tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38233397650270170832024-03-14T02:54:32.301-04:00THE WORLD ACCORDING TO 44 ;-)44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.comBlogger474125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-6843509708235263712013-02-26T21:54:00.000-05:002013-02-26T21:54:01.642-05:00I thought this worthy of sharing...<br />
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<strong><u><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Much
Obliged</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Gratitude without Entitlement</span></span></span></span></u></strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><strong><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Keynote
Address Delivered by William J. Byron, S.J</span><o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">The A</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">lumni/Father-Son
Communion Breakfast</span><o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">St.
Joseph</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">s Preparatory School, Phiiladelphia, PA</span></span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><strong>Sunday,
February 24, 2013</strong></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Much
obliged, Father Bur; many thanks to you, Al Zimmerman and your associates who
honor me by an invitation to speak on this occasion. Much obliged St. Joe</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">s Prep; I</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">m grateful for the education I
received here and for the opportunity to speak today. Muck obliged, Prep alumni
and all you fathers and sons who gathered an hour ago in the great Gesu church
to </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">remember the Lord in the
breaking of the bread.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"> We meet now, after Mass, at
these tables to share both memories and a meal and celebrate the bonds of
brotherhood that bind us to the Prep. Much obliged!</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">You all
know what </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">much obliged</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">--that expression from the old American vernacular--means.
It says simply and directly, </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Thank You.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> That</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">s what we do every Sunday in
the Eucharist. That</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">s what Eucharist means</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">thank you</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">it is a thanks-saying, a
thanksgiving, a liturgical thanks-doing, that brings us all before the Lord
each week in gratitude as we express our thanks for the great gift of salvation
in Jesus Christ. And for that, we are indeed much obliged. At the Last Supper
Jesus said, in effect, to his disciples: This is how I want you to remember me</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">as bread broken and passed around, as a cup poured out. And
this is how I want you to relate to one another</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">as
bread broken for the nourishment of others, as a cup poured out in loving service.</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Thanksgiving
Day is a great American tradition. It is a secular, not a religious feast day.
Thanksgiving, of course, puts the accent where it should be</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">on giving, saying, and doing thanks. Men and women of faith
target God first and foremost for expressions of gratitude when they celebrate
Thanksgiving Day; we Catholic Christians do this every day, particularly every
Sunday of the year. We Christians know where to look when we want to give
thanks!</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Once we
put ourselves in the thanks-saying, thank-giving, thanks-doing mood, as we are
right now, it is a good idea to pay attention to a rising sense of entitlement
in America, especially among the young. And I would suggest to you today that
ingratitude is the infrastructure of entitlement.</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Think
about that</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">ingratitude is the
infrastructure of entitlement, and entitlement is our cultural condition of
thinking we deserve everything we have. Entitlement prompts us to make demands,
not to give thanks.</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Ignatius
of Loyola once remarked that </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">ingratitude is at the root of
all sinfulness.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> He was on to something. When
ingratitude takes over one</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">s outlook, there is an erosion
of a sense of obligation, including moral obligation. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Much obliged</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> is a way the old American
vernacular had of saying thanks. If you have nothing to be thankful for</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">i.e., if you consider yourself to be entitled to everything
you have and might receive</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">you are unencumbered by a
sense of any obligation. You are free to be your selfish, solipsistic,
narcissistic self. Sadly, we notice a lot of selfishness and narcissism
surrounding us in America today.</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Total
self-absorption is another word for sin. And remember, St. Ignatius of Loyola
saw ingratitude at the root of all sinfulness, of all self-absorption.</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Fifteen
or twenty years ago, I found myself describing students I was then meeting in
the college classroom as characterized by a sense of entitlement. They thought
they </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">deserved</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"> good grades, good health, good jobs, and the best of
everything the world had to offer. Cultural reinforcement for this attitude of
entitlement came, and continues to come, through their entertainment and
advertising, their words and music, their images and apparel. They have cures
for all their ills, protections from all dangers, solutions for all their
problems, answers (with or without the help of a search engine) to all their
questions. It is all within reach. It is theirs for the taking. No need to say
please. No need to say thanks.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">This
outlook has seeped down into high school and middle school minds</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">to the teens and tweens who never say thanks. Good for you
if this is not typical of the way things are here at St. Joe</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">s Prep. The absence of a culture of entitlement here</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">if that indeed is the case--suggests the presence of a
faith-based culture of gratitude. If, however, you</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">any of you--are trapped in a culture of entitlement, you
have work to do.</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Many
years ago I pressed a child for a working definition of the word </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">gift.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> It was Christmas Day, in
fact, and she was my niece and we were gathered in the family room where gifts
and their wrappings had been strewn around all over the place. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">What</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">s a gift?</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> I asked. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">A gift is when somebody gives
you something,</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> this youngster said. And I
responded: </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">What if you had loaned me a
dollar last week and now I</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">m giving it back. Here, take
this dollar. Is that a gift? It fits your definition; you told me that </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">‘</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">a gift is when somebody gives you something</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> and, here, I</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">m giving you a dollar.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> A moment</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">s pondering prompted the
youngster to revise her definition and say, </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">A
gift is when you get something you don</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">t deserve.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">How true.
