Once at the Margins

Today’s Feast of St. James recalls once more that Jesus chose fishermen as he began to form a network around him. Modern folk, unlike Jesus’ contemporaries, may not wonder that he did. Rachel Lu wonders and asked, Why? One of her phrases, “lives at the margins,” caused an additional wondering: Do not Christians discover their true identity “at the margins?”

Why did Christ choose a fisherman? https://t.co/3EAyY6MBiK

— America Magazine (@americamag) July 25, 2020

Now Seen

The undersea discovery of an ancient vessel confirms what up to now was only seen on pottery.

A 2,400-year-old merchant ship has been found on the bottom of the Black Sea pic.twitter.com/XcKXx70Iwz

— Mashable (@mashable) July 25, 2020

Racial Justice Initiative

The dean of Boston College Law School and president-elect of the Association of American Law Schools explained that the “the Forum on Racial Justice in America...will be a transformative process for the university and will launch a rethinking of how we understand our role in higher education, in the greater Boston community, in the nation and in the world.”

Pleased to welcome Dean Vincent Rougeau of @BCLAW back to the pages of @americamag to talk about this important new initiative. @BostonCollege @jesuitcolleges @jesuitnews https://t.co/wYX4dP1XtO

— Matt Malone, S.J. (@Americaeditor) July 17, 2020

Turning at a River

The midpoint of the month-long celebration of St. Ignatius of Loyola has passed. Daily reflections up to now and all July are available at the link in the sidebar (“31 Days with Saint Ignatius’). Today focuses on the revelation Ignatius received near the Cardoner River in Manresa.

What exactly is the Cardoner Vision? In today's #31DayswithIgnatius blog post, we will explore what it is and what it means for all of us. https://t.co/7zLDNc0XAs

— Loyola Press (@loyolapress) July 19, 2020

Appeal More than Reflection

Dismissing the crowds, [Jesus] went into the house: easy to miss phrases in the gospel selection remind that Matthew allowed Jesus’ original parable to speak to his hearers, his faith community. Contemporary hearers may consider how the parable of wheat and tares (a weed that resembles wheat in its early stages of growth) illuminates and encourages them.

Jaime L. Waters considers how this parable shapes those who welcome it to work for justice.

How the parable of the weeds compels us to fight for justice https://t.co/dPNPO14nBQ

— America Magazine (@americamag) July 19, 2020

In Memoriam

John Lewis (U.S. Congress) has died. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December 2019. He had been the last living member of the civil rights activists who had the most significant effect on the movement.

John Lewis, lion of civil rights and Congress, dies at 80 https://t.co/hJZuYOWnuW

— America Magazine (@americamag) July 18, 2020

Not Well Known

A line in Julian’s Showings is better known than the fact that “spent 15 years and more isolated in her cell, immersed in a deep, faithful struggle to comprehend the divine meaning of these words.” God’s promises are sure even though humans cannot reckon God’s timing of the promises.

Julian of Norwich believed ‘All will be well.’ Would she say so today? | America Magazine https://t.co/qevdvKi2ax

— John Mpuuga (@JohnMpuuga2) June 29, 2020

Step by Step

On 16 July Vatican News reported that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) published step-by-step procedures for handling cases of abuse of minors.

The  Congregation Secretary detailed the manual to Andrea Tornielli of Vatican News.

The Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith explains how a new Vademecum will help Church leaders pursue the path of truth and justice in cases of abuse of minors.https://t.co/apLBeLzjsu

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) July 16, 2020

Another Resource

The Jesuits of Britain have been using Zoom to help people meditate. Included with the scheduled one is a link to past meditations.

Whether you are new to Ignatian meditation or a past-master ,come and join us online every Wednesday at 8pm for IMAGINE.

