Don't Be Afraid to Try: Ogres and Poetry

By Eric Hanna, S.J.

We've all had that moment of fear when asked to do something creative.  Fear tells us that if we risk expressing something we are not quite sure of, others will tear it down simply because they don't understand.  This pattern leads us to avoid trying new things.  It is a pattern that students at Regina's Mother Theresa Middle School are trying to break.

When I first started helping out with an after-school program of creative writing and poetry, some students were quite eager to try expressing themselves.  But there were always a few who froze.  They wrote nothing at all, or non-committal phrases about safe topics: movies they'd seen, videogames, etc.

Aboriginal Justice: What Happens on the Ground?

By Edmund Lo, S.J.

On the calender of the Catholic Church, the twelfth of December is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Given her importance to all native peoples around the world, some of our Ibo contributors have decided to launch a two-part series on Aboriginal justice.

Grandmothers Guidance Centre celebration, Regina, Saskatchewan

The following is an interview with Sr. RéAnne Letourneau, PM. Sr. RéAnne belongs to the religious congregation that is the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, and has been very involved in Aboriginal ministry for a number of years. She is currently active in Regina, Saskatchewan, with the Urban Aboriginal, Non-Aboriginal Relations Ministry.

Learning the “John the Baptist Style”

By Edmund Lo, S.J.

Photo: Santiago Rodriguez, S.J.

My fellow brother Jesuits have written previously about the Jesuit-led young adult retreat called Hearts on Fire (HoF), where the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola is introduced. We had the opportunity to bring HoF to Regina, Saskatchewan this past weekend, where I found myself in the unique position of being both on the Jesuit retreat team and the local host.

I have always enjoyed running retreats. It gives me a concrete sense that I am not someone who serenades the retreatants with eloquent speeches, nor gives them a substantial lecture of how to understand God on a rigorously intellectual level. I am merely preparing them, so that they be prepared for an encounter with the Lord in their prayer and reflection periods. As many know, this kind of encounter can be wildly unpredictable, yet immensely fruitful. Couple this with taking care of the details behind the scene to ensure that the retreatants be physically well-disposed, and I have a strong sense of what the mission of St. John the Baptist feels like: “prepare the way of the Lord, then get out of the way”.