Father Honti was San Jose Seminary rector) demonstrated outside one of the classrooms. He took him gently by the shoulders, led him away, and talked to him like a father. When I searched my memory files for any incident when I saw Father Honti lose his temper, I could recall none. He showed the gentle power of simple goodness, not only by his equanimity but by sharing with others gladly and quickly what he had.
His sufferings. Father Honti suffered a stroke 17 years ago, from which he never fully recovered. As Father Ferriols said, in his homily during the first mass for Father Honti, Father Honti loved to talk, and he could no longer talk. He loved to sing, but he could no longer sing. But he kept his smile and his laughter. Strangely, but fittingly enough, it was his sufferings that showed the quality of Father Honti’s faith, hope and love. I have known of great churchmen growing cranky when illness stopped them in their tracks. But Father Honti was like gold purified by the fire of his illness. One fellow Jesuit, Fr. Bill McGarry, who is in charge of the Jesuit tertians here in the Philippines, said to me, “Even if he had never composed any song, he would be for me one of the best Jesuits I have known, because of the way he conducted himself in his illness.” If the quality of our humanity and our Christianity is shown best in times of adversity, Father Honti showed us by the serenity of his love in times of prolonged illness the deep humanity and Christian faith from which his songs emanated.
At the end of the funeral mass last Saturday, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo conferred posthumously the Presidential Medal of Merit on Fr. Eduardo Hontiveros S.J. While the congregation appreciated the award and showed its appreciation by giving Father Honti a standing ovation, we can be confident that he had been given a much higher award by the Merciful Savior. Perhaps they might even have already held a concert of all his songs sung by the angelic choir in tribute to his fruitfulness as God’s faithful servant who helped us sing God’s praises with his songs.

Link (here)

The Thirteenth Rule

Obedience: SJ’s and OP’s
January 22, 2008
Posted by Fr. Joseph A. Komonchak
Two of the best known, not to say notorious (undeniable) , statements about obedience come from the authoritative texts of the Society of Jesus. The thirteenth rule for thinking with the Church reads: “To be right in everything, we ought always to hold that the white which I see, is black, if the Hierarchical Church so decides it, believing that between Christ our Lord, the Bridegroom, and the Church, His Bride, there is the same Spirit which governs and directs us for the salvation of our souls. Because by the same Spirit and our Lord Who gave the ten Commandments, our holy Mother the Church is directed and governed.” (I sometimes wonder whether this statement did not in its own way contribute to what Yves Congar called “the incredible inflation” of the magisterium especially that of the Pope, in the modern era.)
In his letter to the present General Congregation, Pope Benedict, speaking of Jesuit obedience, evoked the phrase "perinde ac si cadaver essent" . Here is the paragraph of the Jesuit Constitutions in which the phrase appears: “Let holy obedience, in execution, in the will, and in the intellect, be always utterly perfect in us; let us obey with great promptness, spiritual joy, and perseverance whatever may be commanded of us, persuading ourselves that all things are just, and by a blind obedience giving up our own contrary opinion or judgment; this applies to whatever things are commanded by the Superior, unless it can be shown that some kind of sin is involved. Let everyone persuade himself that those who live under obedience must let themselves be led and ruled by divine providence through their superiors, as if they were a corpse which allows itself to be carried here and there and treated in any way, or like an old man’s cane which permits itself to be used anywhere and in any way that the man who holds it wishes.”

Read Fathers full article in Commonwheel (here)

More on Cardinal Yves Conger (here) , (here) and (here)

More on Fr. Joseph A. Komonchak (here) , (here) and (here)

Tower of Fanatics

Just read this.

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Fellow Jesuit provides profile of new superior general
Father Juan Masia, S.J.
Madrid, Jan 23, 2008 / 02:08 am (CNA).- In an article written for the Spanish daily “La Verdad” in the city of Murcia, Fr. Juan Masia, SJ, who worked in Japan with the newly elected Jesuit superior general, offered a personal profile of Fr. Adolfo Nicolas. Masia points out in his article that the election of Father Nicolas as superior general of the Jesuits “was foreseen years ago and it is no surprise to many Jesuits.”

“With the news of the election I received flood of emails asking for information about him. I have been silent for an entire day; I did not want to endanger him with enthusiastic praise that would stir up the anger of those who sit waiting with a shotgun to fire against hope from the tower of fanatics.

But tonight, I have made a decision,” Father Masia said. Writing from Japan, he stressed that the “news of the election of Father Nicolas, who for years was seen as a future superior general, has given great joy to the Society and was no surprise to those who awaited it and desired it for a long time. When Father Arrupe wanted to retire for reasons of age, before he became ill, there was already talk of Father Nicolas as a possible successor: open, but balanced; prophetic, but obedient; bold, but discerning.” “But, as John Paul II continued to live on, many people thought: ‘Father Nicolas’ time has passed’,” he added. “He speaks Catalan, English, French, Italian, Japanese and German,” said Father Masia,

“in these times of turning black the clock in the Vatican, the election of somebody like him to lead the Society is reason for much gratitude.”

“Those who know him closely know the trials he has endured with peace, elegance and faith. He knows Asia very well and Asia knows him,” Father Masia added. “Father Nicolas has been the provincial superior of the Jesuits in Japan. He has emphasized enculturation, the option for the poor, inter-religious dialogue, the protection of life and the environment, the inseparability of faith and the promotion of justice…and he is welcoming to very diverse people.” Father Masia also revealed that the new superior general

“was not rector of the Gregorian, even though Father Kolvenbach wanted him
to take the post, because the idea was vetoed by cardinals of a conservative bent.”

