In addition to discussing the Jesuit formation process, Fr. Frederico shared his own vocation story.

Fr. Frederico explained that after high school he went to the Culinary Institute of America in New York, which had previously been a Jesuit novitiate, St. Andrew-on-Hudson.

Before attending, one of Fr. Frederico’s high school teachers, a diocesan priest, told him to do three things when he arrived. One, to take notice of the “AMDG” — which stands for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (“For the greater glory of God”),  the motto of the Society of Jesus — written on the front door. Fr. Frederico recognized this from his grade school days. “I’d been writing that on the top of my loose leaf since first grade because the nuns I had, the sisters of St. Joseph, were founded by the Jesuits.”

His teacher also said in the small chapel there would be a window of St. Aloysius Gonzaga receiving first communion from St. Charles Borromeo. Fr. Frederico recognized this from his grammar school days as well, as he attended St. Charles Borrmeo.

Third, his teacher asked Fr. Frederico to read a book on Jesuit philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and Fr. Frederico was fascinated by his life.

After culinary school, he went to Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia to study food marketing. “I  met the Jesuits in spirit at the Culinary Institute and in the flesh at Saint Joe’s,” Fr.  Frederico said.

Fr. Frederico was planning to have his own restaurant, but God had different plans.

“I was fascinated by these guys [the Jesuits]. I had six different Jesuits in the classroom, and each of them taught with such passion,” he said.

By his senior year, Fr. Frederico was applying to the Jesuits. Listen to the whole segment with Fr. Frederico online.

The director of Vatican Radio’s German Program, Jesuit Father Bernt Hagenkord, has been in Havana for a few days, preparing for the Pope’s arrival. He’s been walking the streets and talking to the people there, to find out what their expectations are, and how they intend to greet him.

“A lot of preparation went into this visit, organizationally as well as diplomatically, although it is not really visible in the streets. However, all people I could talk to agree, it will, like its predecessor, leave a changed Church and as many hope, a changed country.”

To listen to the full report from Fr. Hagenkord, please press play: 

The second volume of Pope Benedict XVI’s book series on Jesus was recently released, and Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio commented, “When he speaks to us in this book, as Joseph Ratzinger, he is not engaging the faith of the Church – it’s not a magisterial document.”

Fr. Fessio, who was a student of Ratzinger’s 40 years ago, is director of Ignatius Press, which published the English-language version of the pope’s book, “Jesus of Nazareth – Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection.”

Fessio said one interesting part of the book covers the passage in Matthew 27:25 (“And the whole people answering, said: His blood be upon us and our children.”) that has led some to believe the Jewish people are cursed.

Fessio explained, “He [the pope] says the blood of Jesus is not like the blood of Cain that cries out for vengeance. The blood of Jesus is redemptive blood. It’s bloodshed for the life of the world. It’s not for punishment or vengeance, it’s for salvation and redemption. It’s a beautiful reflection on it – two or three pages – that really kind of changes your whole view on that part of the Gospel, which has been used in the past sometimes for anti-Semitic purposes.”

Listen to the Vatican Radio interview with Fessio.

The second volume of Pope Benedict XVI’s book series on Jesus was recently released, and Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio commented, “When he speaks to us in this book, as Joseph Ratzinger, he is not engaging the faith of the Church – it’s not a magisterial document.”

Fr. Fessio, who was a student of Ratzinger’s 40 years ago, is director of Ignatius Press, which published the English-language version of the pope’s book, “Jesus of Nazareth – Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection.”

Fessio said one interesting part of the book covers the passage in Matthew 27:25 (“And the whole people answering, said: His blood be upon us and our children.”) that has led some to believe the Jewish people are cursed.

Fessio explained, “He [the pope] says the blood of Jesus is not like the blood of Cain that cries out for vengeance. The blood of Jesus is redemptive blood. It’s bloodshed for the life of the world. It’s not for punishment or vengeance, it’s for salvation and redemption. It’s a beautiful reflection on it – two or three pages – that really kind of changes your whole view on that part of the Gospel, which has been used in the past sometimes for anti-Semitic purposes.”

Listen to the Vatican Radio interview with Fessio.

“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.

Jesuit Father Tom Reese, director of the Public Policy Program at Woodstock Theological Center in Washington, D.C., was recently a guest on Interfaith Voices, a religious news magazine on public radio.

The episode on religion and the recession explored how the clergy in the country are handling it: what they are preaching to congregations where many are losing their jobs and their homes.

Fr. Reese tells host Maureen Fiedler, “We have to reach out and remind people of God’s compassion and love. Because when you lose your job, you lose your sense of value. You feel powerless … Religious communities have to reach out to these people and say ‘No, you are still important, you are valued and loved by God.’”

You can listen to the audio broadcast below or by going to Interfaith Radio’s website.

Jesuit Father Rick Curry runs the Academy for Veterans at Georgetown University for those retuning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The program aims to assist veterans who have been disabled in combat in rebuilding their lives and responding to their needs. The program also includes emotional rehabilitation through performing arts.

Fr. Curry recently spoke to Vatican Radio about the unique experience of working with the disabled veterans. You can listen to Curry’s interview here

Jesuit Fathers J. Michael Sparough and Tim Hipskind offer an Ignatian approach to decision making in their new book, What’s Your Decision? How to Make Choices with Confidence and Clarity.

In What’s Your Decision?, the Jesuit authors introduce readers to a time-tested Ignatian approach to effective decision making. Based on the insights of St. Ignatius, the book addresses common questions such as “What’s important and what’s not when it comes to making decisions?” “Can I ever trust my gut?” and “What do I really want?”. Frs. Sparough and Hipskind help us understand that a God decision always precedes a good decision; when we invite God—who cares deeply about what we do—into the decision-making process, we find the freedom to make the best choice.

Cincinnati’s Faith Works program on Fox19 recently highlighted the Jesuits’ new book and spoke with the authors. Watch their interview below:

And Son Rise Morning Show interviewed the authors on their radio program. Listen to the interview below:

Four Jesuits in history have had asteroids named after them. Jesuit Father George Coyne, director emeritus of the Vatican Observatory and president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation and Brother Guy Consolmagno, curator of meteorites at the Vatican Observatory, are the two living astronomers with that distinction. They shared their observations of life, faith, friendship and the universe from their seats in the Vatican Observatory with Krista Trippet, host of the Speaking of Faith radio program on American Public Media during a recent show. Go here to download the interview or to listen to the interview directly.

To his employees he’s known as “Father G,” “G-Dog” or simply “G.”  To everyone else he’s Jesuit Father Gregory Boyle, a white-bearded priest who runs the country’s largest intervention program for gang members.  Fr. Boyle’s new book, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion,  is a collection of stories and essays from 20 years of working with at-risk risk youth. Boyle was recently interviewed by the the nation’s leading religion news magazine on public radio, Interfaith Voices, about his new book and his vocation working with and helping the former gang members of Los Angeles that seek out ministry. Go here to listen to the radio interview.