Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God.
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Friday, July 31, 2015
A prayer
Today is the feast of the great St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit Order.
A suggested prayer:
O St Ignatius, grant that thy precious remains, as they spin in thy grave, might provide renewable energy for the whole world.
Though I must say, as much as I love St Ignatius, I must admit that something may be missing from the newfangled forms of religious life (that he pioneered) that aren't centred around the Divine Service. Jesuit houses with a common liturgical life might be a boon to that poor order's drastically needed overhaul. If only John Paul II had gone ahead with his plans to take them over in the early Eighties, resistance and rebellion be damned. It's always easier to seize obedient orders like the Franciscans of the Immaculate---who, of course, have had a strong common liturgical life.
Ma Church has always allowed them to be the Wild & Crazy guys. ( When I look over Church History, I get the impression that the Church has always allowed some internal tension ) Trouble started when the Wild & Crazy Sixties hit the Society. Then it got to be too much. Don’t believe all the media sensationalism about them. The vast majority are orthodox; we only hear about the whackos. And the younger crop entering the Society? - very conservative. As one popular and beloved Jeb pastor jokingly (and privately) put it - der Hitler Jungen!
That's the most amusing thing I've read for weeks, particularly since it manages to get in well-deserved digs at two different targets in 22 words: brilliant!
As for the vast majority of Jesuits being orthodox, as tubbs claims, while I believe that's true, it's not just orthodoxy which is important. My parish is run by the Jesuits, and of the ten priests I've known here, all but one have refrained from preaching heresy. However, most of them (with three exceptions) never actually taught anything of substance: it's all the Church of Nice. It's as though they're nervous of offending anyone anytime anywhere.
We had a 'Mission' last week: six Jesuits (three priests and three scholastics) plus associated lay people descended on the parish for the entire week, and I was hoping for something a bit more solid - but it was the same stuff. Would you believe that, throughout the entire week, no confessions were scheduled at all? though one could arrange 'one to one' meetings to discuss one's spiritual life (the phrase 'spiritual direction' wasn't used). Most of these, however, weren't with the priests, so confession wasn't an option.
At the moment, the parish is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, so I don't know how long the order will continue to run it. In England at least they've been leaving parishes for some years now, and ours may well be next.
The Jesuits have been straying since before the freewheelin' 60s. My mom grew up in Mexico, and her older brother was a priest. At some point in the 1950s, there was a movement going about (the name escapes me), and my mother wanted to join. She asked my uncle his opinion, and he unequivocally told her that they were heretical, problematic, and strongly advised her not to join. She took his advice and didn't join. The program was run by Jesuits.
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Okay, that's going in my diurnal!
ReplyDeleteThough I must say, as much as I love St Ignatius, I must admit that something may be missing from the newfangled forms of religious life (that he pioneered) that aren't centred around the Divine Service. Jesuit houses with a common liturgical life might be a boon to that poor order's drastically needed overhaul. If only John Paul II had gone ahead with his plans to take them over in the early Eighties, resistance and rebellion be damned. It's always easier to seize obedient orders like the Franciscans of the Immaculate---who, of course, have had a strong common liturgical life.
Ma Church has always allowed them to be the Wild & Crazy guys. ( When I look over Church History, I get the impression that the Church has always allowed some internal tension )
ReplyDeleteTrouble started when the Wild & Crazy Sixties hit the Society. Then it got to be too much.
Don’t believe all the media sensationalism about them. The vast majority are orthodox; we only hear about the whackos.
And the younger crop entering the Society? - very conservative. As one popular and beloved Jeb pastor jokingly (and privately) put it - der Hitler Jungen!
Grazie, veramente appropriato e arguto!
ReplyDeleteAh ah ah
That's the most amusing thing I've read for weeks, particularly since it manages to get in well-deserved digs at two different targets in 22 words: brilliant!
ReplyDeleteAs for the vast majority of Jesuits being orthodox, as tubbs claims, while I believe that's true, it's not just orthodoxy which is important. My parish is run by the Jesuits, and of the ten priests I've known here, all but one have refrained from preaching heresy. However, most of them (with three exceptions) never actually taught anything of substance: it's all the Church of Nice. It's as though they're nervous of offending anyone anytime anywhere.
We had a 'Mission' last week: six Jesuits (three priests and three scholastics) plus associated lay people descended on the parish for the entire week, and I was hoping for something a bit more solid - but it was the same stuff. Would you believe that, throughout the entire week, no confessions were scheduled at all? though one could arrange 'one to one' meetings to discuss one's spiritual life (the phrase 'spiritual direction' wasn't used). Most of these, however, weren't with the priests, so confession wasn't an option.
At the moment, the parish is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, so I don't know how long the order will continue to run it. In England at least they've been leaving parishes for some years now, and ours may well be next.
The Jesuits have been straying since before the freewheelin' 60s. My mom grew up in Mexico, and her older brother was a priest. At some point in the 1950s, there was a movement going about (the name escapes me), and my mother wanted to join. She asked my uncle his opinion, and he unequivocally told her that they were heretical, problematic, and strongly advised her not to join. She took his advice and didn't join. The program was run by Jesuits.
ReplyDeleteLorena B.
Yeah I never got the idea that the Jesuits were heterodox from the media. I got it from Jesuits. - Karen
ReplyDelete