“I never saw grits until I moved here, but then I discovered shrimp and grits, which I have to say has converted me,” says Fr. Salmi, who came to Spring Hill from Loyola University Chicago. “One of the things I love about the south is just how warm and friendly people are. The city has been so welcoming.”

Fr. Salmi, originally from Cleveland, first became interested in the Jesuits at Ohio University.

“My freshman year in college was the year of the Kent State killings and the Vietnam War protests, and so it was a turbulent time for America. I had a Jesuit as an instructor at this big state school. I looked at the Jesuits and saw all the good works they were doing all over the place. I was going to save the world and certainly the Jesuits were going to help me do it,” he recalls.

Fr. Salmi made a weeklong retreat with the Jesuits to discern whether he should become a priest or join the Peace Corps. He chose the Jesuits. “ I like the idea that as a Jesuit you could be a doctor or a lawyer. You could have a profession in addition to being a priest,” Fr. Salmi says.

“Social justice has always been at the core of what we are about, and we’ve always been on the cutting edge in the cusp of justice issues,” says Fr. Salmi.

Looking toward the future for Spring Hill, Fr. Salmi says the institution needs to look at “what we are doing to enable Hispanics to come to Spring Hill and how are we going to speak out for the undocumented folks and how do we stand for the Dream Act.”

Watch the full feature on Fr. Salmi below.

The Interview: Fr. Richard Salmi

Fr. Jao, formerly an actor, joined the Society of Jesus in 2001. Today, he serves as a vocation promoter for the California Province of the Society of Jesus. The “Path to Priesthood” series was shot when Fr. Jao was completing his last year of theological studies at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University at Berkeley in California. The series captured the ups and downs of Fr. Jao’s journey and CatholicTV viewers will have an opportunity to follow along as well as see the ordination ceremony in Spokane, Wash.

The program will also be available at CatholicTV’s website and through their “on demand” channel. Fr. Jao will also appear on CatholicTV’s live show, “This is the Day”, on Tuesday, June 26 at 10:30 a.m. His interview will be available to view via CatholicTV’s YouTube channel after it airs live.

Below are the Eastern Daylight Standard airtimes for “The Call: The Jesuits – Path to Priesthood”. Check your local listings for more information:
The Call: The Jesuits – Path to Priesthood
Monday, 6/4 – 11:30am (premiere)
Wednesday, 6/6 – 6:00 a.m.
Friday, 6/8 – 9:00 a.m.
Sunday, 6/10 – 11:30 p.m.

Many people rely on their religious beliefs to answer these questions.  But not everyone accepts the same religious premises or recognizes the same spiritual authorities. In an effort to understand this balance, Jesuit Father Robert Spitzer wrote the book “Ten Universal Principles: A Brief Philosophy of the Life Issues” to explore the ten basic principles that must govern the reasonable person’s thinking and acting about life issues.

The 10 universal principles discussed in the book are broken down into four sections under the topics of reason, ethics, justice and natural rights, and identity and culture.

Fr. Spitzer – former president of Washington’s Gonzaga University and founder of the California-based Magis Institute – said that he wanted the work to be “very accessible” and help everyday Catholics learn how to oppose issues such as euthanasia by using philosophy.

A highly-regarded philosopher, Fr. Spitzer appeared on EWTN’s Bookmark to discuss the book in depth:

When asked what God’s job is, Fr. Martin said it is “sustaining the universe.” Colbert then asked if we can judge him. “No,” Martin said.

“I think we can try to understand the universe and God’s ways, but ultimately it is mysterious … things like famines, floods, natural disasters, these things have confounded theologians and saints for years,” Martin continued.

Martin said the question of why God allows these things to happen is really something we probably won’t be able to answer until the end of our lives when we meet God.

The comedian also asked Martin why God’s approval ratings are so low right now.

Martin said, “I think that frequently when people are thinking about God’s ‘performance rating’ or what they think about God, they are thinking of how things are in their lives. If you are a Christian … you look at Jesus and things didn’t always work out for him either.”

But Martin points out, “God would never destroy a relationship that he had created. So the relationship God has with you is something that’s going to endure forever.”

