Farewells and Rebirths

By John D. O'Brien, S.J., on behalf of the Ibo writers

Credit: Santiago Rodriguez

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. –Winston Churchill

The time has come to say farewell to our loyal readers. Sort of. For we are not so much departing from you, nor you from us, as we are putting to rest the format of communication that has served us both so well these past few years. The editors and writers of Ibo have decided that this will be the final article here, as we migrate to an exciting new blog-site hosted on Patheos.

Viva La Vida

By John O'Brien, S.J.

On the feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe (Aug 14), patron of journalists among other things, I noted that my birthday — or “anniversaire” as they say here in Quebec — had arrived.

It’s the anniversary of being “dato alla luce” (literally: given to the light), as the Italian phrase goes. But enough linguistic poaching. I’m presently enjoying days of villa with my Jesuit brothers on a lake in the Laurentian Mountains west of Montreal. “Villa” is Jesuitese for our annual week of relaxation, usually accompanied by hikes, films, novels, and this year at least, paint-ball. Yes, a large group of late-20 and 30-something professed religious let their primal survival instincts loose in an epic game of urban warfare. But I digress. As my birthday often falls during our summer villa-week, I get plenty of fraternal feting and roasting (the two go hand-in-hand in notre petite compagnie). But it also is a pleasant reminder each year to take stock, as a good existential philosopher might do, of the horizons of my being.

On the Threshold of Religious Life: an Interview with Jesuit Novice Erik Sorensen

By John O’Brien, S.J. 

Erik Sorensen is in the final days of the first phase of Jesuit formation known as novitiate. For two years, he has been studying, praying and embarking on experiences known as “experiments”, all designed by St. Ignatius of Loyola to test the candidate and help him grow in his vocation. Erik, 24, will be professing vows of perpetual poverty, chastity and obedience on August 17, 2014. 

Erik, tell us a little bit about yourself and your family background. 
I grew up in Red Deer, Alberta with my parents and two younger sisters.  Ever since I was young, I have been interested in aviation. This interest led me to get both my pilots license and a Bachelors Degree in Aerospace Engineering. 

What brought to the doorstep of the Jesuit novitiate? 
During my years in high school, I entertained the thought of being a priest. But I was never super serious about it because I was so intrigued by my passion for aviation and I was unable, at the time, to reconcile these ideas.

Lansana

By John O’Brien, S.J.

One night, which happened to be Good Friday, I sat in a friend’s living room and listened to a man describe his trip to hell and back. Human suffering was never so visible as it was in the face of that smiling man.

Lansana is from Sierra Leone, a west African country founded by former American slaves. In 1991, armed rebels, frustrated by decades of tribal discrimination and the huge gap between the poor and diamond-swollen rich, launched a civil war. In ten years it displaced or killed nearly one third of the population. For Lansana, the son of a moderately successful plantation owner, the war meant a descent into Dante’s inferno.

Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire of Grace

By John D. O’Brien, S.J. 

Photo: Sarah Scali

The life of a Jesuit Regent can be pretty marvellous, even a little unhinged. Especially summers, when any pretence to maintaining a "regular" life fails completely. All that remains is living in the here-and-now, or in the "sacrament of the present moment", as de Caussade puts it. I recently described a two-week service trip to the Northwest Territories (NWT) with a group from my college. It was a tremendous experience in every way: we travelled far, we served in distant communities, prayed a lot together, and shared both joy and hardship. We came limping back, but with hearts full and alive.

In the Land of the Midnight Sun

As dark as it gets in June. 
"Setting Sun" at Trappers Lake
(Photo: Krissy Chua)

By John D. O'Brien, S.J.

Time has become a little relative at this point in our journey. We've only been here four days. But each day has become like a week.  — Aiden Wickey

A service trip is a little like being on a retreat. Your "normal life" recedes quickly. You've left behind routines, comforts, and habits. You are plunged in a different land. You are faced with new challenges, above all, those that are within yourself.

For four days now, we've lived at Trapper's Lake Spirituality Centre, a lodge with cabins located a few minutes drive from Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories. There is no spring here. A few weeks ago, ice still covered the lakes, while now we sweat in dry heat, and generally bask in the nearly 24-hour sunshine.

I [Heart] What?

By John D. O’Brien, SJ 

Once, in an earlier chapter of my life, and in a spirit of lament, I wrote a poem about feeling detached from my emotions, about the takeover of the mental and the loss of feeling in my life. It went something like this:

Why We Need Friends

By John D. O’Brien, S.J. 

