Jim Profit: Environmentalist, Community Activist, and my Spiritual Father

By Daniel Leckman, S.J.

Credit: http://jesuits.ca

Five and a half years ago, I did something that I had never done in my life up to that point: I packed up everything I felt I needed to survive, left my family and friends behind, and opened up a new chapter to my life.  I moved in with a community of Jesuits in Guelph, Ontario to begin a year of candidacy with the Society of Jesus.

It was a year that would change my life by giving me spiritual renewal, deepening my capacity for prayer and my intimacy with God.  I also developed a little more self-confidence; though I’m the first one to admit that I still have a lot of work to do in that department!  Jim Profit was a man who had something to do with all of these things.  This is why, when I learned about his passing last week, I had three reactions:

Positive and Frustrating Experiences around Evangelization on the Internet

By Brother Daniel Leckman, S.J.

tele.communication.net

For this entry, I'd like to muse about the Catholic Church and communications. More specifically, how do we communicate faith to a secular world that is slowly losing the art of elaborate and refined communication of complex ideas (which are needed to communicate the faith!), and that instead is more interested in “sound bites” and the 20 second summary of a complex issue?

Those of us who who have come to believe that Christ’s salvific love for us brings all people to new life and restores us to God’s light seem to be almost boxed out in this world and, as many agnostics and atheists would claim, have become irrelevant.

Hope Springs from the Heart of Jesus

By Santiago Rodriguez, S.J.

(credit: http://www.hopesprings-movie.com)

I have recently learned about the struggles and heartaches of many married couples for whom I deeply care. They have been in my prayers and thoughts throughout the summer; it is something that has affected my prayer life and my understanding of family dynamics.

It is with this disposition in the background that I watched the film Hope Springs a few days ago. It tells the story of a couple from Omaha, Nebraska who are struggling with their marriage. Kay (Meryl Streep) is married to Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones), a crotchety old man who takes no interest in his wife; he is rather content with the newspaper and the Golf Channel. Kay realizes that she wants a “real marriage” again and coerces her husband into attending marriage counselling. Their counsellor, Dr. Fend (a very subdued Steve Carell) then invites them to rediscover intimacy and to explore their feelings.

Our God is A God of Second Chances

By Santiago Rodriguez, S.J.

I am not ashamed to say that I am a fan of Veggie Tales. I have seen some of the episodes along with the two films, and their songs are often in my head. Since one of my former roommates introduced me to these anthropomorphic vegetables, I had used their songs to prepare many Sunday School presentations for children. In one of the Veggie Tales films, Jonah: A Veggie Tale Movie, the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything tell the story of Jonah, the prophet who panics and tries to flee from the Lord when he is given the mission to go to Nineveh. We know how the story goes: a guilt-stricken but wearied Jonah leaves on a ship and when the it is beset with a great storm, the passengers conclude that God is angry at Jonah and they toss him into the sea.

Once at sea, he is swallowed by a whale, and inside its belly he meets God's messengers. They inform him through song that God is a god of mercy and love – and if Jonah repents, God will surely give him a second chance. The choir repeatedly tells him:

Praise the Lord! 

He's the God of second chances!
 
You'll be floored how His love your life enhances! 
You can be restored from your darkest circumstances! 

Our God is a God of second chances!