“His election undoubtedly was a step which the electors thought and prayed to God about, and they were careful not to campaign for him beforehand,” Father Masia noted. “It is said that he who enters a the conclave Pope comes out a cardinal, as has occurred with some of the candidates promoted on the internet by people outside the Society, but interested in seeing it reverse course.” Father Masia also said in his article that “since the Holy See still wants the superior to be elected for life, the Society has elected a 71 year-old, who will not be in office for more than approximately 12 years.” “Therefore I congratulate the Church of Vatican II, the Society, future vocations, but I do not congratulate him, although neither do I send him my condolences,” Father Masia wrote in conclusion.

Link (here)

The Day Von Hildebrand Came To Loyola Marymount Los Angeles

"When Küng and Von Hildebrand Came to Loyola"

Posted by Pertinacious Papist at 7:28 PM
Here is a truly amazing article on the respective visits by Hans Küng and Dietrich von Hildebrand to Loyola University of Los Angeles (now Loyola Marymount University) in the 1970-71 academic year, as related by Michael Healy of Franciscan University, who was a student there at the time, "When Küng and Von Hildebrand Came to Loyola"

(Insidecatholic.com, January 17, 2008). What is particularly fascinating is the respective receptions the two guests received and the impressions they left. Influenced by the prevailing opinions at the liberal Jesuit Marymount at the time, Healy writes:

Imagine my surprise, then, when I happily went to see the great Küng -- before whom the red carpet had been unrolled, before whom the Jesuits bowed and scraped, hoping they were making a good impression, hoping that they would be seen as avant-garde as the leading European thinkers -- and instead had one of the most negative reactions to any person I have met in my life. The look on his face, the tone of his voice, the way he held himself, the manner of his response to questions, all combined to give me the most powerful impression of someone immensely pleased with himself, actually encouraging those around him to flatter him (and they happily obliged). The main point of his talk seemed to be that everything that ails either the Catholic or the protestant churches would be solved if they would only listen to Hans Küng. By the end of Küng's talk, I was extremely suspicious of his view of the Church, and therefore of the prevailing "Jesuit" view at Loyola. I was beginning to think that my own insights might be worth something, compared with those of the crowd. For this important step toward maturity, I shall be forever grateful to Hans Küng. However, it wasn't until I went to hear the von Hildebrands -- despite Jesuit disapproval -- that all of this really fell into place in a positive way....[Dietrich von
Hildebrand] stood up . . . and spoke passionately and lovingly of Christ and the Church, using phrases I had not heard since grammar school, like "the Holy Roman Catholic Church." I was left several impressions that came together almost immediately. First, here was someone who really believed, who humbly accepted revelation from God. He was not intent on figuring out how to get around Church teachings but on how to live them. Secondly, here was someone who really loved Christ and the Church with all his heart. He was full of gratitude for the Church, for its authority, its teachings, its sacraments. He was not resentful of the Church or her authority. Third, here was a true apostle, proclaiming the truth -- rather than his own truth -- in season and out of season, ready to stand joyfully with Christ and the Church even when human opinion showered him with ridicule. . . . Finally, here was someone full of joy and hope, despite his deep sorrow over and reasoned critique of what was going on in the Church.

Link and thank you to Musings of a Pertinacious Papist post (here)

Father Klovenbach, Prays The Rosary

Gratitude for good leadership
Monday means not just the start of a new week, but also the start of the second half of the general congregation now that we have a new Superior General. Yesterday we had a grand celebration and Mass of Thanksgiving at the Gesù. The opening Mass in the same church seemed like so long ago, even though it was just 13 days earlier that the electors were greeting each other loudly and a buzz of energy and anticipation ran though the corridor where the vested priests waited to start the liturgy.

Sunday’s Mass, by contrast, was much calmer, maybe even more prayerful. People were thankful for and pleased with the choice of Adolfo Nicolás to lead the Society. I was privileged to witness a simple ceremony that took place before the liturgy started. Father General and a dozen priests climbed up the stairs from the sacristy to the rooms of St. Ignatius, where he had composed the Constitutions for the newly approved Society of Jesus.

In Ignatius bedroom, the very spot where he died and where the first congregation to pick his successor took place, Father Nicolás was ceremonially presented with a copy of the Constitutions and the Complementary Norms and exhorted to devote his energies to fulfilling their spirit and guiding us to follow them. Then he returned to the sacristy and went out into the small plaza in front of the church to come in at the end of the entrance procession. Less than two weeks before he walked out of the same door, one of over 200 electors in a long file of priests all vested in the same alb and stole. Except for his Jesuit friends, he enjoyed a sort of anonymity in Rome, so far from Japan where he worked for many years.

Yesterday he walked out the door into a phalanx of video and still cameras, all the journalists waiting to get their own picture of a suddenly important church leader. Of course, Father Nicolás remained calm and unperturbed by the attention. He went in and impressed me by preaching in Italian, no mean feat if you do not live here all the time.

It’s true he mixed some Spanish words in with the Italian, but I am not complaining since I do that all the time. He was very pastoral and direct in his homily, very clear. He commented on all the nations represented by the Jesuit electors around him, and he urged us to remember the new “nation” made up of the poor whom we must remember and serve. His warmth came out very clearly in the homily, and even more in the reception for all the Jesuits in the city after the Mass.