Credit: www.spectator.co.uk

You are my friend, 

I never knew it 'til then 

My friend, my friend 

– Patti Labelle

Frank Capra’s beloved classic It’s a Wonderful Life explores a number of themes, but perhaps the most important – or at least the final word – is given to the angel Clarence, who leaves his copy of Tom Sawyer to George Bailey with this line inscribed: “Remember George, no man is a failure who has friends.” That even the most mundane and provincial of lives can be considered a success if it includes the gift of friendship, is a profoundly Christian idea. Yet it also immediately begs a number of questions. What is true friendship? What differentiates friendship from other kinds of loving relationships? And is it the number or the quality of friendship that is the more important?

Seven Reasons I Marched

John D. O'Brien, S.J.

Today I marched with about 2000 others on the streets of Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia, which is the province of my birth and where I presently live and work. We marched from the city hall to the legislative buildings through the downtown streets, in a damp and drizzly west coast afternoon. As I reflect back, I can identify seven primary reasons I attended the March for Life today.

Sacred Heart/Divine Mercy: Different or the Same?

By John D. O’Brien S.J. 

The Sacred Heart by Michael O'Brien

Catholic devotions: why do they matter, what are they made of, what are they are not. In a strong and prescriptive phrase in his Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius of Loyola wrote “we ought to praise not only the building and adornment of churches, but also the images and veneration of them according to what they represent.” He seemed to press the point further, writing “we should show our esteem for the relics of the saints by venerating them and praying to the saints. We should praise visits to Station Churches, pilgrimages, indulgences, jubilees, crusade insults, and the lighting of candles in churches.” He was a man for devotions.

For some, these devotions are the spiritual life-blood of the believing Church; for others they may seem simplistic or quaint. But in the spirit of our founder, we too seek to explore and understand the powerful role of devotions in Church life today. 

There is no Catholic devotional image more widespread world-wide today than the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Statues, holy cards, even graffiti and tattoos – the iconic representation of a pierced heart on fire has captured the religious imagination of all strata of society and cultures. And with reason. The burning heart of Christ is an aptly powerful symbol of the God who is Love, the Christian God.

Ever since St. Claude la Columbière, S.J. counselled St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th Century, Jesuits have continuously promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This continues today through the Apostleship of Prayer and the Eucharistic Youth Movement. They promote discovery of the heart of God as an essential part of the mission of the Church and of Christian spirituality. Here’s why:

Some Grapes in the Desert. We’re Almost There.

By John D. O’Brien, S.J. 

Thus begins the final week of Lent, at least before the drama of Holy Week. Courage, dear friends. It’s the last lap, the final round. We’re at the point in the sojourn when we just.want.to.get.to.Canaan. It’s when Lenten penitential observances start to wobble. We sneak-spoon some ice cream. We watch part of a hockey game. We go on Facebook for just a quick look. No worries, the Lord loves us anyway. But fortitude, friends, fortitude.

How to Do a Self-Directed Retreat

By John D. O’Brien, S.J. 

Photo credit: John D. O'Brien

There are many who never get the chance to make an Ignatian retreat. Many, however, have heard of them, desire to do one, and can often carve out a weekend of free time in a relatively solitary place. So in the interest of promoting spiritual growth, here are some basic principles for a self-directed, home-made retreat.

Ten-Toed Sloths

By John D. O'Brien, S.J.

The longer I reflect on the spiritual life, the more I realize the problem of holiness has a certain elegant simplicity to it:

1. God is a Person who desires a relationship with me.
2. I am a person who desires a relationship with God.
3. A good relationship requires persons spending quality time with each other.
4. I don’t spend enough quality time with God. 

As the inscription in a pub once read: Lost is the simplicity of old times / the world abounds with laws and teems with crimes. All too true, yet the dominant vice of our time is not lust or gluttony or any of the obvious ones. The great sins are all relatives of each other, but major sin today, I believe, is actually sloth.

Unexpected Olympic Grace

By John D. O’Brien, S.J.

There are many things I don’t like about great bloated spectacle known as the Olympic Games, but these gripes have been better articulated elsewhere. Instead, I’d like to focus on one moment of the Sochi Olympics: Yuna Kim’s silver-winning performance in figure skating, which has generated both controversy – nearly two million have signed a petition calling for an investigation into the judging – and inspiration. Her performances are always impressive for their athleticism alone, but Yuna Kim has that extra je-ne-sais-quoi. We might call it beauty; we might call it grace. In any case, she shines, and well beyond the arena ice.

Pope Francis on the Digital Age

By John D. O’Brien. S.J.

