Green Catholicism: The potholes and road blocks on the road ahead

By Brother Dan Leckman, S.J.

panhala.net

A few weeks ago, fellow blogger Santiago had a great entry that talked about the ecological crisis our world is facing. One of the points he made was there is a great difficulty we face as Catholics, even as human beings, to move forward on this issue. To develop this idea, he quoted Pope Benedict, “While we are willing to address our ecological situation, we do not know how.” Yes, it’s true that there are many out there who are in the darkness on how to proceed.

As Santi pointed out, “Our awareness of the complexity of the issue, and also the ambiguity of available information may deter some to become more fully involved.” However, there is an even greater number of people who “do know how” to proceed with regard to this crisis. There are many wonderful creative answers to this crisis that should inspire others into action. Despite this, many Catholics and Christians remain reluctant.

An Apology for the Word ‘Kingdom’

By Adam Hincks, S.J.

Michael O'Brien, Allegory on Seeking and Striving

The court of þe kyndom of God alyue       The court of the Kingdom of God alive
Hatȝ a property in hytself beyng:          Has in itself a property, being:
Alle þat may þerinne aryue                 All that may therein arrive
Of alle þe reme is quen oþer kyng,        Of all that realm is either queen or king.
– Pearl
The word “kingdom” is familiar to English-speaking Christians. We speak of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, and pray, “Thy kingdom come.” “Kingdom” is the traditional way to translate the New Testament term βασιλεία and is consistently used in English translations of Roman Catholic liturgy. However, these days, many use the word “reign”, when possible, in order to stress the primary meaning of the Greek word as used in Sacred Scripture. The entry for βασιλεία in my New Testament lexicon is: “reign, rule; kingdom, domain”. Hence, the thinking goes, “reign” more aptly emphasises the active ruling of God, whereas “kingdom” has misleading geopolitical connotations, making us think of a territorial place rather than the sovereignty of Almighty God.

While I do not think that the use of the word “reign” should be outlawed, I much prefer “kingdom”. Here are four reasons:

Stepping into the Battle: the life of a saint

By Brother Daniel Leckman, S. J.

sscc.org

As part of an ongoing project I undertook to help my brother find some kind of faith in his life, I send him daily emails, with the mass daily readings, something about the saint of the day, and my reflections on the readings, the saint or both. This has been educational for both of us. He’s finding out a little more about scripture and the faith, and I’m meeting a lot of interesting saints!

Last week, we encountered one in particular that on the surface seemed like every other saint in our calendar; someone who would offer their life to the greater good. Still, his story would catch the attention of some rather big names in world history!

A Short Reflection on Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

By Edmund Lo, S.J.

photo: www.ucsf.edu

About a week ago, it was announced that the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to Drs. John Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for their work on reprogramming mature cells into immature cells. It means that cells that have already reached their developmental destination – be they skin cells, brain cells and so on – can be changed into pluripotent stem cells that are capable of developing into all kinds of cells. It can be seen as a kind of “turning back the clock”, if you will. These cells are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), since they first have to be prompted by certain proteins in order for their reprogramming to take place.

Becoming Who We Are: Learning from the saints

By Brother Daniel Leckman, S. J.

One of the most wonderful aspects of my journey as a Jesuit has been the deepening of my relationship with the saints. From my days as a Jesuit novice until today, my respect, admiration and desire to learn from the saints has only increased. However, like many things in life, these relationships are complicated, and I’m slowly learning that I’m not the only who thinks so.

Our modern secular world definitely has problems with the saints. It’s so much easier to dismiss these people who heard God speaking to them in particular ways than to actually learn from their life experiences. The rational for this response is often something like: “I can’t hear God speaking to me, so if they did, they must have been crazy people in serious need of medication.” There is nothing new in this perspective. Many people in our modern world find it simpler to mock, ignore or dismiss anyone who lived in previous centuries—or even previous decades—than to accept their wisdom. So, even though I’m kind of saddened by this response, I’ve come to expect that bias against the saints from the my secular friends.