A Jesuit who had known him in Korea years ago remarked that Father Nicolás has “contagious courtesy.” That was clear to all of us. His courage and keen insight are also clear; he was elected the secretary to lead the work of the last general congregation, so his leadership abilities are well known.

I discovered that last week when he dropped into my office and asked me to fix his email account; many people get grumpy when their email does not work. He could not have been more polite and unassuming. He was the same way in Manila when I visited there a few years ago soon after he took the position as head of the provincials’ conference for East Asia and Oceanea. He was even endlessly patient this morning at our photo-op on the roof. Don Doll set up two cameras on a scaffold so he could get all the faces of the whole group of electors. Then we took a picture of the new Father General with delegates from each assistancy. Then the preparatory commission…on and on it went. He was much patient than I was, so I finally told all the photo-takers that it was time to go. Then Don and I took him into my painting studio, which is a separate room up on the roof. Don had a strobe lighting setup with backdrop all set up. Father General followed all Don’s directions, better than most men do.

Earlier I had taken Father Kolvenbach into the same room to get out of the cold while he waited to be called for a portrait with the planning commission in which he had participated. He was surprised that I am a painter and wanted to see the paintings I have stacked up in storage.

I was happy to show him a few then I scooted back to help Don. When I came back to get him for the photo, Father Kolvenbach was quietly praying the rosary. How fortunate we are in both these men, the one who has led us so well and the one who is now taking up mantle.

Link to Fr. Tom Rochfords GC 35 Blog (here)

Black Pope, White Pope

Father General began his homily (delivered in good, clear Italian) with a disclaimer. He was not intending his words as a message to the whole world, but simply as a reflection on the readings of the day by a fellow Christian.

He also made it clear that the popular reference to the Jesuit general as the black pope vis-à-vis the white pope was both superficial and unreal.

He then reminded us, as did Benedict in his noon-time homily, that we are in the octave of church unity. His jumping off point was the first verse of the reading from Isaiah, “The Lord said to me: You are my servant.” We are all servants of the word, he said, and as such we are to welcome all people to the dialogue essential to forging unity, especially by embracing the millions of the voiceless—the poor, disenfranchised, and marginalized in our cultures. Certainly it is too early to say what will be the hallmark of Adolfo Nicolás’s generalate, but this theme has been close to his heart for many years. I have no doubt that he will emphasize it.

Link to Fr. David G. Schultenover, S.J. full piece on SG #30 homily (here)

Jesuit On Co-ed Sexual Ethics

Transformative Love

A Catholic education ought to be about answering the eternal question “What is love?” Too few young adults know that the church’s teaching on sex is about wholeness and integration or, in other words, chastity. All they have heard is that the church loudly says “NO!”, while wagging a pointed finger. The truth is the church says, “Yes!” to truly transformative love and life-giving sex. Sex and all else that is holistically human and thus deeply divine ought to be for love, for true and lasting love. Love demands all of us. Sex demands true and ultimate concern for another person, thus the church teaches that sex be reserved for marriage.

Sex as an expression and logical consequence of committed love is much more like prayer than it is like a simple bodily function. When sex resembles prayer there is a worshipful silence about the encounter.

Silent and listen are spelled with the same letters. Let’s challenge and help our young people to slow down, be quiet and listen with their hearts to hear the deeper and challenging message of Jesus. Hopefully, we will all learn to discern the whisperings of God in our relationships, and then we will again discover love.

Link to Fr. Rick Malloy's full BustedHalo piece (here)

Sex mentioned 7 times, Jesus 0

Spanish Bishop To SG #30

President of Spanish bishops congratulates new Jesuit superior general
Madrid, Jan 21, 2008 / 12:32 pm (CNA).- The president of the Bishops’ Conference of Spain, Bishop Ricardo Blazquez, sent a letter of congratulations to the Society of Jesus for the election of Father Adolfo Nicolas of Spain as the new superior general of the Jesuits. “The Society of Jesus has an enormous importance and I congratulate you,” Bishop Blazquez.

“I am sure that together with his companions, in communion with the Holy Father, Father Nicolas will be able to carry ahead the mission that the Lord has entrusted to you,”

he added. Bishop Blazquez recalled that the new superior is from Palencia, a diocese which Bishop Blazquez led from 1992 to 1995. He also quoted St. Teresa of Avila who said that the people of that diocese are “great and noble.”

Link (here)

Jesuit Priest, Speaker At MLK Dinner

URBANA – A black Jesuit priest who hails from East St. Louis told a crowd celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr. that much remains to be accomplished in this country in terms of racial equality and economic justice. "I no longer want to hear about a dream. We should be ashamed," said the Rev. Joseph Brown, professor and director of the Black American Studies program at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and author of several books. The keynote speaker at Sunday evening's 23rd annual King service in the Great Hall at the Krannert Center said at the beginning of his spirited speech that some might not be comfortable with what he had to say. "Why are there 40 million poor people in America?" Brown asked, referring to the number who have no health insurance. Affirmative action has become an unpopular concept, he said. "We never had it, and now we got courts saying we don't need it no more," he said. To those who hold him up as an example of a person from economically depressed East St. Louis who went on to do well, he responds: "I got more relatives, most of whom are uninsured, unemployed and underemployed. I know we have not overcome most of anything." "I am concerned that we have either become depressed, complacent or we continue in our ignorance until it becomes invincible," he said. "I guarantee 90 percent of the people in this room have watched 'American Idol' and not anything on C-Span." King wasn't murdered because he had a dream, Brown said. He was murdered as he tried to win economic justice for garbage haulers in Memphis. Knowing he was a potential murder victim, King continued to work tirelessly, Brown said.