Credit: L’Osservatore Romano

Recently, Pope Francis issued his first message for World Communications Day (WCD). These statements, which are made every year, are like “state of the union” addresses on our lives in relation to media. Today, we are all denizens of the digital nation. Media technology influences our lives in ways that are dramatic, evolving, and defining. The WCD messages, which are also fairly short, summarize the Church’s most recent reflection on communications. For all who are interested in the intersection of media, theology and spirituality, they are landmark statements, and therefore worth looking at closely.

Faith in Action: Interview with Erin Leahy

(Credit: leahymusic.com)

John O’Brien: Erin, you are a full-time musician, with a busy touring schedule, at least four albums your credit and that of the band Leahy. You have won Juno awards for your music, most memorably the “best new group” and “best instrumental artist” award in 1998. You toured extensively with Shania Twain, and continue to tour internationally year after year. Needless to say, music is the primary occupation of your life. What inspired you to become a full-time musician?

How Many People Will Get to Heaven?

By John O’Brien, S.J.


(Credit: dhayward)


This is a question one often hears in ministry. There is nobody on earth who knows the answer. But we do know that we are all destined for heaven.

At the same time, one’s salvation is not automatic. We need to attend to it daily, for it will depend on the state of my soul at the moment of death, whether it be in a state of friendship with God (state of grace). As Jesus said, “He who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt 24:13).

Perhaps the best understanding of personal salvation is this: I am saved, I am being saved, and I hope to be saved. 

The Gift

By John D. O'Brien, S.J.

Photo: Brian Nelson

This following story is written by a guest writer, who shall remain anonymous. 

---

The children are lying on the living room rug, their stomachs distended with turkey and Christmas cake. Our guest, Father Brian, turns a beaming smile on them, lights his pipe, and seats himself with a sigh on the old rocking chair beside the wood-stove. He is content just to soak up the family atmosphere and listen to our children’s after-dinner banter.

“Tell us a story, Father,” they cry before long. The priest has a reputation for stories. More than that, he has all the time in the world for children.

“What kind of a story?” he asks.

“A Christmas story!”

“Well,” he says, pondering, his eyes growing thoughtful, “I think I do know a true story about a gift that was given on a Christmas day many years ago. But no, it’s too strange.”

Now they’re hooked. “Yes, yes, that one! That one!”

“It’s full of grown ups, “ he murmurs, “Nazis and war and things like that.”

“Yes, yes,” they squirm with anticipation.

His eyes go far away and his brow furrows. He rocks back and forth slowly, slowly, and the room grows quieter.

“I’m quite serious, when I tell you,” he says, “that this is a true story. I saw parts of it with my own eyes. I lived with the family to whom it happened.”

Then he begins:

The Silence of Advent

By John D. O’Brien, S.J.

Northern Nativity, William Kurelek

Only when you are familiar with silence have you learned to speak; what you have to say can ripen only in silence. – Adrienne von Speyr, Lumina/New Lumina 

Have you ever had that experience when you can’t get to sleep, even though your mind and body are thoroughly exhausted? It’s frustrating, but there’s nothing you can do about it. Last night I tossed and turned, and wondered why. I hadn’t had any caffeine. Nor had I been staring at luminescent screen, which often fools the brain into extending its waking hours. I had thought that I would fall headlong into deep slumber after a long trip, for I was in a warm cabin, surrounded by peace and silence. It was not to be.

When We Are Gathered in His Name

It occurred to the editors of Ibo that there was one basic question, so fundamental to the Christian life, that it demanded to be explored for greater profit of both ourselves and our faithful readers. Quite simply, the question was this: What are the ways Christ promised to be with us? “That’s so obvious!” the reader might cry. Perhaps. But it is nonetheless an important question. Unless we know the primary ways of encountering the living God in the bracing reality of our lives, the faith risks becoming an abstraction at best, an ideology at worst. There are four privileged ways we know of in which Christ manifests himself to his people in the here-and-now. Four writers will explore these in the short articles that follow. This is the first. 

By John D. O’Brien, S.J. 

Friars’ visit, Wayside Academy, Peterborough, Ontario, 2004 (John O’Brien)

Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst. – Matt 18:20 

I must admit I chose this particular topic because I had never before given it adequate thought. It also seemed the least dramatic, and possibly for me the most hazily and haphazardly felt. The other manifestations of Christ were more clear to me, for I have experienced the power of the Word, the Logos leaping through a living text and speaking in the darkness. I have felt the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, in its radiant and pulsing reality. I have met Christ in the poor, and had my heart burn within me in their (and his) company. But, what about that simple promise in Matthew 18: where two or three are gathered in my name...?