The studies that members of the Society of Jesus engage in have an apostolic purpose: They aim to prepare these men to better serve the mission that God entrusts to the Society and to each Jesuit. This September, the Jesuits of Canada are offering a brand-new program in Quebec City for young Jesuits doing their …
Jesuits of Canada Offer New First Studies Program Read More »
By Frédéric Barriault photos: The Archive of the Jesuits of Canada Last fall, the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States published Contemplation and Political Action: An Ignatian Guide to Civic Engagement, which opens with a challenge from Pope Francis: A “good Catholic” cannot be indifferent to social and political struggles. Given that I come from a Social Gospel background, I have always resisted the idea that faith is …
Politician, Jesuit, and Man for Others: Jacques Couture, SJ Read More »
By Eric Clayton Saint Ignatius invites us to find God’s Holy Spirit at work in all things. COVID-19 has challenged us to do exactly that. Rather than at church, we find God in our homes, on our screens, and amidst our families. But have you ever thought to encounter God as you walk the streets of your city? “Cities are big and busy,” says Stephen Noon, SJ, a Jesuit in …
All roads lead to God: The Ministry of Retreats on the Street Read More »
By Rachel Moccia Matthew Hendzel has always felt a calling to both academic study and pastoral ministry; his Jesuit formation helped him see how he could embrace both. Could you share about your early engagement with your faith? I was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. My mother was Anglican and my father was Catholic, but they weren’t practicing. I went to a Mennonite high school, and that’s where I started to ask questions about …
By Sr. Laurence Loubières, xmcj, Director of the Service for Discernment in Common In his autobiography, A Pilgrim’s Journey, Saint Ignatius of Loyola recounts the circumstances of his conversion in 1521, when he spent weeks in bed at his family’s castle recovering from a military injury. He tells how, after reading religious books and spending time in prayer and reflection, …
Spiritual conversation: a heart-to-heart dialogue Read More »
By Daniel Simoncic In early 2019, Father General Arturo Sosa, SJ, unveiled the Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs) that guide the actions of the Society of Jesus for the next decade. The result of a communal discernment process, the UAPs are articulated as follows: Showing the way to God through the Spiritual Exercises and discernment; Walking …
An Update on The Gesù, A Jesuit Hub in the Heart of Montreal Read More »
By Eric Clayton Kevin Kelly, SJ—director of Villa Saint-Martin, the Jesuit retreat center in Montreal—is a businessman-turned-Jesuit. But, to Kevin, that’s nothing unusual. “I see St. Ignatius not only as a brilliant and spiritual person,” he says, “but also as a businessman.” After all, the saint started and managed a multinational corporation: the Society of Jesus. So, how does business acumen translate into the life of a Jesuit today? Kevin shares how he …
Business Not as Usual: An interview with Fr. Kevin Kelly, SJ Read More »
Bernard Senécal is unique. This Quebec Jesuit taught Buddhism in South Korea, where he has lived since 1985, and is now the director of the Way’s End Stone Field Community, as well as a longtime contributor to Relations (the journal of the Centre justice et foi). Seo Myeongweon (his Korean name) has always understood the life of a Jesuit as that of a man who goes to the peripheries, who confronts difference and …
Peter Bisson, SJ, artworks by Leland Bell In the Church of the Immaculate Conception in M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island, the fifteen Stations of the Cross are paintings by the noted Anishinaabe artist Leland Bell of Wiikwemkoong First Nation, also on Manitoulin Island. The stations begin with Jesus Dibakona Tchi Nibod or Jesus Is Condemned to Death, and culminate in Jesus Abitchiba or Jesus Risen from …
Contemplating the Anishinaabe Stations of the Cross Read More »
“The Spiritual Exercises are a way of thinking, a way of living, a way of making decisions, a way of relating, and a framework for spiritual experience,” says Christian Grondin, outgoing director of the Centre de Spiritualité Manrèse (CSM), who will be replaced by Father Marc Rizzetto, SJ. These practices are “all the more important because, as a result of the pandemic, radical questions are being asked about the fundamental values of humanity.” The Centre Manrèse was founded in …