“What makes us human is precisely our experience of the infinite, the fact that we are never satisfied. We are the subjects of unlimited longing, finding infinity not outside ourselves but within. We ask questions about totality and ultimate meaning, and by so doing find that we are asking the question about God. God and [...]
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Dean Brackley, the late Jesuit educator who spent many years teaching in El Salvador, wrote a beautiful meditation on what it feels like to fall in love because of the ministry of the poor. The text comes from a piece he wrote in 2000 for Salvanet, “A Publication of Christians for Peace in El Salvador,” [...]
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My daughter Laura turned me on to the British band Mumford and Sons. They’re something special. “After the Storm” speaks of longing for God, and the hope that love will triumph: And there will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears. And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears. Get [...]
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The devotion to the Heart of Christ, so vigorous some years ago, so much on the decline today, would flourish once again if people would understand that it consists essentially in accepting Jesus Christ as love incarnate, as the manifestation of the unconditional love of God for us. Anyone who accepts this is bound to [...]
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Seems to me the word “mitzvah” is being used a lot these days. Usually it shows up in exclamations: “It’s a mitzvah.” Maybe I’m noticing this because the recent preponderance of unnaturally natural disasters has highlighted people reaching out to help one another. Or, maybe this is all going on in my mind? I wouldn’t [...]
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Somewhere nearby—perhaps a co-worker in the next cubicle; a friend across the room; a stranger in the chair next to you; a spouse beside you in bed; a child clawing at your leg for attention–there, now, is an opportunity for love. Before you is God’s invitation to know him. Do not delay; do not postpone [...]
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With Valentine’s Day coming up I’m taking the initiative to get folks thinking about love. Here’s a clip that I sometimes make reference to in my classes, from the 1997 film As Good As It Gets. If you can’t see the video, click here. Ignatius wrote that “love shows itself more in deeds than in [...]
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One of the very best lines I’ve heard about love came from the wise mouths of Zhang Mucheng (101 years old) and Xu Dongying, (102) of Shanghai, celebrating 80 years of marriage together. When asked about love, they said “We are not used to kissing and hugging…we just feel good when we are together.” And [...]
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It was a moment of grace on a Sunday afternoon. My husband, Jim, and I were walking through the crowd into a Creighton U basketball game. In the middle of the throng on the sidewalk ahead of us, we spotted a little girl, about 5 years old, wearing a spectacular fluffy ballet tutu in game [...]
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I’d like to propose a juxtaposition of two ideas that emerge from the Spiritual Exercises: practice and love. Without getting into too much insider baseball on how Ignatius’ text emphasizes these themes, let me suggest a brief thought exercise that you might take into prayer. 1. We learn anything by practicing: the piano, soccer, algebra. [...]
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