Wisdom

Yesterday, I finally had my wisdom teeth removed. All four at once. The upper teeth were basically fine and just needed to be pulled. The lower teeth were impacted and had started to grow into the next molars - which would have caused more extensive damage. So, they needed to be surgically removed, and bone grafts were placed into the holes in the jaw. The procedure was over in a flash, thanks to anesthesia, and I was quickly brought back to my friend Albert's house, where I could recover and be taken care of. The surprising part of this experience so far has been that it has been much less painfilled than I had expected. The dentist had warned me that this would be a "rough recovery" because of the nature of the surgery required and because I am having this done in my mid-40's. So I've been mentally preparing for a hellish week. But my experience following the surgery yesterday and then today has been of very mild pain or discomfort. I think much of this has to do with the wonderful drug darvocet. I'm just happy that it's over and that I'm on the road to a (hopefully) quick recovery.

amdg

Building Bridges

“The complexity of the problems we face and the richness of the opportunities offered demand that we build bridges between rich and poor, establishing advocacy links of mutual support between those who hold political power and those who find it difficult to voice their interests” (GC35, D.3, 28).

1 Peter 4:8-11a

Let your love for one another be constant, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be mutually hospitable without complaining. As generous distributors of God's manifold grace, put your gifts at the service of one another, each in the measure he has received. The one who speaks is to deliver God's message. The one who serves is to do it with the strength provided by God. Thus, in all of you God is to be glorified through Jesus Christ.

Hate Crimes on Rise

See this article from One World

Hate Crimes on Rise, Warn U.S. Groups
WASHINGTON, Nov 24 (OneWorld)
Leading civil rights groups today denounced the rise in hate crimes taking place in the United States, especially against Hispanics, and called for passage of a proposal that would ensure federal jurisdiction when local officials fail to act.
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I really fail to understand this kind of hate. Many, if not most, of the people perpetrating these acts call themselves Christians. This is not the act of a Christian. Christ taught us a gospel based on love - love of God, love of Jesus, love of neighbor, love of self, even love of one's enemy. Hate only leads to more hate; once one opens oneself to hate, it is too easy to be consumed by the hate.

What's the answer to this one? Will the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crime Prevention (LLEHCP) Act eliminate the hate? No, but it should provide a more effective deterrent with stronger penalties, and offers tools for pursuing the perpetrators. But I think the most effective tool is not one which meets violence with violence, but is education which has as its goal a conversion of mind and heart - because the answer to this question requires a real and material "incarnation" among those on whom this hate is targeted. When we get to know and come to love these people, they cease being nameless and meaningless objects of persecution. And then, our children will no longer have the desire to go out and "beat up a Mexican." We have come far, but oh how much farther we still must travel on this road...

a.m.d.g

Failing the World's Poor

An editorial in the NY Times caught my attention. It seems that the commitment to aid made by the world's richest countries for the world's poorest of the poor is not being fulfilled, and that conditions are continuing to decline. Some points from the article:

• 1.4 billion people lived in extreme poverty in 2005.
• Twenty-seven percent of children under 5 in the developing world were underweight.
• Their mortality rate was 83 per 1,000 live births, about 14 times the rate in rich nations.
• The United States ranks at the bottom of the list of countries giving aid spending 0.16 percent of its income on development assistance. The agreed goal is 0.7 percent.

Take a look at the editorial at: Failing the World's Poor

a.m.d.g

David vs Gelato

This is the last week of my summer of international travel - I'm enjoying a few days in Rome with a friend who flew over from the States. Today we went up to Florence and did the town. Of course, there's much too much to see and do in Florence in one day, but we saw the most important things like the Academia (in which the famous statue of David lives), the Duomo, the curch of Santa Croce, the Ponte Vecchio, had gelato and walked my way to two blisters. It was a great day.