How very appropriate for Communion Breakfast reflection. What a positive
indicator that we, through an awareness of gratitude, have a way of protecting
ourselves from the virus of entitlement. Life will be a good deal happier for
all if we realize that the gifts we get are not only undeserved, but, in the
Christian view of things, that they are symbols to remind us of the gift of
salvation to which none of us has a claim, except through our faith in Christ
Jesus the Lord.</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Christ
has come. We are freed. All we can be is grateful. And because Christ has come
and traced out for us by his own words, and by the example of his life, what we
should value and how we should live, we can give a contemporary Christian
meaning to the compelling command given so many centuries ago by the Lord
through the prophet Michah: </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">What is good<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>has been explained to you, O man [O woman];
this is what the Lord asks of you: only this, to act justly, to love tenderly, and
to walk humbly with your God</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"> (Micah 6:8).</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">So let</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">s decide to be genuine men for others by acting justly in
all our relationships; by loving tenderly our family members and friends and
all those whom God puts within reach of our helping hand; and by walking
humbly, not arrogantly, but humbly and gratefully with our God</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Emmanuel, who is </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">God with us,</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"> Christ Jesus our Lord.</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">And let</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">s look upon our so-called Sunday obligation in terms of
gratitude. We gladly acknowledge ourselves to be much obliged to give praise
and thanks to God every Sunday. That</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">s what Sunday Mass is all
about. Not to do so would be to be an ingrate. And knowing how we personally
dislike ingrates, let</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">s resolve on this Communion
Breakfast Sunday to avoid being ingrates by being the Catholic Christians we</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">ve been called to be. That means regarding ourselves as
much obliged</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">much obliged to give praise
and thanks to God; much obliged to love one another as Christ loves us.</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">And
during the upcoming week--as next Sunday approaches--ask yourself: Am I an
ingrate? Or do I really consider myself to be much obliged? If so, get out to
Mass next Sunday, as you did today, and every Sunday</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">to express your gratitude.</span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">So, once
again, St. Joe</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">s Prep, Father Bur, Al
Zimmerman, Alumni Association, Fathers and Sons</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">—</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">friends
all: Thanks you, gratias, much obliged, many thanks!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Body1" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-75352615318824056242011-12-09T16:21:00.001-05:002011-12-11T18:00:16.335-05:00Nike colonizing Catholic schools...I would add to Jim's thoughts -- what if the 228 Catholic colleges in the US, led by the 28 Jesuit colleges and 68 Jesuit high schools, took a stand and, following Catholic Social Teaching, refused to wear Nike until they paid their workers a living wage? Why can't extremely profitable businesses "<em>Just Do It</em>"... and by that I mean <i>just do </i>the right thing, for the least of their brothers and sisters? Jim estimates that all those making sneakers for Nike in Indonesia could make a living wage if Nike gave Lebron James 97 million, instead of 100 million he currently earns to wear and make commercials for Nike<br />
.<br />
I have been unable to discern how my alma mater St. Joseph's, Philadelphia's Jesuit college, could honor Jim Keady with the <a href="http://alumni.sju.edu/s/1378/index.aspx?sid=1378&gid=1&pgid=530"><span style="color: #990000;">St. Ignatius Award</span></a> (in the service and promotion of Saint Joseph’s University and/or has lived a life of “service to others” consistent with the principles of Saint Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order) for his work in attempting to get Nike to pay its workers a living wage... and then outfit all their sports teams in Nike. <br />
<br />
Hypocrisy. But one we could change.<br />
<br />
AMDG,<br />
<br />
Tom Brzozowski<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LOAt1P3we54/TuJuHIWM-EI/AAAAAAAADys/SjjfHdVis44/s1600/sjunike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292px" mda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LOAt1P3we54/TuJuHIWM-EI/AAAAAAAADys/SjjfHdVis44/s400/sjunike.jpg" width="400px" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Team Sweat:<br />
<br />