Watch previous sessions on the IMAGINE YouTube channel : https://t.co/y6cvyKjagU

Sign up to our Imagine mailing list:https://t.co/2zlksBiq2p pic.twitter.com/WV4r0X6kH1

— Jesuits in Britain (@JesuitsBritain) July 14, 2020

Thinking 'Chrisitan' = Thinking Differently

Thinking the same way as other social groupings does no think with the mind of Jesus. Radical individualism modern, Western people take for granted did not exist in the time of Jesus; it did not exist when the scriptures written about him and homilies proclaimed him and his risen life.

Helen Orchard contrasted “St Ignatius Loyola’s approach in the Spiritual Exercises with that of modern spiritualities that can mask a self-indulgent individualism. …while the Spiritual Exercises begins with the human person, he or she does not exist in isolation as the centre of a universe around which all else revolves.”

‘Thy will be done’ or ‘follow your bliss’? https://t.co/j8uXmbiumE #spirituality #AMDG

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) July 13, 2020

Point of Care

This ship’s “crew is now committed to raising awareness and providing information to the local populations and offers on-the-spot first-stage outpatient treatment.”



The “Pope Francis Hospital Ship” brings medical equipment and assistance to #coronavirus-hit communities along the Amazon River in #Brazil. https://t.co/CHHvGWRTVD
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) July 13, 2020

Jesuit and Others Recognized Venerable

" The recognition of Kino’s heroic virtue was made Saturday morning in Rome, when Pope Francis advanced the causes of five possible candidates for sainthood.”

Pope Francis yesterday recognized the heroic virtue of the life of 17th century Italian #Jesuit Eusebio Kino, a missionary who evangelized and mapped much of what is now northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. https://t.co/aJXexnhRys pic.twitter.com/5NSi8ELuUi

— Jesuit News (@jesuitnews) July 12, 2020

Sabbath Gift to Humans

" It is in Sabbath that we learn to rest and wrest ourselves from the anxieties of achievement, of making and doing, that clamor inside and out.”

So it is that the #Sabbath, if practiced well, is no refuge from our everyday lives, but a reorientation that should come to permeate them. https://t.co/VB1s7U0fV9

— Franciscan Media (@FranciscanMedia) July 12, 2020

Arranging the Pieces of Annexation

Israel has occupied the West Bank for decades. But now PM Benjamin Netanyahu wants to take even more control through annexation.

How will that change things for Palestinians? And what does the US presidential election have to do with it?#AJStartHere puts the pieces together 👇 pic.twitter.com/PVoxMtxpyd

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) July 12, 2020

Pope Francis' Sadness

Pope Francis at the Sunday Angelus: “And the sea carries me a little farther away in my thoughts: to Istanbul. I think of Hagia Sophia, and I am very saddened.” For the Vatican transcription of the pope’s remarks at the Sunday Angelus.“

#PopeFrancis says he thinks about #HagiaSophia and is "very saddened". The ancient Christian Basilica in Istanbul was recently transformed into a mosque.https://t.co/qfHGPUL9LK

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) July 12, 2020

Perfection or Fruitfulness?

From the Thinking Faith archives spiritual director Christopher Chapman offered a way into Sunday’s gospel selection. His conviction remains current: “Old or young, God will dare us once more to emerge into being. The Spirit will lead us beyond ourselves in fruitful generosity.”

In tomorrow's #gospel, the sower who scatters seed amidst rocks, birds and thorns is not being wasteful: this is how the field is. But the sower also knows there are pockets of good soil and so is liberal in the sowing. https://t.co/nb9u4BmL1I #gospel

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) July 11, 2020

Focus: 18-35

For the Sunday Mass via Zoom on 12 July.

Are we still harvesting hope amid Covid19 ?
Longing for some quality preaching during the lockdown? Join the Young Adults ‘zoom-in’ tomorrow evening at 7pm.

Contact: yam@jesuit.org.uk or WA: +44 7989173069 for the Zoom link. pic.twitter.com/2sSEZapLOB

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) July 11, 2020

Return to Mosque

Early this month Turkey’s Council of State began its review of a request to return Hagia Sophia to use as a mosque. Yesterday the Council approved the change. 

