The Day I Wanted to Punch Jesus

By Santiago Rodriguez, S.J.

totalrocky.com

"My arms are too short to box with God.” - Johnny Cash

I got into a fistfight once. It was more of a crazy dance than a boxing match. I’d like to think that I was defending my then-girlfriend's honour, but I was probably protecting my stubborn pride. I hated that fight. I was terrified and my heart thumped in my chest, but I knew I had to fight. The way I remember the fight we both got our noses bloodied. In all likelihood, I got the worst of it. Hopefully, the other guy thought of me as he got out of bed the next day. I doubt he did. That’s the closest I’ve ever been to being a boxer. Fisticuff games don’t count, regardless of what my brothers might say.

Sampling Prayer: Why Catholic Young Adults Don't Pray

By Santiago Rodriguez, S.J.

ThinkStockPhotos.com

“Why should I care?”, Ben asked about the statement on the billboard. We had been discussing the phrase it advertised: JESUS LOVES YOU.

“Knowing it does nothing for me. People need to stop telling me that Jesus loves me,” Ben complained. He told me that Christians should be more concerned with helping others realize that they are loved by God instead of simply broadcasting it so matter-of-factly. “I want to feel Jesus' love. I want to feel it in my heart. How do I do that?”

“Son of God”, Another Jesus Movie?

By Artur Suski, S.J.

Credit: http://facebook.com/SonOfGodMovie

I must admit that I was a bit sceptical when I heard that there was going to be yet another Jesus movie. Are there not enough movies about Jesus out there? Wasn’t Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ not the masterpiece that put an end to future Jesus movies? Apparently not. What new things could they come up with that weren’t in the previous movies, anyway? In any case, this was my thinking until last Sunday night, when I went to see Son of God with a group of fellow Jesuits.

The Dawning Realization: We Are Children of God

By Santiago Rodriguez, S.J.

riverrun.wordpress.com

A great book or film, invites us to consider the life of character who is searching for purpose and longing for meaning. At some point in that journey of self-discovery, the character has a eureka moment. He or she discovers a truth so profound and meaningful that, simply by realizing it, his or her life will be forever changed. In other words, the character has an epiphany – an insight about God, the world or his or herself that alters everything.

The passage of the finding of Jesus in the temple is a very important passage in the gospel story. According to the law, every adult Jewish male who lived within fifteen miles of Jerusalem had to attend the Passover. Every Jewish person should attend it at least once in a lifetime. A Jewish boy became a man when he turned thirteen years of age. At that moment, he became a son of the law. This is what is celebrated in a Bar Mitzvah, the boy becomes to a “son of the commandments”. (A girl becomes a “daughter of the commandments” through a Bat Mitzvah.) Through the ritual, a boy dies to his childish ways and becomes a subject of the law. It means that he can properly understand the Torah. This coming of age relates to acquiring wisdom.

The Cross: An Encounter with God and Our (Suffering) Brothers and Sister

By Eric Hanna, S.J.

A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads. —Mark 15:21–27

We often feel like once we have mastered the basics, we can move on to the more complicated stuff. But the basics, the foundations of our faith, can never be mastered or completed. They bear repeating again and again. The cross is just such a foundation. We must return to it again and again and continue to discover it. St. Augustine is said to have declared, “We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song”. But, in this happy season, what is the place of the cross?

Nothing More Practical than Seeking and Finding God

By Eric Hanna, S.J.

In today's readings for the Eucharist, the people begin to look away from themselves and towards Jesus. After Lazarus is raised from the death, Mary, his sister, travels with Jesus because she believes in him. A great many people are hearing stories about the many wonders Jesus has worked!

Anticipation builds, what will this Jesus do next? And with that anticipation, dread builds in the hearts of the Jewish authorities. “The Romans let us run our temple because we keep the people in line … now some prophet in the desert is stirring them up! We could lose everything. We must be unified, not divided.” 

In the first reading, the prophet Ezekiel speaks to a people experiencing the pain of division. The once proud nation of Israel is broken and scattered. They long to be gathered up into one.