Archive for January, 2011

Jesuit Father Jim Martin recently turned 50, and to mark the occasion he tweeted 12 things that he wished he had known at 25.

Here are a few of Fr. Martin’s insights or read the full list here.

1. First up: Stop worrying so much! It’s useless. (i.e., Jesus was right.)
2. Being a saint means being yourself. Stop trying to be someone else and just be your best self. Saves you heartache.
3. There’s no right way to pray, any more than there’s a right way to be a friend. What’s “best” is what works best for you.
4. Remember three things and save yourself lots of unneeded heartache: You’re not God. This ain’t heaven. Don’t act like a jerk.
5. Your deepest, most heartfelt desires are God’s desires for you. And vice versa. Listen. And follow them.

Jesuits at Georgetown, a new video by the Georgetown University Communications Department, provides an intimate portrait of four Jesuits living and working at Georgetown.

The video portrait features Jesuit Father Ryan Maher, Associate Dean and Director of Catholic Studies; Jesuit Father Kevin O’Brien, Executive Director of Campus Ministry; Jesuit Father Christopher Steck, Associate Professor of Theology; and Jesuit Father Matthew Carnes, Assistant Professor of Government.

“This place is alive with questions of religion and religiosity. And frankly, my job is so much fun and interesting and engaging, because I am entrusted to care for all these good people asking great questions,” says Fr. O’Brien. “Real interreligious dialogue must engage the intellect, we must think through questions and engage in serious dialogue; dialogue that will deal with real differences, not just common ground.”

The Jesuits share how they serve as professors and spiritual guides and how they encourage interreligious dialogue and support the diversity of the campus community.

Read more about these Georgetown Jesuits.

Jesuits at Georgetown from Georgetown College on Vimeo.

Jesuit Brother Jim Boynton stands amid the remains of the Eglise Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart Church) in Downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Jesuit Brother Jim Boynton was missioned in late 2009 to Haiti to serve refugees through the Jesuit-founded Foi et Joie (Faith and Joy) school system. When the devastating earthquake hit the small Caribbean island nation on January 12, 2010, Br. Boyton answered the call to lead an emergency medical response team in the weeks following in Port-au-Prince.  Today, Jesuits continue to provide support in the dire situation that is Haiti a year after the natural disaster struck and continue to stand in solidarity with the people of Haiti during their time of need.

National Jesuit News spoke with Boynton about his experiences in Haiti during its monthly podcast series. You can listen to the interview with Boynton below:

Jesuit Brother Jim Boynton stands amid the remains of the Eglise Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart Church) in Downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Jesuit Brother Jim Boynton was missioned in late 2009 to Haiti to serve refugees through the Jesuit-founded Foi et Joie (Faith and Joy) school system. When the devastating earthquake hit the small Caribbean island nation on January 12, 2010, Br. Boyton answered the call to lead an emergency medical response team in the weeks following in Port-au-Prince.  Today, Jesuits continue to provide support in the dire situation that is Haiti a year after the natural disaster struck and continue to stand in solidarity with the people of Haiti during their time of need.

National Jesuit News spoke with Boynton about his experiences in Haiti during its monthly podcast series. You can listen to the interview with Boynton below:

Jesuit Father Peter Neeley of the Kino Border Initiative (KBI) spoke to NPR about KBI’s efforts in the border town of Nogales, Mexico. Fr. Neeley says that relief operations like the KBI, which ministers to deportees with services that include a soup kitchen, are now common on the border.

“Tijuana, Mexicali, Juarez all have these kinds of services, but Nogales, when they started diverting more people through the desert, that’s when we saw the big need here. They need a really organized way to distribute the food and get more people fed and clothed,” Neeley said.

Neeley runs the cafeteria where KBI volunteers typically prepare three meals a day under a tent large enough to feed 200 people.

Crossing into the U.S. illegally is not a sin, said Neeley, it’s a misdemeanor.

Read or listen to the story on NPR.