Link to the full article (here)

Indian Salesians On Fr. Nico

New Jesuit General, Friend of Salesians

By C.M. Paul
Kolkata, Jan. 21. The new Jesuit General Adolfo Nicolas SJ (71) elected on second ballot, 19 January was President of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania and former Provincial of Japan. He was part of the General Congregation`s (GC) 15 member preparatory committee along with Indian Fr. Lisbert D`Souza one of four general assistants of Fr. Kolvenbach and regional assistant for South Asia. Fr. Nicolas is now Father General to over 19, 000 Jesuits worldwide, including about 4,000 Jesuits of South Asia. The GC 35 has 43 delegates from South Asia. The first photo of the newly elected General that went around the world had Fr Nicolas draped in a red and black striped Naga Shawl put on him by Provincial of South Asia Fr Hector D`Souza. General Knows the East and the West ``Nico as we call him will be according to me a John XXIII for the Society,`` says Kolkata provincial Fr George Pattery emerging out of the celebrations marking the election of the new General. ``He is a good man and a committed Jesuit who will bring new inspiration and hope for us and the religious family as a whole. He has a soul that pulsates with Asia, including South Asian sensibilities. Nico knows the east and the west,`` he adds. ``Asia has a lot yet to offer to the Church, to the whole Church, but we haven`t done it yet`, says Fr Nicolas. ``Maybe we have not been courageous enough, or we haven`t taken the risks that we should,`` said Fr Nico speaking to the province newsletter about his GC35 hopes last month.

Salesians Hold Fond Memories of Fr Nico Japanese Salesians in Rome Frs. Yosuke Sakai and Naoki Tsujiie attended the General`s thanksgiving Mass and recall his days as a professor of systematic theology at the theology faculty in Sophia University Tokyo for nearly 30 years. Many of them were under his academic expertise and for some he was even the moderator of their thesis Fr Nicolas used his theological expertise for catechetical education of migrants and their children and he wrote books in multilingual edition published by the Salesian publishers, Don Bosco Sha.

During this time some young Salesians were working with him especially for the Japanese-Filipino Youth Program. He was the resource person of the program and he always showed his support for and trust in the Salesian way of educating youth. He used to say, ``Let us trust in the Salesians for they know youth very well!`` A good disciple of St. Ignatius, Fr Nicolas offered spiritual direction to young Salesians on several occasions. Some of them went to him seeking spiritual direction regularly. One Salesian, his former student, describes him as ``Jinkaku-sha`` (man of character) which is a compliment showing the highest admiration in Japan. He is quite far from being rigid and unsociable. Probably those who have come across him would say with one voice: Fr. Nicolas is cordial, generous and most exceptional! So now his Japanese former students say to him in return,`` Let us trust in Fr. Nicolas for he knows human reality very well!``

Congratulations, Fr. Nicholas! Gambatte kudasai! (Best of luck!).``

Send your good wishes to Fr Nico at curgen@sjcuria.org

Link (here)

Photo is of Don Bosco with his students.

Some Wear Clerics, A New Blog By Joe Garcia And Karen Hall

In Light of Recent Developments
I've been thinking lately -- for the last six months or so -- that it might be time to lay this blog to rest. Don't panic if you are a fan. It will be resurrected in a new and better form. I have written and will continue to write about the new Jesuit Superior General over at Some Have Hats. I don't want to write about him here, because in order to be faithful to the declared purpose of this blog, I'd have to post nothing but the "good" news, and I can't do that. Which is my problem with continuing the blog. I started it as an anti-Jesuit-bashing site. I wanted it to be a site that would be merely supportive to Jesuits and their fans. And it's possible to be that, as I think we have demonstrated. But it's not how I want to spend my very limited spare time any more. I want to zoom in and make the focus even smaller. I want to maintain a blog that will support the efforts of (and the fans of) the Jesuits who heard the Pope's call this week and will answer it. The ones who were already answering it anyway. Those guys deserve our support. They don't get support from many other places and they certainly don't get it from their order. Joe Garcia and I will be the only bloggers, unless someone with the same goal and similar zeal comes along and volunteers. (You have to be able to write, though. Spelling and grammar are encouraged but, as I regularly prove, not required.) While I've been thinking about the new blog, I've been wondering what to call it. I knew I didn't want a Latin name that even I wouldn't be able to remember. I knew I wanted a name that declared, in some way, "sibling blog" to Some Have Hats. This week, while looking at the photos from GC35, the name came to me. The new blog will be called Some Wear Clerics.