In the near fifteen years I have been working to end Nike's sweatshop abuses and make Nike a fair trade company, I have watched with great pain as Nike has aggressively colonized Catholic schools across the nation. In fact, this is how my work started. Back in 1997, while an assistant coach as St. John's University, I said that because of Nike's exploitation of their overseas workers, our Catholic university should not be party to the $3.5 million dollar endorsement deal Nike put on the table. I lost that battle and since have witnessed Nike continue their march across the Catholic school landscape, spreading their imperial values - values that run completely counter to the ethos of Jesus' Gospel. For their part in bowing to the Nike empire, our Catholic schools get some free gear and at times cash and other perks and Nike gets their allegiance and more importantly, public witness (via our student athletes) that Nike has the backing of some of the greatest Catholic institutions in the United States. Very simply, our Catholic schools sell their names and reputations to Nike for a pair of sneakers and a buck and they offer up our student athletes as walking advertisements for the Nike empire. For Nike's part, it is brilliant. For our Catholic schools' part, it is sad indeed. <br />
<br />
For many, the Nike sweatshop issue is not breaking news. The plight of Nike's overseas workers has been covered by reporters, academics and activists for many years. In this time, Nike has done well to manage the public relations backlash and Catholic schools have been a key component in their game to convince consumers that "Nike fixed their sweatshop problem." While Nike has made modest strides at addressing some abuses (the use of toxic glues, sexual harassment, physical abuse, etc.) they have absolutely refused to deal with the key demand that has consistently been pressed by Nike's overseas workers and those who advocate in solidarity with them - <strong>workers want to be paid a living wage</strong>.<br />
<br />
On the issue of a living wage, Catholic Social Teaching is quite clear. Pope Leo XIII's encyclical, <em><a href="http://www.ewtn.com/library/encyc/l13rerum.htm"><span style="color: #990000;">Rerum Novarum</span></a></em>, states "that the remuneration must be enough to support the wage earner in reasonable and frugal comfort." (#34) <a href="http://www.usccb.org/upload/economic_justice_for_all.pdf"><span style="color: #990000;">The U.S. Catholic Bishop's Pastoral, Economic Justice for All</span></a><span style="color: #990000;">,</span> tells us that "the way power is distributed in a free market economy frequently gives employers greater bargaining power than employees in the negotiation of labor contracts. Such unequal power may press workers into a choice between an inadequate wage and no wage at all. But justice, not charity, demands certain minimum guarantees. The provision of wages and other benefits sufficient to support a family in dignity is a basic necessity to prevent this exploitation of workers." (#103) And Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical, <em><a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_14091981_laborem-exercens_en.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Laborem Exercens</span></a></em>, exorts "Hence in every case a just wage is the concrete means of verifying the justice of the whole socioeconomic system and, in any case, of checking that it is functioning justly. It is not the only means of checking, but it is a particularly important one and in a sense the key means." (#19)<br />
<br />
Having spent so many years documenting the spending power of Nike's workers, I can tell you with authority that their wages certainly do not meet the benchmark of a living wage as set forth by Catholic Social Teaching. If you question this, I encourage you to <a href="http://www.teamsweat.org/?p=1883"><span style="color: #990000;">CLICK HERE</span></a> and watch a clip from my most recent round of spending power research for Nike's workers in Indonesia. <br />
<br />
It is because of the lack of action on paying a living wage that Catholic schools are so important in Nike's public relations war. Think of it like this. Let's say you are an alumnus from <a href="http://www.sju.edu/about/index.html"><span style="color: #990000;">St. Joseph's University</span></a>, the Jesuit school where I did my undergraduate degree. And let's say that you are somewhat aware of the Nike sweatshop issue. Then you see the picture above.<br />
<br />
Without saying a word, this image makes the statement to you that, "Nike must have cleaned up their act." Why? Because, you think, "<strong>there is no way that a Catholic, Jesuit, university would ever do business with Nike if they were still paying their workers poverty wages</strong>." This image tells people that Catholic schools like St. Joseph's University are behind Nike 100%. It tells people that Catholic schools are so much in support of Nike that we are willing to allow our student athletes to advertise their products to the masses. It tells people that Nike must be paying their workers living wages, if they weren't, why would this Catholic school allow itself to be used by Nike as a marketing tool? <br />
<br />
I can tell you why our Catholic schools allow it to happen. <br />
<br />
First, many are of the belief that Nike has fixed these problems because Nike has lied and they got a few Catholic schools on board with them. Once this happened, the domino effect took place - administrators think, "if these other Catholic schools have done these endorsement deals, Nike must be ok" and they act without exercising the hermeneutic of suspicion."<br />
<br />
Second, if administrators are aware of Nike's violations of Catholic Social Teaching, rather than standing up and being a voice for the voiceless, they adopt the herd mentality noted above ("everyone else is doing it) and/or they cave to pressure from Athletic Directors, Business Managers, Board Members and powerful alumni and donors to go with the flow. <br />
<br />