Tonight on EWTN, the four part “Footprints in the Wilderness” miniseries highlights one of these Jesuit martyrs, Saint Rene Goupil, a Jesuit brother who was captured and killed by the Iroquois as they believed he was a spy for the French. With interviews with Jesuit author and artist Father William Breault, the series was filmed in three countries on two continents with insights from French, Canadian and American experts, and delves into the experience of Goupil in this new land.

The series starts tonight at 6:30pm Eastern Time. Check your local listings to find ETWN on your television and check out the promo for “Footprints in the Wilderness” below.

Tonight on EWTN, the four part “Footprints in the Wilderness” miniseries highlights one of these Jesuit martyrs, Saint Rene Goupil, a Jesuit brother who was captured and killed by the Iroquois as they believed he was a spy for the French. With interviews with Jesuit author and artist Father William Breault, the series was filmed in three countries on two continents with insights from French, Canadian and American experts, and delves into the experience of Goupil in this new land.

The series starts tonight at 6:30pm Eastern Time. Check your local listings to find ETWN on your television and check out the promo for “Footprints in the Wilderness” below.

“I got a chance to go to the Institute that you have up in Saint Louis and see all this material, but so little of it is that well known,” said Fr. Pacwa. “I thought that this might be a great chance to let the institute and the books you make available on spirituality and the history of the Jesuits a little bit better known.”

The segment, which runs almost an hour, features many tidbits of Jesuit history, including:

• Jesuits opened the first schools for the laity.

• Jesuits invented the use of grade levels, which advanced students by testing.

• Jesuits created the school system by founding multiple schools for the laity.

• Blessed Peter Faber was one of the first ecumenicists, working with Protestants soon after the Reformation.

• The Jesuits are the only religious order founded by 10 University graduates.

• St. Francis Xavier was one of the first missionaries to Asia.

• A Jesuit named Ippolito Desideri was the first European missionary to successfully understand and study the Tibetian language and culture.

“The Pope is trying to make the message of Jesus very clear,” commented Fessio. “He wants to present Jesus in a way that will engage the reader, and will allow people to have a certitude about their knowledge of him.”

Fr. Fessio, who was a student of Ratzinger’s 40 years ago, is director of Ignatius Press, which is the primary publisher of all books by Pope Benedict XVI in the United States.Currently on the New York Times best sellers list, the Holy Father’s book is actually written under his name Joseph Ratzinger, as it’s contents are not an official Church document.

“He’s not writing this as an official Church document, he’s writing it as a personal theologian…The difference is that this is not binding on Catholics as an official statement on the Church’s faith, although, I think what he says is true. The phone book isn’t binding either, but there’s alot of truth in there,” said Fessio.

To purchase Pope Benedict XVI’s book, please visit Ignatius Press’ website.

“The Pope is trying to make the message of Jesus very clear,” commented Fessio. “He wants to present Jesus in a way that will engage the reader, and will allow people to have a certitude about their knowledge of him.”

Fr. Fessio, who was a student of Ratzinger’s 40 years ago, is director of Ignatius Press, which is the primary publisher of all books by Pope Benedict XVI in the United States.Currently on the New York Times best sellers list, the Holy Father’s book is actually written under his name Joseph Ratzinger, as it’s contents are not an official Church document.

“He’s not writing this as an official Church document, he’s writing it as a personal theologian…The difference is that this is not binding on Catholics as an official statement on the Church’s faith, although, I think what he says is true. The phone book isn’t binding either, but there’s alot of truth in there,” said Fessio.

To purchase Pope Benedict XVI’s book, please visit Ignatius Press’ website.

Jesuit Father William O’Leary was honored by Creighton Prep recently for decades of service to the school. The Jesuit began his 46-year career at Creighton Prep in 1964, and several hundred former students, faculty and friends showed their appreciation at a gathering in his honor.

Through most of his career, Fr. O’Leary taught history and theology. He retired from teaching five years ago but remained at the school helping with other duties, which included monitoring the hallway between classes.

Part of his legacy was his attention to shirttail management: if a student passed in the hallway with a shirttail hanging out, O’Leary would offer to hold the offender’s books, while the student remedied the problem.

O’Leary, who’s known for what he calls his “good, bad jokes,” said, “I’m going to miss the students, they’re saints.”

Watch the report from a local news station that covered O’Leary’s departure and captured him in action doing shirttail management.