Just another Day

I am in the midst of directing the 30-day retreat and I'm pleased that so many people desire to walk with Christ on this journey as Ignatius of Loyola envisioned. I have great hope for the Society of Jesus that these young, dedicated men will be inflamed by the love of God as they prepare to minister in the church.

We are expecting 14 inches of snow tonight. I sense the forecasters are accurate because they seem to speak univocally. My hope it is it provides an overwhelming blanket of God's love for the retreatants. God showers down so many blessings upon them and sometimes it seems like it never stops. The retreatants deserve to feel God's providential mercy and generosity.

A friend of mine who lives in Australia visited the U.S. recently. I'm sorry that she and I were not able to catch up. She traveled halfway across the globe. She treated me well during my visit to Australia.

I am saddened by the shooting of the Democratic Representative Kathleen Giffords from Arizona. The rhetoric of political campaigns is too battle oriented. Even the word campaign is a military reference. The polarization in U.S. politics has gone too far. Dialogue cannot occur. Sharing of ideas cannot be done. Politicians want to win the soundbytes so they can get another vote and build up their side. You would think that Americans who think of themselves as enlightened would come to a more mature understanding of civic responsibility. Instead, our political process has been denigrated and thinly veiled hatreds are surfacing. We do need to care for our brothers and sisters better than we are doing. Instead, our processes are snuffing the life out of people. These highly charged violent political terms and images need to be dropped - now and forever.

I'm also saddened by the death of an Iraqi friend. He was a graduate of Baghdad College in Iraq. The Jesuits were there before the rise of the Ba'athist party in 1968 when schools were nationalized. Al Hikma University was Jesuit-run as well. Ramiz Hermiz was a brilliant mathematician. He graduated from Princeton University and settled in Chicago, Illinois. Remarkably, he spearheaded the reunions for the schools every 2 years. More than 5,000 people would attend these reunions 40 years after the school's closing. His spirit will be missed by his Iraqi friends and classmates. Rest in peace, Ramiz. Rest in peace, good friend.