More On SG #30

New Jesuit Superior Seen as "Optimal Choice"
Postulator General Says Election Gives Hope for Future
By Antonio Gaspari

ROME, JAN. 20, 2008 (Zenit.org).-

The election of Father Adolfo Nicolás as general superior of the Jesuits was the "optimal choice," according to the order's postulator general.Father Paolo Molinari, who is also a former professor of theology, told ZENIT that Father Nicolás, 71, "has excellent theological formation and a great missionary spirit. The Holy Spirit blew hard and the fathers let themselves be guided by the Spirit." "Coming from the Toledo-Castiglia region, a land that is historically solid in its Christian identity, he is an optimal theologian, and when the Society asked for missionary volunteers for Japan, Nicolás was among the first to offer himself," Father Molinari explained. The postulator general of the Society of Jesus said that "Japan is a difficult nation for evangelization, but Father Nicolás was prepared, he acquired much experience in the work of inculturation understood as evangelization done well." "From the point of view of government too," Father Molinari added, "the new general was provincial and also coordinator of all the heads of the provinces of southern Asia from Myanmar (Burma) to East Timor, passing through Korea and Vietnam to the new province of China." Moreover, according to the Jesuit theologian, "in regard to his kind of formation and the service he has done, he seems precisely to respond to the indications of the Holy Father, Benedict XVI. Certainly he will help us to rediscover and reinforce the Christian roots of Europe and to witness to Christ in the whole world." "He is an optimal choice" Father Molinari added, "that gives good hope for the future."

Link (here)

Big Day For The GC 35

Pictoral slideshow of Mass in Gesu and the Camarette (here)

Gobbledegook And Other Teilhardian Nonsense

As usual nothing about Jesus Christ.

It is Teilhard de Chardin, the Jesuit priest, paleontologist and explorer of the soul, whose life's work was the reinterpretation of Christianity in the light of evolution, who stands impatiently at the summit of man's quest for the ultimate truth ~ proclaiming to all that this primal urge to unite is god and love. As such, God is love, the ultimate life force ~ an evolutionary process with which we all participate as co-creators. To Teilhard, not only is love the most universal, the most powerful and the most mysterious of the cosmic forces ~ but it is also the primal and universal physic energy. And it is Teilhard who wrote in his last unpublished work " Le Christique " ( The Promised Land ) of the inevitable consequences when this truth appears: " Sooner or later there will be a chain reaction ~ for the truth has to appear only once, in one single mind, for it to be impossible for anything ever to prevent it from spreading universally and setting everything ablaze ." By fully surrendering to love that truth has not only appeared in my mind but I prove it every day, as a psychotherapist, by jump starting my clients hearts . I do that by having them take responsibility for love, rather than running away from it, and healing themselves in the process. As such,Teilhard's truth can be summed up with this axiom; The basic underlying and uniting force of the universe is a psychic energy field of love and soul consciousness ( the Unified Field ) which lies not only beyond time and space but ALSO beneath our deepest fears.

Link (here)

Orthometer's Fr. Erik Missing Twin Brother

Is this the missing twin brother of Fr. Erik Richtsteig at Orthometer ?, you compare (here) , (here) and (here) .

Tom Hollander as Mr Collins from, Pride and Prejudice

A 300 Year Jesuit Sucess Story: Bolivia

I found this on a travel website called Ruta Verde. Lots of good commentary and loads of pictures.

Jesuit Missions in Bolivia
The Chiquitania receives its name from the native inhabitants of this area, the chiquitos or chiquitanos. In this place Jesuit Missions were settled in the second half of the XVII century (from 1691 until 1760). They remain in time as an extraordinary legacy because they are the only Jesuit missions in South America which were not destroyed after the Jesuits were expulsed from the Spanish colonies. They are not ruins but villages full of life, with people who still go to mass in the same majestic churches or to enjoy the same baroque music concerts, in the same way they used to do when the Jesuit ruled these missions three centuries ago.

The following are the Missions we visit in our Jesuit route:

San Javier

The baroque style church (built between 1749 y 1752, and restored between1987 and 1993) is part of the first Jesuit mission in Chiquitos founded in 1691. The edification invites to enjoy the artistic beauty of its architecture with carved ornaments in the columns and drawings in wood with yellow brown and black colors.

Concepción

It has a Jesuit baroque style church built between 1752 and 1753, restored and reopened in1982. It is built with 3 main structures, row of columns carved in wood, altars and paintings made by the local native people. This church is considered as the jewel of the region, watching it at sunset is an unforgettable view.

San Ignacio

The baroque style church (built between 1749 y 1752, and restored between1987 and 1993) is part of the first Jesuit mission in Chiquitos founded in 1691. The edification invites to enjoy the artistic beauty of its architecture with carved ornaments in the columns and drawings in wood with yellow brown and black colors.

San Ana

Santa Ana de Velasco, founded in 1755, was founded by one individual, the Jesuit missionary Fr. Julián Nogler. It is also the only settlement that has its complete original church still intact. The church was built after the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767. Santa Ana is a quiet little town with barely 280 souls and with a timeless feel to it.

San Miguel

San Miguel was founded in 1721 and is a small town, with less than 5,000 inhabitants. Like its sister communities of Santa Ana and San Rafael, San Miguel is a quiet spot where time seems to have stood still for the past three centuries. Its church is considered the most historically accurate of all the restored Jesuit churches.

San Rafael

San Rafael, the second oldest mission settlement, was established in 1696. Translated once in 1701 and again in 1750, it shares many of the same characteristics that nearby Santa Ana de Velasco and San Miguel de Velasco possess: a timeless charm, tranquil lifestyle, and fidelity to its Jesuit-inspired traditions.

San José

San José de Chiquitos, the third-oldest Jesuit mission in the Chiquitania, was founded in 1696. It is one of only four missions that has retained its original location. The town is quite peaceful, much like what Santa Cruz was fifty years ago: wide, dusty streets straight out of a Hollywood western movie, complete with cowboys, ranchers, and a dusty but charming main square.