If by chance, administrators are willing to take on the issue, many times the schools want an easy out. They ask, "Ok, if we do not wear Nike, who should we wear?" <strong>This is not the question we should be asking as a Catholic school!</strong> This struggle for justice is not about who <strong>YOU</strong> should or shouldn't be wearing. It is about the <strong>WORKERS</strong>. It is about taking the preferential option for the poor. It is about working in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in these factories to bring Nike to a point where they pay workers a living wage. The question we should all be asking at our Catholic schools is, <strong>"If Nike is violating Catholic Social Teaching and they are not paying workers a living wage, what can we do to change that?" </strong><br />
<br />
Here is a short list.<br />
<br />
1. If your teams are currently wearing Nike products, immediately make a public and provocative statement and cover up every Nike logo with a patch. This may violate the terms of your contract with Nike and may cost you whatever Nike is giving to you. So be it. At times, the Gospel demands radical action and with it, painful consequences. For individual athletes, if your school is not willing to take this action collectively, do it yourself. You may be the spark that lights the flame of revolution. <br />
<br />
Using St. Joseph's University as an example, the Nike logos could be covered with something like this. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bsum73qUzpU/TuJuJFgKixI/AAAAAAAADy0/bbXjKamWCB4/s1600/sjuseal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200px" mda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bsum73qUzpU/TuJuJFgKixI/AAAAAAAADy0/bbXjKamWCB4/s200/sjuseal.jpg" width="146px" /></a><br />
<br />
2. Take every penny of money that has been given to your high school or university from Nike and give it to <a href="http://crs.org/"><span style="color: #990000;">Catholic Relief Services</span></a>, <a href="http://jrsusa.org/"><span style="color: #990000;">Jesuit Refugee Services</span></a>, etc.and make a public statement as to why you are doing this. <br />
<br />
3. Engage Nike publicly on the issue of a living wage for their factory workers. Write them open letters. Hold on-campus prayer services. Send delegations to the Nike campus to meet with Nike executives. Hold press conferences announcing all these actions...<br />
<br />
Why must we do these things? "Because we are Catholics." And because we are called by our Catholic faith, in the words of Pope Paul VI, "to carry forward the work of Christ himself under the lead of the befriending Spirit. And Christ entered this world to give witness to the truth, to rescue and not to sit in judgement, to serve and to be served."<br />
<br />
Peace, <br />
<br />
Jim Keady<br />
<a href="http://www.teamsweat.org/"><span style="color: #990000;">Team Sweat</span></a><br />
<br />
<br />
1201 Third Avenue<br />
Suite A<br />
Spring Lake, New Jersey 0776244http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-34591856580279053922011-12-07T18:03:00.000-05:002011-12-07T18:03:27.678-05:00AMDG on top...Ahhh... AMDG or JMJ at the top of every paper. A worthwhile article that will remind you of that one teacher who made a difference in your life. Click on the title to read the entire article and to read about his passing click <a href="http://www.catholicsun.org/2008/feb7/local/obit-becker.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Beloved Brophy Jesuit Dies</span></a> or <a href="http://net-abbey.org/fr-becker.htm"><span style="color: #990000;">Memorial to Fr. John Becker, SJ, 1925 - 2008</span></a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
To read one of Father Becker's novels click <a href="http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/AdvancedSearch/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=john+becker"><span style="color: #990000;">here</span></a> or <a href="http://net-abbey.org/john-becker-sj.htm"><span style="color: #990000;">here</span></a>!<br />
<br />
AMDG.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/terryjeffrey/2011/12/07/creators_oped/page/full/"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><strong>The Greatest English Teacher</strong></span></a><br />
<br />
Terry Jeffrey <br />
<br />
<br />
...At St. Ignatius -- in Father Becker’s class and all others -- we wrote the letters AMDG at the top of our papers. They stand for “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam” -- To the Greater Glory of God. These are the strategic watchwords of the Jesuit order: Everything ultimately must serve this purpose. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UUcUg5Pb9Us/Tt_vZvrVOjI/AAAAAAAADyk/XdjRBRHOnm8/s1600/fr-becker-formal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" mda="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UUcUg5Pb9Us/Tt_vZvrVOjI/AAAAAAAADyk/XdjRBRHOnm8/s200/fr-becker-formal.jpg" width="141" /></a></div>Father Becker taught us that Shakespeare was great not only because of the power and wit and poetry in his language but because his plays truly served the greater glory of God. They helped readers see good and evil and the consequences of choosing one over the other. <br />
<br />
Father Becker also taught by example. He had the skills to succeed in many lucrative professions. But he took a vow of poverty and spent five decades as a good and faithful priest teaching boys to become strong and confident Christian men in an increasingly secular world. <br />
<br />
In his later years, Father Becker published two mystery novels, while a third was published posthumously after he died three years ago. The hero, Father Luke Wolfe, teaches English at a Jesuit high school and spends his spare time at abortion clinics -- praying the Rosary.44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-70473617341239001052011-11-09T11:18:00.000-05:002011-11-09T11:18:37.303-05:00The new St. Paul Miki School in Pandabir!<span style="color: #660000;">A dream is started! Three years after visiting the Jamshedpur Jesuit Province the new St. Paul Miki School had its groundbreaking last month. These children of the Ho Tribals deserve the best - and will now get it. I can't wait to see the completion of Fr. Deeney's dream. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Way to swing that ax Fr. Greg, and so good to see Br. Bene ;-)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">Good stuff!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">AMDG,</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">44</span><br />
