Archive for March, 2011

Going on a retreat is a way people can experience the presence of God, according to Jesuit Father Charles Moutenot, director of spiritual programs at Loyola Jesuit House of Retreats in Morristown, N.J.

“I see people come through those doors very, very tired. There’s a lot of noise in our world. They work very hard. They’re busy…I see them leave on Sunday rested,” Fr. Moutenot said. “Not simply rested as if they went to a spa and slept for a weekend. But really rested in the Lord.

“The second thing I see in people is that they are rejuvenated. They feel ready to go back to their jobs, their families, their churches and their ministries with a renewed vigor,” he said.

In the video below, Moutenot joins retreatants in explaining how a weekend retreat is an excellent way to come home to God.

Going on a retreat is a way people can experience the presence of God, according to Jesuit Father Charles Moutenot, director of spiritual programs at Loyola Jesuit House of Retreats in Morristown, N.J.

“I see people come through those doors very, very tired. There’s a lot of noise in our world. They work very hard. They’re busy…I see them leave on Sunday rested,” Fr. Moutenot said. “Not simply rested as if they went to a spa and slept for a weekend. But really rested in the Lord.

“The second thing I see in people is that they are rejuvenated. They feel ready to go back to their jobs, their families, their churches and their ministries with a renewed vigor,” he said.

In the video below, Moutenot joins retreatants in explaining how a weekend retreat is an excellent way to come home to God.

Like many, Jesuit Father James Martin watched the tsunami after the Mar. 11 earthquake in Japan unfold on T.V.

For years now, Americans have been used to television that shows “reality that is unreal,” said Fr. Martin, who is the culture editor of America magazine.

“A lot of these reality shows are based on watching people suffer — watching them suffer physically, watching them suffer financially,” he said. “It’s important to recognize that we don’t have to create suffering in this world. There is suffering in this world.”

Martin said that nonbelievers may well have an easier time digesting the images from Japan than believers, because “the nonbeliever does not have to grapple with: How does a good God let this happen?

“Most people can make sense of what theologians call ‘moral evil’ — evil that comes from human decisions,” he said. “But natural disasters and catastrophic illnesses really test the believers’ faith. There is no satisfactory answer for why there is such suffering in the world on a natural level.”

Martin said that no explanation can fully satisfy that question of why we suffer, and “anyone who says they have the answer is either a fool or a liar.”

For more thoughts from Martin on the question of suffering, visit the L.A. Times and America magazine.

A woman who fled from the vicinity of the Fukushima nuclear power plant sits at an evacuation center in Kawamata, Japan, March 14. Japanese officials were fighting to contain two reactors at the plant and avoid a nuclear disaster in the area of the country hardest hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. (CNS photo/Yuriko Nakao, Reuters)

While the world looked on in horror, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck Japan on March 11, triggering a huge tsunami that flooded villages and and wiped coastal towns off the map. Even as Japan struggles to recover, the worst is not over as the nation battles to prevent a nuclear catastrophe and to care for millions of people without power or water in the country’s worst crisis since World War II.

Yesterday, the Jesuits in the U.S. received word from the head of the Jesuits in Japan, Jesuit Father Kajiyama Yoshio, that the Jesuit men and their works there were not seriously affected. The Jesuits here and across the globe continue to pray for the victims of this disaster and for all those providing rescue, relief and support to those impacted by this crisis. For the Jesuits in Japan, they “hope for the best but prepare for the worst”, said Fr. Yoshio in his letter.

The Jesuits in Japan have received many emails from Jesuits and friends around the world offering condolences and asking for updates and how they can help. They have advised that donations should be directed to Caritas International, the social service arm of the Church that responds with food and other assistance. Here in the United States, Catholic Relief Services is organizing donations which will be directly funneled to Caritas. CRS also stands poised to assist Caritas Japan with disaster relief.

The Jesuits’ prayers remain with the people of Japan as they struggle through this difficult time.

Jesuit Father Stephen Planning has been selected as the 36th president of Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. He will assume the position July 1, and he succeeds Jesuit Father Joseph Lingan, who assumed the presidency following the death of Jesuit Father Allen Novotny last October.

Fr. Planning, a Maryland Province Jesuit, most recently served eight years as the founding president of Arrupe Jesuit High School in Denver. Prior to his service at Arrupe, he served as assistant principal of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago for three years. He has also taught English and religious studies in Jesuit high schools in the United States and in Chile.

“Gonzaga has a tremendous reputation for outstanding academics, competitive sportsmanship and strong Jesuit values,” said Planning.  “It will be a privilege to serve as the president of such an extraordinary school community.”