The semester is over; all papers and exams have been completed. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for grades to be posted and summer plans to begin. We officially wind up the First Studies year on May 15th, at which point the scholastics at Loyola are supposed to move on to their summer residences. I will be hanging around Chicago for a few weeks through Ordinations on June 7th, when I will move on to begin my summer schedule. I’ll be away from Chicago from June 8th through August 17th.

In the mean time, I’ll be attacking a storage area full of my parents stuff (and a little bit of mine as well) that was left over after I cleaned out my father’s house last year. Mostly books and clothes, and hundreds of pictures (which are wonderful-many from the 1920s and 30s). I’ll probably end up donating the majority of the stuff. It will certainly be good to finally get that out of my hair, and out of my pocketbook as well – kind of pointless to pay to store some mostly useless junk!

I will be involved again next year in Loyola’s RCIA program, which is being revamped, and it looks like it will be very good, based on what we’ve planned out so far. We’ll be continuing the planning sessions over the next month or so, and on into the summer. In the next month I’ve planned to dive deeper into my understanding of the RCIA process and the Catechism focusing on adult faith formation. It’s a very rich area that has been a real blessing to be a part of during this past year. We welcomed eleven people into the Church – it was an incredible experience to take that faith journey with them.

And, this is a great time for spending with friends, who I do not get to see as often as I’d like, given the demands of classes, ministry and everything that goes with it.

amdg

Finals Week

We've entered the last week of the semester. Between last week and this week, I've had seven papers to do. So far I've been getting them done without much difficulty, with three completed, two in process (the biggest ones), and two to go. This week, in between writing papers, I'll be attending some of the Integrative Seminar presentations for the thirteen soon to depart third-year scholastics. The Integrative is the capstone paper for the Master's Degree in Applied Philosophy, similar to a master's thesis, in which the scholastic pulls together his academic work in philosophy and theology along with the social justice ministry he has been engaged with during his three years at Loyola. A sample title for one of this year's integratives is: “’Under God, with Liberty and Justice for All’: Why Catholic Schools Must Challenge the Cultural Reality of Individualism Beyond the Classroom.” The seminars should be very interesting and I'd like to go to all of them, but I can't do that and get my papers done! Please prayer for these men as they complete their time in First Studies and move on to Regency placements as the next step in their Priestly formation as Jesuits.

amdg

Ignatian PeaceAction

Ignatian PeaceAction is a five-week national Jesuit effort of prayer, fasting and actions in solidarity with those who suffer from war and violence, and for our national healing through peace and reconciliation. During the liturgical season between Easter and Pentecost, over 170 Jesuit institutions, communities and affiliated works are participating in a show of national solidarity as we mark a difficult reality while praying and witnessing for a different future; a future that reflects our faith in the risen Christ who casts out all fear.

see the Ignatian Prayer for Peace below...

amdg

Ignatian Prayer for Peace

Gracious God,

We long for the day when nations will, indeed, beat swords into plowshares, spears into pruning hooks, that those whose bellies now ache with hunger might know their fill of the sweet fruit of your blessed earth.

We yearn for the dawn of that radiant morning when war is truly no more, that those who now know only the taste of war's bitter ashes may savor the sweet springs of your consoling peace.

Yes, Lord, it is for this that we long. And so it is for this that you call us to work. Enliven, enflame and embolden us with your Spirit. Let your Spirit touch our lips that we may speak the truth that violence and war have no place in your plan for us.

Let your Spirit touch our hands that we may extend them in friendship to all from whom we are now estranged.

Let your Spirit touch our ears that they may hear the cries of all victims of war, violence, oppression and injustice that moved with compassion we might right the wrongs that afflict them and so liberate them from their suffering.

Yes, Lord, let your Spirit enliven us this day and every day that the day for which we long will dawn daily in our deeds of love, in our words of forgiveness, in our touch of friendship and compassion.

Yes, Lord, make us instruments of your peace.

Amen.