<br />
Greetings from India!<br />
<br />
I have been quiet for a while. I am at the moment in Chennai (South India) for my doctoral studies.<br />
<br />
I just wanted to share with you all some latest news about our St. Paul Miki School in Pandabir. I attach two pdf files. You will see the photos of the ground breaking ceremony for the school in Pandabir.<br />
<br />
Fr. John Deeney, SJ regularly visited this place for Sunday masses on his bicycle. Memories are still fresh in my mind when I used to travel with him in 1983 as a Jesuit novice. He was certainly faster and skillful than I was in cycling those village roads. His regular and relentless service to this place saw the establishment of this parish and now the school. <br />
<br />
I was thrilled to see the crowds in these pictures gathered for the ground breaking ceremony (students, their parents and the villagers). This school project was delayed a bit as there were already one or two school projects in hand and they needed more attention.<br />
<br />
You will also see Fr. Edward McGrath, SJ in the pictures (he is one of five Maryland Jesuits working in Jamshedpur Province in India at the moment).<br />
<br />
I know many of you Deeney family contributed generously for the St. Paul Miki School project in Pandabir. I am sure the parishners of Pandabir Parish and particularly the children in Pandabir school are very happy to see their school building coming up with more facilities for thier education. <br />
<br />
I am sending this mail to the addresses I have in my mail box. You may forward this to other people who might like to read and know the latest on St. Paul Miki School in Pandabir.<br />
<br />
Thank you very much for all your support to continue Fr. John Deeney's work among the Hos in Jharkhand, India. I am sure he is interceding from heaven for all the people at Pandabir, the Jesuits at Jamshepdur province and the Deeney family.<br />
<br />
AMDG<br />
<br />
Jerry Cutinha SJ<br />
.......................................................................................<br />
Berchmans Illam, Loyola College, Chennai 600 034<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qcgwe9ts8Sg/TrqkJlgPAFI/AAAAAAAADxo/_hgTMQbHv8o/s1600/stm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" ida="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qcgwe9ts8Sg/TrqkJlgPAFI/AAAAAAAADxo/_hgTMQbHv8o/s400/stm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: ArialMT;"> Students Happy to be at St. Paul Miki!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tfRoBWBzJfg/TrqkMxE7YgI/AAAAAAAADxw/doALTO-XwLc/s1600/stm1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" ida="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tfRoBWBzJfg/TrqkMxE7YgI/AAAAAAAADxw/doALTO-XwLc/s400/stm1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b><span style="font-family: Arial-BoldMT;"> Yes, we need a NEW BUILDING!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zrAjipABdmQ/TrqkOBKzz2I/AAAAAAAADx4/VzzTCg_UEks/s1600/spm4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" ida="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zrAjipABdmQ/TrqkOBKzz2I/AAAAAAAADx4/VzzTCg_UEks/s400/spm4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ground Breaking by Greg D’Silva, SJ</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lCYEKfcsQ8g/TrqkX0FgPqI/AAAAAAAADyA/Glp5fb8XW_s/s1600/spm5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" ida="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lCYEKfcsQ8g/TrqkX0FgPqI/AAAAAAAADyA/Glp5fb8XW_s/s400/spm5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Provincial Mike Raj, SJ and Ed McGrath, SJ greet parents and students </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5uycnOYPkhw/TrqkbeeV6AI/AAAAAAAADyI/BPCErWaO7V4/s1600/spm3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" ida="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5uycnOYPkhw/TrqkbeeV6AI/AAAAAAAADyI/BPCErWaO7V4/s400/spm3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: ArialMT;"> Fr. Mike Raj, SJ blesses the new site.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nvLvmiXPZkE/Trqkhk1v2BI/AAAAAAAADyQ/f5FILOy39Gc/s1600/spm2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" ida="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nvLvmiXPZkE/Trqkhk1v2BI/AAAAAAAADyQ/f5FILOy39Gc/s400/spm2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Provincial Flanked by Bene Kichingia, SJ & Greg D’Silva, SJ.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" style="text-align: center;">BORDOR (PANDABIR)</div><br />
<br />
On 8 October we had the Ground Breaking Ceremony of St. Paul Miki School building. To witness and participate in the event many of our students’ parents and local people came. People’s leaders like two Ward Members, the Mundas of two villages, the Mukhya of Bara Lagia were also present on the occasion. The presence of local people and their leaders on this occasion was an indication that they have been eagerly waiting for the new school building to come up for the children in their locality.<br />
<br />