This is not the first change in its use; it originally was a church, then a mosque before becoming a museum for the last 86 years. Concerns from different quarters—including Eastern Orthodox Patriarch and the Russian Orthodox Patriarch—and “grief and dismay” from the World Council of Churches have been registered.

Vatican News recently posted the change. However, the Orthodox Times considered “unjustified silence of the Holy See and personally of Pope Francis [to be] causes [for] concern and sadness in the Christian world.”

Turkish President Recep Erdogan decrees that #HagiaSophia will become a mosque once again, leading Orthodox leaders to express regret.https://t.co/VSPJvNvZf4

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) July 11, 2020

Wisdom for All

The church remembers St. Benedict, the founder of Western Monasticism. His graced insight and wisdom exceeds the monastery. Benedictine monk and priest Eric Hollas, OSB, observed:

“Benedict reminds us that God is not absent from our world. God regularly appears in the poor and the sick, and in the faces of our family and friends. And perhaps God even shines forth in our own faces when we serve others.

   “When it comes to a balanced life, Benedict is equally pointed in his critique.”

Read this inspiring reflection on the life of #SaintBenedict in honour of his Feast Day! #Prayforus https://t.co/vMFE3kiGX9

— saltandlighttv (@saltandlighttv) July 11, 2020

Relaying Truth

From a Financial Times 10 July interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci. “He imparts a message that is far from sugar-coated. …this pandemic really is ‘the big one’. Covid-19 has the worst elements of previous epidemics combined.”

About the disease processes caused by SARS-CoV-2:

“I have never seen a virus or any pathogen that has such a broad range of manifestations,” he says. “Even if it doesn’t kill you, even if it doesn’t put you in the hospital, it can make you seriously ill.”

Fauci last saw Trump in person at the White House on June 2 — and says he has not briefed the president for at least two months https://t.co/Wwrw3yRJ3H

— Ahmed Al Omran (@ahmed) July 11, 2020

For the World

The world is in the human imagination in ways it was not before it was seen for the first time from space. The current pandemic has made humans more aware of the earth’s fragility as well as its resilience. The word world evokes predicaments to its peace, health, economy, justice, relationships—to name a few.

At a press conference Cardinal Peter Turkson highlighted peace, harmony and security to which the Vatican’s COVID-19 Commission attends. Member of the Commission and economic professor Sister Alessandra Smerilli remarked about the perils to the global economy.

A #Vatican cardinal has said that the world is facing a “tsunami of humanitarian crises.” https://t.co/ItlOQCSHSE

— Catholic News Agency (@cnalive) July 7, 2020

Airborne No Only Droplet

The body of knowledge about the novel coronavirus continues to grow as the pandemic surges in some places and ebbs in others. Ebbing is no sign of disappearing but of prudent behaviour of individuals and  by health-care tracking. Evidence now suggests that the virus is airborne, that is, no longer only contained in droplets expelled from airways of infected people.

Another system the virus seems to affect—it causes more than respiratory illness—is the neurological system.

The World Health Organization confirmed there is "emerging evidence" of airborne transmission of the coronavirus. https://t.co/JoBxHdhMC1

— CNN (@CNN) July 8, 2020

Vigilance for Next Wave

Recently the Canadian Medical Association reminded vigilance remains key to staying healthy and mitigating the pandemic. Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health is “taking steps to prepare for a second wave of the COVID-19 coronavirus.”

@WDGPublicHealth is preparing for the second wave of #COVID19, but there are a few ways that wave might play out.#guelphhttps://t.co/kx0cXTeqEV

— Jonathan Duncan (@JonoDunco) July 8, 2020

Ethics for Opening

The concern to reopen schools weighs heavily everywhere. In the U.S. the couple hundred Catholic universities and colleges have Catholic ethics to guide them. A conversation is set for next week.

