Fumbling towards Beatitude

One of the hidden treasures of the Martyrs' Shrine in Midland, Ontario, is the set of drawings by William Kurelek depicting St. Jean de Brebeuf and his companions, the 17th century Jesuits, whose gentle missionary life among the Huron or Wendat people came to a tragic end when the Huron nation was destroyed by the Iroquois in 1649, and the Jesuits abandoned the Sainte Marie mission. Kurelek is one of Canada's iconic painters. His works hang in the National Art Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and numerous collections, private and public throughout the country. His great output covered Canadian life both urban and rural, past and present --  and even future through his Dali-esque apocalypses To my knowledge, there are no reproductions of the "Huronia Mission Paintings" drawings in print [except for a 1991  academic monograph ]. For many years they were displayed behind glass beneath the church at the Shrine, and it was difficult to ta...

There was a great turn-out and wonderful response to the Ignatian Discernment retreat on Jan 26 at St. Mark's Parish/College in Vancouver, B.C. A snapshot of Jesuits in action. With, Fr. Mbugua "the growler" William, S.J. Fr. John "I clench my fists when I'm angry" McCarthy, S.J. Fr. Elton "the discernment origamist" Fernandes, S.J., Um, me, "boxing fanatic" O'Brien, Kevin "the hitman" Eng, esquire, And a group of more than fifty young adults from twenty parishes in nine Greater Vancouver cities... Thanks are due to St. Mark's College for being our host, the college council of the Knights of Columbus for providing lunch, and Fr. Rob Allore, S.J., pastor St. Mark's Parish for the use of the Church for Adoration and Mass... A.M.G.D. That's what this was all about.

Taking advantage of my American sojourn, I went see the film For Greater Glory in the cinema, as it looks like it will not be playing in Canada, and its U.S. run is winding up. I'm glad I did. The film is emotionally moving and engaging notwithstanding its 2.5 hour length. It chronicles the Cristero War in Mexico (1926-29), which took place when the government of Plutarco Calles began enforcing the anticlerical laws of Mexico's 1917 constitution. Religious observance was essentially outlawed, foreign priests were expelled and many clergy murdered and altars smashed. Eventually, the people organized themselves into an armed resistance.

Last summer, the Jesuits of English Canada, together with a number of lay collaborators and some Jesuits from the French Canada province, joined with the Father General of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Adolfo Nicolas, for a congress in Midland, Ontario. The occasion was the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first Jesuits in Canada, and to pray, discern, and discuss directions for the future. A short video was just released today on that gathering, which also serves to provide a certain portrait of the Society in Canada today: For those with a little more time, here's a video of a talk recently given by Sylvester Tan, SJ, a Jesuit from the New Orleans Province, at Loyola College (New Orleans). It's on the question of "What is Jesuit Education? This, too, gives a certain portrait of the Society of the Jesus, from both a historical and spiritual perspective. Highly recommended. Finally, I wrote a short blog article over at Ibo ,...