During the prayer service, Provincial Fr. Mike T. Raj, SJ prayed for the safety of the workers in the time of the building construction and for the students. He also blessed the site with holy water, broke coconut as part of Indian tradition and then drove the first stroke of pickaxe into the ground. The Jesuits and the local leaders present also did the same. The popular prayer song – “This is my prayer to Thee, my Lord” - composed by Rabindranath Tagore was sung by the school children, led by Gulshan Kujur. Also present for this auspicious occasion were Greg D’Silva, SJ, Ed McGrath, SJ, Hilarius Kongari, SJ and Pascal Kerketta, SJ. At the end of the programme refreshment were served to all. The construction work has already begun. This new school building with nine classrooms and two office rooms will be completed by June 2012, and it will be able to accommodate about 500 students.<br />
<br />
- James Samad</b>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-54968679206449508162011-10-24T12:27:00.001-04:002011-10-24T12:29:41.061-04:00Ignatian discernment, God's fast ball, and the preferential option for the poor.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eYBwfkKLjz8/TqWRNXzmZgI/AAAAAAAADxM/yC_dTXvxJZw/s1600/FrDeanBrackley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" rda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eYBwfkKLjz8/TqWRNXzmZgI/AAAAAAAADxM/yC_dTXvxJZw/s400/FrDeanBrackley.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<a href="http://www.ncronline.org/news/jesuit-who-replaced-slain-salvadoran-priests-dies#.TpygHJGYJew.facebook"><span style="color: #660000;">Dean Brackley, SJ passed away last week</span></a> (read the comments under the article as well). He was a Jesuit from Fordham who after hearing of the 6 Jesuits being martyred in El Salvador... packed his bags and moved there to help fill the huge void at the UCA left by their deaths. Most people run from danger, others run towards it. Not surprising for a Jesuit though. He will be missed, and not just by those he served at Fordham, in the South Bronx, or in El Salvador. A beautiful remembrance by Genevieve Jordan of the Romero Center Ministries in Camden, NJ - <a href="http://www.romero-center.org/2011/10/17/remembering-dean-brackley-sj/"><span style="color: #660000;">Remembering Dean Brackley, SJ</span></a>.<br />
<br />
On Wednesday I picked up his book called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Call-Discernment-Troubled-Times-Transformative/dp/0824522680"><span style="color: #660000;">The Call to Discernment in Troubled Times: New Perspectives on the Transformative Wisdom of Ignatius of Loyola</span></a>. Great read - and you know it will be when even the introduction kicks your butt. <br />
<br />
When I was 'doing' the Exercises I had difficulty with Ignatian Indifference - I still struggle with it, and try, most times unsuccessfully, to get my arms around the principle. This from Fr. Brackley:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>"Indifference" means inner freedom. It is the capacity to sense and then embrace what is the best, even when that goes against our inclinations. Indifference is neither stoic impassiveness nor the extinction of desire that some currents of Eastern religious scholars advocate. It means being so passionately and single-minded committed, so completely in love, that we are willing to sacrifice anything, including our lives, for the ultimate goal. It means magnanimous generosity, abandonment into God's hands, availability. It is not so much detachment from things as "<em>detachability</em>." It means being like a good shortstop, ready top move in any direction at the crack of the bat."</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uYjHaRoRILc/TqWRT6OxWPI/AAAAAAAADxU/Ca40Dc_M-pE/s1600/Scranton+03400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uYjHaRoRILc/TqWRT6OxWPI/AAAAAAAADxU/Ca40Dc_M-pE/s400/Scranton+03400.jpg" width="312" /></a></div><br />
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If interested here's an article he penned that was reprinted in America Magazine last week. <br />
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<blockquote>"After reflecting on these issues for some years, it only gradually dawned on me that I belong to a peculiar tribe. The middle-class cultures of the North are newcomers to world history and have only existed for about 200 years. We're not all bad people, we're just a tiny minority under the common illusion that we are the center of gravity of the universe. The poor can free us from this strange idea."</blockquote><a href="http://www.americamagazine.org/blog/entry.cfm?blog_id=2&entry_id=4669"><span style="color: #660000;">Meeting the Victim, Loving the Poor</span></a><br />
<br />
<br />
I shared the above with a few friends and it was passed on. The following is from my friend Tim Klarich, and his friend George Limbaugh, who is a local coordinator for the <a href="http://woodstock.georgetown.edu/about/mission-and-method.html"><span style="color: #660000;">Woodstock Business Conference</span></a> of the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Tom,<br />
<br />
I had the opportunity to meet Fr. Dean when he was a visiting professor at St. Joseph's University; he came to one of our Woodstock Business Group meetings to share his experiences in Central America. He was similar in many ways to Fr. John Deeney, SJ; quiet but a very strong man.<br />
<br />
Tim</blockquote><blockquote>Tim –<br />
<br />
Thanks for sharing this. We had the privilege to get to know Dean when he was on sabbatical at SJU a number of years ago, and subsequently visit with him several times on our trips to El Salvador. He was an amazing combination of a brilliant theologian and a humble and dedicated servant of the poor. We had the opportunity to accompany him on a Sunday to the parish where he ministered in a poor community outside the city of San Salvador. And as you know from your travels, the word “poor” has a much different meaning than it does in our world here.<br />
<br />
We were overwhelmed with the generosity of spirit that we were embraced with by his congregation, and the amazing faith and piety of these people – even without translating you can feel those kinds of things.<br />