There are approximately 200 Catholic colleges and universities in the country. What does Catholic ethics have to offer, as we face the challenge of reopening? We at the @curran_center welcome you to a discussion next week ... pic.twitter.com/GuDPPDitLe

— Michael Peppard (@MichaelPeppard) July 7, 2020

75 Years Ago

August marks 75 years since atom bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Pax Christi USA urged: “As the only country to use nuclear weapons in conflict, the United States has a moral obligation to lead the world in ending this menace and restoring communities impacted by nuclear weapons.” For the anniversary it is initiating The Peace Ribbon 2020. 

Pax Christi USA marks the upcoming 75th anniversaries of #Hiroshima & #Nagasaki this August with the Peace Ribbon 2020 project, #stillhere statement, more #theribbon2020 https://t.co/yoWikQVO6g

— Pax Christi USA (@PaxChristiUSA) July 6, 2020

Keep Vigilant

Canadians with different needs have different questions about #COVID19. Get clear answers from a reliable source.

— Canadian Medical Association (@CMA_Docs) June 24, 2020

To Transform Communities

The Yale School of Medicine and the Yale Law School together have begun the SEICHE Center for Health and Justice It seeks to identify “the legal, policy, and practice levers that can improve the health of individuals and communities impacted by mass incarceration.” The collaboration promotes both justice and health.

Yale School of Medicine & Yale Law School to Launch Center Focused on Health and Mass Incarcerationhttps://t.co/iKGeoPwWy8 pic.twitter.com/iyS8ZPCSZz

— Yale University (@Yale) June 30, 2020

In Memoriam

Composer Ennio Morricone died in Rome today. Vatican News tweeted that the President of the Pontifical Council for Culture recalled that the composer had been “‘able to express the ineffable and the invisible at the same time.’” The Associated Press [AP] contributed this look at the Oscar-winning composer.

The President of the Pontifical Council for Culture shares his memories of Oscar-winning Italian composer #EnnioMorricone, who died Monday in Rome at the age of 91.https://t.co/cv73d0DjiO

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) July 6, 2020

Global Ceasefire

Pope Francis has supported a U.N. Security Council resolution that calls for a global ceasefire. “The resolution calls on parties to armed conflicts to immediately in a ‘durable humanitarian phase’ provide aid to countries to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.”

#PopeFrancis expresses support for a UN Security Council resolution calling for a global #ceasefire, to provide aid for peoples suffering the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. #coronavirus https://t.co/Xtw50Je08U

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) July 5, 2020

Most Distant

The Earth is at its most distant from the sun. It is an annual event. As a result the earth is “traveling most slowly in its orbit.”

Aphelion Day 2020: Earth is farthest from the sun today! https://t.co/m8vUXPkfbE pic.twitter.com/4xlr39f0eJ

— SPACE.com (@SPACEdotcom) July 4, 2020

Radical Rethink

Pope Francis has called this time of pandemic one of conversion: “…pass from the hyper-virtual, fleshless world to the suffering flesh of the poor. This is the conversion we have to undergo. And if we don’t start there, there will be no conversion.” The turn toward “suffering flesh” is not immediately inviting.

At Thinking Faith Karen Eliasen considers a story to assist this turn, the “story of Miriam’s wilderness bout of...‘a harmful skin disease’.” Ms. Eliasen notes the story of Miriam speaks to today's circumstances: “...in a complex mix of power struggle, emotional outbursts, disease, isolation–and even spitting. Add to this already compelling mix the timeless ur-issues of gender and prayer, and the juicy ingredients are all there to be squeezed for contemporary pandemic relevance.”

Are you familiar with the story of Miriam in Numbers 12? An episode that reads as a heated and traumatic encounter with Moses, Aaron and God might well lead us towards something entirely more hopeful, suggests Karen Eliasen. https://t.co/Yy4GsGAjQ0

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) July 4, 2020

04th of July Gift

"Freedom is the gift of being able to choose the good: this is true freedom." Happy Fourth of July from the #Jesuits! pic.twitter.com/lrnvHMGiJh

— Jesuit News (@jesuitnews) July 4, 2020

Facing Ugliness

“When we do not deal with the ugly part about the truth about our history we have no chance of going forward in any productive way.”