Link to Ruta Verde (here)

Photo is of the Concepcion Mission

More (here) , (here) and (here)

Boso-Boso: A 17th Century Jesuit Phillipino Legacy

The Jesuit Church In Boso-Boso, Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage
Franciscan missionaries arrived in Antipolo in 1578 and built a church in Boso-Boso. In 1591 they were replaced by the Jesuits who organized the village into a parish. They built a chapel at Sitio Sta. Cruz. By 1601 there are about 3,000 Christians residing in Antipolo. At about the same period, the Negrito population dwindled, as they moved deeper into the mountains.

Altar of the Old Antipolo Church
On March 25, 1626 Governor-General Juan Niño de Tabora brought from Acapulco, Mexico the image of the Virgin Mary. Before he died, he bequeathed the image to the Jesuits for the Antipolo Church. Tradition has it that the image was installed in Sitio Sta. Cruz and have been lost several times and each time it was found on a Tipolo tree. Because of these unusual incidents, it was decided in 1632 to erect the church at the site.
In 1639, the Chinese revolt reached Antipolo and burned the church to the ground; however, the image was unharmed. The Virgin was taken to Sitio Ginapao and then brought to Cavite upon orders of the Governor-General. It stayed in Cavite for 14 years. Ten years after the incident the image was renamed "Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje" (Tagalog: "Ang Mahal na Birhen ng Kapayapaan at Mabuting Paglalayag"; "Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage") and traveled five more times to Acapulco, Mexico before it rested permanently in the town. A replica of the image of the Birhen ng Antipolo is now enshrined in the U.S. for all the immigrant Filipinos. The Oratory of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, is located at the northeast corner of the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. A gift of the Filipino Catholic Community in the United States and around the world, this oratory honors a Marian devotion dating from the 1600s.
The village of Antipolo was made into a town in 1650 as part of the Province of Tondo. When the Tondo was divided into the Province of Manila and the District of Los Montes de San Mateo in 1853, it became part of the latter. The district was later known as the District of Morong.
The Recollects took over Antipolo in 1864. It was during these years that the Virgin of Antipolo gained thousands of devotees. Devotees from Manila and nearby towns and provinces flock to Antipolo on foot along mountain trails and springs.

Link (here)

Blogs that post about Boso-Boso (here) , (here) , (here) and (here)

On Experimenting With The Legacy Of Ignatius, Christ And His Church

About the remoteness of East Asia, he (SG #30) says, "There is more space for experimenting, for trying, for thinking and exchanging." Not a bad recipe for the Church as a whole. (Fr. James Martin, S.J.)
Link (here)

Church of England Deaconess: Writer In New Jesuit Online Journal, "Thinking Faith"

Where Now for the Church of England?
Deaconess Cindy Kent

Looking back over the years the Church has been 'rent asunder' by all sort of problems, and yet it's still here. In pre-Reformation times, people like me wouldn't have been able to read the Bible for myself, and I would have had to rely on the interpretation of scholars. Of people who had steeped themselves in the language and culture of the time and who would have been experts in that knowledge. They would know what a particular phrase, or piece of counsel meant. They would have known exactly whom the writing was for and why it was necessary. They would also explain how I could have applied it to my situation.

The deaconess goes on to say,

My opening phrase is true. Everything that has happened to the Church over the centuries is shaping it into what it is now. We've learned so much and all the disagreements and schisms of the past have brought us to where we are now. Bearing in mind that nothing is wasted, my hope and prayer is that we will build on what we've learned in the past, be prepared to take off our collective blinkers, and wake up and smell the communion wine! (It's only a symbol anyways!)

English Jesuits link to the full piece (here)

Hat Tip to Diogenes (here)

Crass And Undignified: Students Of The University Of San Francisco

During the march, the anti-abortion contingent sang hymns and recited prayers while they stared indifferently at their hecklers. Their critics - more than 300 strong - countered with chants and slogans and waved hand-painted posters declaring, "Keep your rosaries off our ovaries!" In front of Pier 3, Katy Young, (Member of the San Fransisco Law Review) a second-year law student at the University of San Francisco, watched the throngs of disciplined abortion opponents filing by. "This is what we are up against. We live in a bubble here. All these people are going to vote Republican," she said. "I kind of feel sorry for them." Krista Henneman, her schoolmate at the Jesuit school, said she was shocked by all the children marching against abortion with their parents. "Give them five years, and see how many of them are still out there," she said.

Link (here)