<br />
Since you have also made the Exercises, you will be able to appreciate this story that Dean tells. It is about his decision to go to El Salvador after the Jesuits at the UCA there were martyred. He was teaching at Fordham and working in the South Bronx, and deeply committed to both endeavors. As he heard the call for replacements at the university, he had a discernment process to go thru. Given the unique and urgent circumstances, it did not allow the usual deliberate process of Ignatian discernment. As Dean described it, sometimes you get the luxury of deliberate discernment; other times God just throws you a fast ball, and you have to decide to swing or not. Pretty profound, and pretty fortunate for the people of El Salvador that he chose to swing at the “fast ball.”<br />
<br />
Peace,<br />
<br />
George</blockquote><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jqo6VA1jtqA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The University of Scranton presented its annual Pedro Arrupe, S.J., Award for Distinguished Contributions to Ignatian Mission and Ministries to Rev. Dean Brackley, S.J., at a University Assembly in the DeNaples Center on April 29, 2010.</div>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-50219791484137502442011-10-10T13:12:00.000-04:002011-10-10T13:12:12.048-04:00Thinking outside the box in North Philly...Every once in a while the media covers a story on the good works of the Church. This was my mother's old school, once an Irish parish called St. Columba's in the city's Swampoodle section. Not only surviving, but thriving. AMDG.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BQTY6SpT48c/TpMnB_QNSDI/AAAAAAAADw0/a-r69d0Tm9s/s1600/StColumba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" kca="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BQTY6SpT48c/TpMnB_QNSDI/AAAAAAAADw0/a-r69d0Tm9s/s320/StColumba.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
<a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20111010_Partnership_in_Philadelphia_could_be_model_for_inner-city_Catholic_schools.html"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><strong>Partnership in Philadelphia could be model for inner-city Catholic schools</strong></span></a><br />
<br />
By Martha Woodall <br />
<br />
Inquirer Staff Writer<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
St. Martin de Porres School in North Philadelphia may have found the key to survival for inner-city Catholic schools.<br />
<br />
Through a pioneering partnership with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and local business leaders, the school at 2300 W. Lehigh Ave. has become an independent Catholic school overseen by an 18-member board but it retains ties to the archdiocese.<br />
<br />
It is the only school in Philadelphia with such an arrangement.<br />
<br />
Bolstered by an endowment of more than $4 million, a full-time development director, and fund-raising that covers a quarter of the school's $1.7 million annual budget, St. Martin de Porres has been able to increase enrollment and add programs without raising tuition.<br />
<br />
"This has provided a growth and a transformation for the school and a real sense of stability," said Sister Nancy Fitzgerald, the principal. "When I register new families and I explain to them . . . that we are an independent Catholic school and that the archdiocese cannot close us, their eyes light up."<br />
<br />
Her school has 400 students from kindergarten through eighth grade - 20 more than last year. Parents pay $2,460 per child.<br />
<br />
The school's board, the archdiocese, and the nonprofit Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools (BLOCS) quietly signed documents in August 2010 making the school independent.<br />
<br />
Officials are scheduled to publicly announce Tuesday the school's independence and its successful year-old transition.<br />
<br />
"We're just thrilled that the group has come along to ensure that the school will continue," said Mary Rochford, superintendent of Catholic schools.<br />
<br />
John F. "Jack" Donnelly, a business executive who is chairman of the Friends of St. Martin de Porres School Board, said the new approach shields the school from the cycle of rising costs and declining enrollment that causes several Catholic elementary schools to close each year.<br />
<br />
"The goal is ultimately to use this as a model for other Catholic schools," said Donnelly, chief executive officer at L.F. Driscoll Co. L.L.C., a Bala Cynwyd construction-management firm.<br />
<br />
A year ago, BLOCS pledged $4 million in matching grants to help St. Martin de Porres and six other urban Catholic schools create endowments. Although St. Martin de Porres has not yet raised the $5.75 million to qualify for its $225,000 match, the school is the first to become independent.<br />
<br />
"We will be doing a full-court press" to get the match, Donnelly said.<br />
<br />
Other area parish schools have become independent in order to continue serving low-income students in inner-city neighborhoods. In 1993, business leaders, the Jesuits, and the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary joined together to keep the Gesu School in North Philadelphia open after the archdiocese announced it would close it.<br />
<br />
