Appetite for Convenience

By Santiago Rodriguez, S.J.

Credit: www.thinkstockphotos.com

I am on the road again. Being part of the Jesuit Mission Band means travelling, driving from one city to the next, and moving from a Jesuit community to a hotel and vice versa. Being on the road implies living out of a backpack or a suitcase, having a different schedule every day, and dining out very often. At times, all of this leaves me out of sync, exposed, and a bit vulnerable. Without the stability and structure of a routine and a more consistent schedule, I feel like an octopus on roller-blades. When it comes to planning my meals, I never know what the next meal will look like. As days go by on our retreat tour, I find myself going for what is convenient, trying to be sensitive to the culinary preferences of others, and losing the self-restraint not to binge on a bag of Tostitos forty-five minutes after we’ve had lunch.

10 Reasons to Fast

By John O’Brien, S.J.

The age-old practice of periodic fasting from food or certain foods is something, admittedly, I am not good at. I’m probably typical in this regard, born and weaned in our land of supercharged plenitude, a culture and economy based upon comfort, and the creation, cultivation and satisfaction of as many appetites as possible. At first blush, the very idea of fasting seems to induce an allergic reaction. At the very least, it seems like something that is “sooooo haaarrd”. Well, yes and no. It may be hard to cross its threshold, but once you’re inside, it’s surprisingly easy – as I constantly rediscover.

Fast Food Nation

By Artur Suski, S.J. 

Credit: http://wp.lehman.edu/

Some of you know all too well that one of my interests is nutrition. My academic background is molecular biology, and I have put this knowledge to good use as I recently have been doing more reading on the topic of nutrition. Why the interest? Simply put, God has given us a body and we are to be faithful stewards of this magnificent creation. Are we to abuse it or to take good care of it? I think the answer is clear. The same applies to nutrition; are we to abuse our bodies by giving it garbage or real food? One would not fill a Ferrari with sugar water, yet this is what we’re doing to our bodies today, especially with our Western diet– one that is dominated by processed foods; too many calories from animal products and hydrogenated vegetable oils; not nearly enough greens; and so forth.

The Pursuit of Purity: Organic Foods and Souls

By Artur Suski, S.J.

Credit: http://danielayad.wordpress.com

A somewhat recent phenomenon that has surfaced in the society is the pursuit of purity when it comes to food. It can be seen most clearly in the preference towards organic food and non-genetically modified organisms (GMO), a movement which has been gaining momentum. This is especially apparent when it is viewed within the context of the state of the food industry today: on the whole, more and more chemicals and GMOs are being used in farming to produce the highest yield possible, thus maximizing the profits. On top of this, quick-to-make, or quick-to-purchase foods – such as junk food – are quite popular for the busy bees who do not have time or the energy to prepare meals for themselves. These meals, as we all know, are filled with preservatives and other chemicals that either produce a certain texture, or make the food taste a certain way.

Yet, in the midst of all of this, we find a small and steadily growing group that has shied away from commercially farmed or processed foods, and is steadily striving to return back to the “original” way of preparing food: food that has been farmed without any chemical additives of any form or without any GMOs.

Much Ado About Nothing

By Edmund Lo, S.J.

(credit: http://ja.wikipedia.org)

After my annual eight-day retreat in Montréal about two weeks ago, I decided to stick around for a few more days to visit friends. During those days, I was twice taken out to all-you-can-eat restaurants. Although I enjoyed the company very much, I felt ill at ease during the meals. It wasn't that the food was mouldy and disgusting, but it was rather the idea behind the all-you-can-eat or buffet concept that was jarring.

During my younger days in Vancouver, I used to enjoy these kind of meals quite a bit. After all, you can get a great quantity of food from a large selection for a fixed price. You may as well get your money worth, no? One example of that was Japanese food; it meant that I could have all the salmon sashimi that I had ever wanted. Then, somewhere down the road, I began to reflect on this experience of eating in general.

Third Reflection on Humanae Vitae: In Which the Marital Act is Compared With Park Benches, Oak Trees and Eating

By John D. O’Brien, S.J.

A starting point for understanding the beautiful Catholic teaching on procreation is remembering that our vision of the human person is not “dualistic”: I am not a soul trapped in a body, as some religions hold. Nor will I be an angel (pure spirit) after my death. On the contrary, the teaching of Christ is that we will have new bodies and souls in the new heavens and new earth. What I am, in this life and the next, is both body and soul – I am a composite being. And as Christ so dramatically demonstrated, what we do with our bodies matters, as an expression of who I am and how I relate to other bodily beings.

When Paul’s VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae reiterated the normative Christian teaching that contraception was morally harmful, that it split apart the two purposes or ends of the marital act – what did he mean by ends? Let’s first consider how objectively, everything has an end or purpose. The end of a park bench is to be sat upon. The end of an oak tree is to grow to a certain height and produce a acorns. HV reminded us that the ends of the marital act are the unity of the spouses and the procreation of children.

Chastity a la Curry

By Santiago Rodriguez, S.J.

During a dinner conversation last night, I was telling some of my Jesuit brothers about an issue of Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits that I am reading; an issue titled Living Chastity: psychosexual well-being in Jesuit life, and written by Fr. Gerdenio Sonny Manuel, SJ. In the aftermath of the sex abuse crisis in the Church, Fr. Manuel writes that more than ever it is important for us to talk about the positive aspects – psychological, social and spiritual – of living chaste and celibate. He proposes five practices of religious life that promote psychosexual health: 1) living close to God and our deepest desires; 2) developing broad and deep interpersonal relationships and communities of support; 3) asking for love, nurturing others, and negotiating separation; 4) coping with stress and recognizing destructive patterns of behaviour; and 5) celebrating the holy in the company of Jesus.