[Jeffrey Robinson, 9:08 of video]

The U.S. celebrates Independence Day. The dream has never fully been realized. in 2017 the American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] streamed a video featuring Jeffery Robinson, who continues to be part of the ACLU. Acknowledging all facets of history, all actions within history is the beginning of reconciling and moving forward.

The Truth About the Confederacy in the United States (FULL Version) https://t.co/TNinTdcqPx via @YouTube. Please take some time over this 4th of July weekend to watch this video. It is a must see.

— Sharon Malone (@smalonemd) July 3, 2020

Non-stop Sun Watching

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory [SDO] has constantly watched the sun for a decade. Its assembled pictures offer a spectacular glimpse. The CNN International tweet offers a minute-preview (about 60 days). The hope: that the SDO’s data will serve the common good for all the planet’s inhabitants.

NASA has released a 10-year timelapse of the sun by capturing 425 million high-resolution images https://t.co/7hjXsvkfAv pic.twitter.com/J26m86EEgz

— CNN International (@cnni) July 3, 2020

Quiet Attacks

Some are using the pandemic as cover for activities against the earth and against people: Israel seeking to annex Palestine; China exerting hegemony over Hong Kong. The president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences has called all Christians to pray “with great insistence” for Hong Kong because “‘the new law approved by China’s National People’s Congress…seriously weakens Hong Kong’s Legislative Council and Hong Kong’s autonomy’ and ‘radically changes Hong Kong’s identity.’” 

Cardinal Bo: Pray for Hong Kong amid China crackdown https://t.co/Ov3wPVOOAi

— America Magazine (@americamag) July 3, 2020

Benefit of Doubt

“The disbelief of Thomas has done more for our faith than the faith of the other disciples.” [Pope St. Gregory the Great, Homily 26.7]

Jesuit Harry Elias is in good company when he acknowledged, “I am not convinced that [doubting] is a fair descriptor” of the Apostle Thomas. Another convincing quality for today: Father Elias wrote his reflection after leading a bible study with “immigration detention centre residents.”

Doubting Thomas and faith in the resurrection: https://t.co/hFctFM3aUE #feast

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) July 3, 2020

In Memoriam

Georg Ratzinger, the brother of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died. Pope Francis wrote Benedict. Gerard O'Connell at America Magazine had written about the brothers and Benedict's surprise trip last month to visit Georg.

#PopeFrancis writes a letter to his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, following the death of his brother Georg, assuring him of his spiritual closeness and prayers.https://t.co/6GhiyAFGmV

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) July 2, 2020

July Prayer Intention from Pope Francis

Families.

pic.twitter.com/8QN3ZZlcMs

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) July 2, 2020

5 Debunked

Ontario Health (first tweet) reminds citizens to remain vigilant to mitigate the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). The next tweet from the Cleveland Clinic (via Cleveland 19 News) reminded that cloth face mask serve vital purposes.

Together we’re making a difference to stop the spread of COVID-19. Continue to keep surfaces clean and disinfected.

— ONTHealth (@ONThealth) May 20, 2020

Cleveland Clinic doctor debunks 5 myths about use of cloth face masks https://t.co/xYAXaI1tt5

— Cleveland 19 News (@cleveland19news) July 2, 2020

Tomorrow: Racial Justice Webinar

Among the details is a transatlantic podcast. It may help prep for the Zoom Webinar “for Young Adults (18-35) on July 4th 2-4 pm.”

As the Black Lives Matter movement reverberates around the world, how can we as Catholics respond to the fight for racial justice?
Join a Zoom webinar for Young Adults (18-35) on July 4th 2-4 pm.
email yam@jesuit.org.uk or message via the FB page
https://t.co/hNkDxFvBSq pic.twitter.com/sFkdAfBCV2

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) July 2, 2020

Vatican Continues Diplomacy

The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, meets with US and Israeli Ambassadors, expressing the Holy See's concern "regarding possible unilateral actions."https://t.co/rGP7WU3xY4

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) July 1, 2020