The last month has really been incredible. It started out with two weeks in the Holy Land. During the first week several of us toured around Israel going up to Nazareth, Galilee, then over to the coast to visit Haifa, Mt Carmel, Caeserea Philippi. Back to Jerusalem, then Jericho, the Dead Sea, Qumran, and Masada. After that, we entered into our 8-day retreat. Being in Jerusalem was a very special and moving time - every day during morning-evening prayer whenever Jerusalem, the holy city, the temple, or Mt Zion were mentioned, I could look out my bedroom window and say, that's right there in front of me. The psalms have never been so alive nor more related to my current prayer experience. So amazing to be in the city of David, and the city which had such importance for the story of Christianity. The places where Christ brought his church into being through his suffering, death, resurrection, and appearances - where the Last Supper was held...we celebrated Mass at the site of the crucifixion and in the tomb of Jesus. The retreat itself focused on Jerusalem as a place toward which Jesus, St Paul, and St Ignatius all were drawn. Being in this Holy place, and especially for me, Galilee which has special significance to me as the place were Jesus was at home and the place where most of his ministry took place, helped to place me more fully into the life of Jesus. I will be unpacking this experience for quite a while. Needless to say it was great.

Immediately following the retreat, I joined the Ignatian Pilgrimage, which has been offered to the Chicago Province Secondary Education folks annually since 1997. This year had teachers from the following high schools: Brebeuf (Indianapolis), St Xavier (Cincinnati), Loyola Academy (Chicago), St Ignatius College Prep (Chicago), and Christo Rey (Chicago). There were also six Jesuits along on the pilgimage including myself. Again, it's difficult to describe the experience of following Ignatius' footsteps through Spain. The movement of Ignatius' heart and mind could be felt at each point along the pilgrimage route from his birthplace and site of his conversion at Loyola in the Basque country through the spot on the stairs at Santa Maria del Rey church in Barcelona where he begged, and ultimately to the rooms of Ignatius, where he lived and workd to shape the future of the Society of Jesus and the place also where he went to his eternal rest, and then finally to the Curia of the Society of Jesus, the modern implementation of Ignatius' vision. This pilgrimage was a dramatic composition of time and place, which we hear so much about in Ignatian spirituality, and everyone on the retreat was very moved by the experience. I will be able to draw on this experience for a very long time both in my prayer and in my ability to shape my Jesuit life through a deeper understanding of the life of Ignatius and what moved and shaped him as he was drawn forward by the Spirit in his own life's pilgrimage.

amdg

Summer plans

Summer travel time is here at last. I'm very blessed to be able to go on retreat this summer in Jerusalem with several other Jesuits from the Chicago Province. An unexpected and very moving opportunity to walk the Holy Land in the steps of Jesus and also in the steps of St Ignatius. This will be a very Ignatian summer for me as I not only follow his footsteps to Jerusalem, but I also will take part in an Ignatian Pilgrimage through Spain (including Madrid, Loyola, Avila, Manresa, Salamanca, Barcelona) and culminating in some time in Rome. All together, I'll be gone for five weeks, leaving this Sunday after our province ordinations. A tremendous opportunity to deepen my relationship with Christ, and to explore in a wonderful way the places that were integral to the development of the spirituality (and spiritual exercises) of St Ignatius of Loyola. This will be a true "Come and see" experience.

amdg

BTW, here's a shout out to Nancy L. - "Hi, I hope things are well - enjoy the quiet with you know who in Nigeria!...see you soon."

Down-sizing

The last three weeks have been very busy as I emptied out the storage area where I'd put the remainder of my family's belongings after selling my dad's house last year. What a relief to have that behind me. It amazes me to think that the combined belongings of four generations have come down to a couple of boxes in my closet. Kind of bittersweet to think that some of my family members had things that they'd held on to and treasured for many years that have then found the way down to me - and, of course, they are completely meaningless to me, so I end up discarding them. This experience also made me take a much harder look at the vow of poverty and how I feel called to live it. My goal is to only have the belongings that I need, not to exceed a car-load. Right now, I'm at a small van load - and I'll need to plow through these things that I've stuffed into boxes to eliminate some more needless things. Mostly, the excess is due to pictures and books. I really admire the Jesuits I've met who live very lightly - lean and mean - with very few belongings. I've always had somewhat of a bias against attachment to "stuff" and I find that the more time I spend in this Jesuit life, the more I want to have less.

amdg