Jesuits In Mormon Territory

Roots of St. Mary's extend back to '45
By Lynn Arave

Deseret Morning News
Published: January 19, 2008
The seeds of the present St. Mary's Catholic Church were planted on Oct. 21, 1945, when Santa Maria Mission on West 22nd St. in Ogden was dedicated by Bishop Duane G. Hunt. Care for the spiritual needs of the mission's people transferred to the California Province of the Society of Jesus in July 1954. The Rev. Louis Kern S.J. was placed in charge of Santa Maria Mission. The following year, in August 1955, the Rev. Neale Herrlich S.J. joined the Rev. Kern. These two taught at St. Joseph's High School and took care of the mission. The Rev. Kern spent time organizing the Spanish-speaking people with help from the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Victory. Construction of St. Mary's began on Oct. 10, 1956. The church and parish were canonically constituted by Bishop Hunt, and dedication ceremonies were held Sept. 8, 1957. The Rev. Kern was appointed as pastor, and the parish included, besides the Spanish-speaking people, all the Catholics living in the area of West Weber, Roy, Hooper and the area around Riverdale. The Rev. Kern retired to the position of pastor emeritus in 1974 and was succeeded by the Rev. Herrlich. On June 1, 1974, the Rev. Herrlich was appointed pastor of St. Mary's parish and superior of all Jesuit Communities of Utah. He retired from teaching in 1986 after 31 years of teaching and involvement, which included founding the schools' Boosters Club. The Rev. Herrlich oversaw replacement of the original windows with stained glass. The first 12 stained-glass windows were blessed by Bishop William Weigand on June 4, 1985. The stained-glass windows adjacent to the main entrance were completed in 1987. In January 1993, Martin I Rock assumed duties as pastor of St. Mary's Church and superior of all Jesuit Communities in Utah. In addition to remodeling the parish offices and rectory, he instituted the Children's Sunday Liturgies.

Link (here)

Priceless Jesuit Parish Paintings In Malta Are Rotting From Neglect

Priceless 16th century paintings disintegrating in a government store
Restoration started in 1999, but never completed
david vella
Sat, 19 January 2008
Three large priceless, 16th century lunettes which once adorned two chapels of the Jesuit Church in Valletta have been abandoned for the last year in a government building in Cottonera, exposed to severe conditions of heat and humidity, without any form of protection. The three semi circular paintings, each measuring about four by two metres, were commissioned in the late 1600s. Originally they were attributed to the famous Italian artist Mattia Preti, who had made other paintings in the same church. Yet, they are now thought to be works of artists from his school, possibly Stefano Erardi (1630–1716) and Guzeppi D’Arena (1643–1719). No protection, little security maltastar.com investigations have shown that these paintings are now stored in a hostile ambiance in a government building in Cottonera with no form of protection against further damage. This e-newspaper will not be publishing the exact location of the paintings, as the place has little security and can be easily accessed. Unfortunately, unless immediate action is taken, the damage to the paintings may soon become irreversible.

After hundreds of years on the walls of the Jesuits’ Church, the last ten years of these paintings’ history were a story of failure, as government has been trying to have them restored since 1999, but repeatedly failed to bring back these public works of art to their original splendour.

One of the paintings, probably the oldest one, which was located in the church’s chapel dedicated to St Agatha and St Lucia, is in urgent need of conservation, as art restoration experts who had the chance to view it, confirmed to this e-newspaper. Its back is now almost completely deteriorated, and is covered in mould. Also the paint layer seems to be too brittle. Ninu Zammit stopped the restoration “The three paintings are currently stored face down on makeshift scaffolding which had been used for construction work, in a top floor room with direct sunlight entering from large windows” said one of the art experts who saw the paintings, “There is no control of the excessive humidity, light, or heat, which are further damaging the three lunettes. Since it is a top floor room with no form of protection, it is very hot in summer and very humid in winter, and these extreme conditions are the last thing the paintings need.” The Infrastructure Minister Ninu Zammit, who is responsible for the restoration of these national treasures, was well aware that they need urgent attention. In May 2007, his officials even issued a call for tenders for their restoration. But Zammit decided to cut short the tendering process half-way. Sources at the ministry confirmed that the decision was taken because the cost involved, possibly in region of €60,000, was considered to be “unaffordable”. This was the second time that these paintings were abandoned before proper restoration and conservation had been completed. Two of the lunettes were taken off the church’s walls back in 1999, when Minister Francis Zammit Dimech, then responsible for similar works of art, contracted a Maltese restorer to work on them (Advert 41/99).

But for the next eight years, the two lunettes remained in the Jesuit Church’s oratory awaiting completion. It seems that soon after a Maltese restorer started working on them, however the work was soon abandoned and never returned to. In the meantime, a third lunette, featuring St Lucia’s martyrdom, fell from the wall where it was hanging in the church.

Then the inexpert government workers did something which continued to damage the work – they wrapped it up in plastic sheeting, and concequently it got covered in mould and became even more fragile. In 2007, the Jesuits asked government to take action, to no avail. They contended that not only were the paintings subjected to further damage, but they were also taking up precious space in the oratory. Thus Heritage Malta were called in to supervise their transit to Cottonera. From then onwards, the paintings were left to abject neglect.

Link to Maltastar.com article and pictures (here)

Superior General #30 And The Vatican:1998

Whether Nicolas turns out to be cut more from the Arrupe or Kolvenbach mold remains to be seen. A Jesuit source in Rome said that the new boss had ruffled Vatican feathers in 1998 with his role in a request by Asian bishops for more local authority for Church decisions. If that is an omen for the nature of his administration, the new black pope may find himself clashing with the regular Pope, who has reaffirmed that ultimate authority lies with the Vatican.

Link to a great article in Time Magazine (here)

Creighton University: "Bartender? I'll Have A 'Sex On The Beach,' Please"

Creighton bellying up to own bar

BY MATTHEW HANSENWORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Billy Bluejay is breaking into the bar business.