~ Rev. Mark Hallinan, SJ

amdg

Abandonment to God's Will

I've been using the book Lent and Easter Wisdom from Henri J. M. Nouwen, by Judy Bauer, to help guide my Lenten meditations. The excerpt for the Tuesday of the first week of Lent has stuck with me. It is from Nouwen's The Road to Daybreak: A Spiritual Journey, and it echoes themes from the Principle and Foundation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. It is the idea that by letting ourselves be free from everything that holds us captive, we can be free to live out God's will for us. Being free does not mean rejecting material possessions over poverty, health over sickness, life over death; rather, it asks that we develop an attitude of indifference in our preferences toward these things in order to truly be able to listen to and act upon God's will for us with an open heart. This is a struggle I face daily, but it's a happy struggle because through this struggle I become more and more the person God wishes for me to be.

Abandonment to God's Will

This morning during my hour of prayer, I tried to come to some level of abandonment to my heavenly Father. It was a hard struggle since so much in me wants to do my will, realize my plans, organize my future, and make my decisions. Still, I know that true joy comes from letting God love me the way God wants, whether it is through illness or health, failure or success, poverty or wealth, rejection or praise. It is hard for me to say, "I shall gratefully accept everything, Lord, that pleases you. Let your will be done." But I know that when I truly believe my Father is pure love, it will become increasingly possible to say these words from the heart.

~Henri J.M. Nouwen

amdg

Spring Classes

We're in the third week of classes in the spring semester which means that this semester is 20% over. And next week begins Lent. It already seems as though this year is flying by - and it just started!

My classes are:

• Classical Modern Philosophy
• Theory of Knowledge (Epistemology)
• Globalization Ethics
• The Spirituality of St. Paul (Theology)

I'm pretty happy with my courses so far. There are two that are fairly low intensity, and two that are high intensity. Good balance. And three of the courses have really captured my interest - Classical Modern Philosophy, Globalization Ethics, and St Paul.

My apostolate for the social analysis ministry component of First Studies is changing this semester. I have decided not to return to the Chicago Jesuit Academy, and I'm searching for another ministry. I have a few ideas, but some of it depends on what I'll be doing for the summer and next fall. I should have it sorted out next week.

Also, I've been involved in the RCIA program at Loyola University Chicago. It got off to kind of a slow start, but I think we've put together a pretty good program for the 14 students who are participating. I've started to think about how the program will work next year, and how the current students can be incorporated into sharing their faith journey/experience as they help to form the next group. Also, I'm looking for some good materials to use in the catechesis portion of the sessions that both teach the faith and inspire to both prayer and action.

Tomorrow evening, I will attend another of the productions at Lyric Opera - this time it is Verdi's Falstaff. Should be a great evening, and with student e-tickets, the $20 price is an incredible bargain.

amdg

Father General Nicolás

The Society of Jesus, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, has elected Fr. Adolfo Nicolás, S.J., as the new Superior General.

Please pray for the new General and the Society of Jesus as the 35th General Congregation continues its work in Rome.

More information and pictures can be found at the website of the U.S. Jesuit Conference.

Lord Jesus, we ask you now
to help us to remain with you always,
to be close to you with all the ardor of our hearts,
to take up joyfully the mission you entrust to us
and that is to continue your presence
and spread the good news of your Resurrection.

~Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, SJ

amdg

extra-ordinary

Not really fond of the term "Ordinary Time" as a name for the time of the Church's calendar we move into tomorrow. Now I know that the word "Ordinary" doesn't mean what we commonly think of as plain, undistinguished, mediocre, something regular or usual, but refers to the liturgical calendar outside of the "Seasons" when the Sundays are identified with ordinal numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) such as "Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time". But it does seem that the character of many churches (not to mention our own lives) changes to a ho-hum kind of a routine after the spectacular Christmas season or the glorious Easter season. While the Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter seasons are full of the anticipation of the coming of Christ, his resurrection, and the expectation of the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, it seems to me that "Ordinary Time" is really about the here-and-now reality of Christ present with us as we live out our daily lives. That, to me, is anything but ordinary - maybe we should call it Emmanuel Time - God with us time. I sometimes find it amazing that we live in an age in which the living God has taken human form and walked the earth. Yet, we take that for granted. It has lost that sense of the incredible, wonderful mystery that filled and fueled the early Christians. I, for one, am filled with hope and excitement, as we move into "Ordinary Time", that the message of Christ can be fulfilled. That we will use our vast resources to feed the hungry, cure the sick, and work for a faith that does justice as we welcome in the Kingdom of God. So let our "Ordinary Time" be extra-ordinary.

amdg