Students meet with a teacher at a student union bar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A campus official who monitors binge drinking among students says most alcohol-related problems involve off-campus bars. Creighton University will open a restaurant and bar inside its new student center this summer, a "sports cafe" that school officials are billing as a unique meeting place for alumni, students and downtown workers.The university has received approval for a liquor license from the Omaha City Council and will become the only college in Nebraska - and one of only a handful in the Midwest - to serve beer, wine and liquor daily on campus. Once the Mike and Josie Harper Center opens in August, a Creighton senior stressed after a tough exam can exit his classroom inside the student center, descend two flights of stairs, enter the sports cafe and order a gin and tonic, without going outside.S o, how do students feel about the on-campus bar? "They think it's a positive move," said Micah White, president of Creighton's Student Union and a junior who will turn 21 this summer. University officials say they will force patrons of the new watering hole to be responsible drinkers. No shots will be served. The bar will close at 10 p.m. weekdays and midnight on weekends. Drinkers must wear wrist bands. Underage students caught trying to drink there could be suspended from school.

Only a handful of colleges in the Midwest serve beer, wine and liquor daily on campus. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, left, patrons can buy beer but not liquor in the student union's two bars.

"This is going to be a grown-up place for grown-up people," said John Cernech, the Jesuit university's vice president for student services. "This will not be wild." But collegiate alcohol experts aren't completely sold on the idea of full-service, on-campus bars.

Some say college-run bars are actually safer than their off-campus counterparts, especially if the university prohibits drink specials that encourage heavy drinking and trains bartenders to cut off service to intoxicated customers.Others say the mere act of opening a campus bar - especially one that serves liquor - hampers the ongoing battle against binge drinking.

Nearly half of all American college students regularly binge drink, the kind of excessive alcohol consumption that makes drunken driving, unsafe sex and other high-risk behaviors much more likely, studies show. "Universities shouldn't be in the business of serving alcohol. I think they've got way more important things to do," said Peter Nathan,

who researches alcohol abuse at the University of Iowa's department of community and behavioral health.Cernech told the City Council that of 6,997 Creighton students, more than half are 21 or older. The university also has about 11,000 alumni in town, many of whom work downtown and could drop by for lunch.Several alumni and boosters suggested, during the planning of the Harper center, that beer, wine and liquor be made available on campus, Cernech said. The four-story, 214,000- square-foot building, made possible by a donation from former ConAgra CEO Mike Harper, is scheduled to open around Aug. 1. The Harper center will offer plenty of amenities for students, including a two-story bookstore, coffee shop and a giant exercise room.

The Rev. John Schlegel, Creighton president, and other school officials liked the idea of adding a cafe with an Applebee's-style menu and full bar, because they wanted to entice alumni and athletic boosters to campus as well, Cernech said.

Cernech envisions the sports cafe as a place where former Bluejays can mingle with students before athletic events and members of the public can rub elbows with professors. Building a campus bar reflects the reality that Creighton students already have easy access to alcohol, Cernech said.The university sells alcohol at sporting events. Creighton regularly receives special permits to serve alcohol at on- and off-campus functions, just as the University of Nebraska's four campuses and most of the state's private colleges do. Creighton students also can walk to the Blue Jay Bar, a longtime school hangout that is adjacent to the campus. Other bars are within a five-minute drive. Cernech said having an on-campus bar is "far better than (students) getting on the city streets." Michael Kelley, director of counseling and psychological services at Creighton, said he's thought long and hard about the message that offering an on-campus bar sends to students. Kelley, a leader of the university's alcohol awareness efforts, said he wasn't consulted in the planning stages of the sports cafe. He said he has come around to the idea - especially if the bar's rules encourage responsible drinking. Kelley will get a close-up view: Creighton's new counseling and psychological services office will be located next door to the restaurant and bar. "This is something that no other Nebraska school has done, so in that sense it's surprising," Kelley said. "But this can have real value if we encourage moderation. This can fit into a sensible lifestyle message that's very much a part of Creighton's mission." University officials can look to Wisconsin's largest state school and a tiny college in eastern Kansas if they want insight into the do's and don'ts of running an on-campus bar.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has served beer inside and outside its student union since the 1930s. University officials there briefly debated ending beer sales a decade ago, when national studies found that Wisconsin students ranked among the worst binge drinkers in the country.

Instead, the university started a binge drinking research and outreach project now called PACE, headed by Aaron Brower, a professor in the department of social work. Brower, university officials and bar managers designed a six-point plan to end high-risk drinking on campus. They gave bar employees more training and ended the practice of selling large paper pitchers of beer, often chugged by students. The student union's two bars have never sold liquor, which has a higher alcohol content. Binge drinking is still common at the University of Wisconsin, Brower said, but you wouldn't know it from spending a night in the student union's bars. PACE's extensive research shows the vast majority of alcohol-related problems occur at the 52 bars within walking distance of campus, Brower said. "Personally I think that if all the (Madison) bars operated the way the union does, we wouldn't have a problem," Brower said. Benedictine College, a Catholic liberal arts college in Atchison, Kan., also sells beer, but not liquor, in a small restaurant and bar inside its student union. There is little to no underage drinking at the bar for this reason: There are only 1,300 students on campus, and visitors can't enter the bar without a student, said Steve Johnson, spokesman for Benedictine."Everybody knows everybody, so we know if you're a freshman," Johnson said.

When told of Creighton's plans, alcohol experts and officials from schools that maintain on-campus bars agreed on one point: It won't be easy for Creighton to control drinking in the new sports cafe.

It can be done, they said, but only if the bar is run correctly. "The proof is in the pudding," said Nathan, the University of Iowa researcher. "Are they going to be able to keep kids under 21 from drinking? Are they going to be able to regulate this well enough for older students? I hope Creighton does a better job of that than most universities."

Link (here)