And when the lone surviving Catholic school in Chester was threatened with closure in 2006, the archdiocese, Neumann University, the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, and the St. Katharine Drexel Parish reached an agreement that created Drexel Neumann Academy...<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;">(click on link for the entire article)</span>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-36397436845734490322011-06-27T12:19:00.003-04:002011-06-27T14:17:21.533-04:00Hearts on Fire in Philly...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=James%20Martin%20SJ"><span style="color: #660000;">Fr. Jim Martin, SJ</span></a> and a team of Jesuits led the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxpBdnqmWzQ&feature=player_embedded#at=72"><span style="color: #660000;">Hearts on Fire</span></a> Retreat at <a href="http://oldstjoseph.org/index.php"><span style="color: #660000;">Old St. Joseph's Church</span></a> for young adults this weekend. Some pics and a great quote by <a href="http://ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-voices/st-ignatius-loyola/"><span style="color: #660000;">St. Ignatius Loyola</span></a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q9UXZfxSj9A/TgipVtHsjwI/AAAAAAAADwk/hDXYs6eIZho/s1600/264438_213351068707220_191641484211512_595063_1858901_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" i$="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-q9UXZfxSj9A/TgipVtHsjwI/AAAAAAAADwk/hDXYs6eIZho/s400/264438_213351068707220_191641484211512_595063_1858901_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>A great quote from St. Ignatius Loyola, courtesy of Sam Sawyer, SJ: <br />
<br />
<blockquote><em>"There are very few people who realize what God would make of them if they abandoned themselves entirely to His hands, and let themselves be formed by his Grace. A thick and shapeless tree trunk would never believe that it could become a statue, admired as a miracle of sculpture...and would never consent to submit itself to the chisel of the sculptor who, as St. Augustine says, sees by his genius what he can make of it. Many people who, we see, now scarcely live as Christians, do not understand that they could become saints, if they would let themselves be formed by the grace of God, if they did not ruin His plans by resisting the work which He wants to do...."</em></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SSatn-Jw0eM/TgipWxVhtJI/AAAAAAAADwo/1fJgQ7bTl7I/s1600/260575_213351415373852_191641484211512_595075_703688_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" i$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SSatn-Jw0eM/TgipWxVhtJI/AAAAAAAADwo/1fJgQ7bTl7I/s640/260575_213351415373852_191641484211512_595075_703688_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OSJ is a special place for my wife and me as we were married there; <br />
the wedding Mass concelebrated by Bill Rickle, SJ and Herbert Charles, CSSp.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C97bjRjZnqo/TgipYfbj_QI/AAAAAAAADws/pD0ewiGaIoU/s1600/271159_213351282040532_191641484211512_595070_5047065_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" i$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C97bjRjZnqo/TgipYfbj_QI/AAAAAAAADws/pD0ewiGaIoU/s400/271159_213351282040532_191641484211512_595070_5047065_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kQJwbyxqPW4/TgipZbMHsrI/AAAAAAAADww/Q8XGBVVmJEE/s1600/264533_10150215428106496_46899546495_7571767_1528287_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" i$="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kQJwbyxqPW4/TgipZbMHsrI/AAAAAAAADww/Q8XGBVVmJEE/s640/264533_10150215428106496_46899546495_7571767_1528287_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div align="center">The "Hearts on Fire" mission team, in the courtyard of Old St. Joseph's after a weekend mission to young adults. Left to right (standing): Mario Cisneros, SJ; Phil Hurley, SJ, director of the Hearts on Fire program; me; Sam Sawyer, SJ.; Jim Hederman, SJ, vocation promoter; (kneeling) Sean Power, SJ: Rob van Alstyne, SJ. A great group of guys! AMDG!</div>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-89881388025195194902011-06-14T11:34:00.000-04:002011-06-14T11:34:36.493-04:00Requiescat in Pace - Edward Bradley, SJ, MD.<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Ahhh... the Jesuits. This one was very impressive, even by Jesuit standards. A Lt. Commander in the US Navy, Medical Doctor, professor, Jesuit priest. Makes me wonder what I've been doing with my spare time.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Even though Father went to <a href="http://www.sjprep.org/"><span style="color: #660000;">St. Joseph's Prep</span></a> and <a href="https://epay.sju.edu/C21318_ustores/web/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=322&SINGLESTORE=true"><span style="color: #660000;">St. Joseph's College</span></a>... I got to know him as he was a long time subscriber to the Walnut Street Theatre where I work. He had one ticket in the first row center orchestra. Occasionally he would need to exchange his ticket and of course would come into the box office for a chat. Although not in the obituary I could have sworn that Father told me he joined the Society, then left to take care of his mother. When she passed he rejoined. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I last saw Father two months ago when he was in Jefferson Hospital. I went to his room, which was empty, and was told he was receiving dialysis, so I went down to keep him company. He was happy to see me and in great spirits. I brought him a book about Avery Dulles, SJ and a prayer card of <a href="http://www.ciszek.org/About_Ciszek.html"><span style="color: #660000;">Walter Ciszek, SJ</span></a>, to pass the time. He thanked me and mentioned that he and Fr. Ciszek used to have breakfast together in Wernersville, and told a few Ciszek stories that I'm sure few people have heard.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Luann Cotton Marziani from the Jefferson Foundation told me that "we have another saint to pray to now. Fr. Bradley was a great influence on my life. He will always be “Father Heart and Soul” to me." So true Luann.<br />
<br />
Father never shared the Vietnam story with me. We have Miss Saigon currently playing at the Walnut. He would have really enjoyed that, from the first row.<br />
<br />
Mission accomplished Fr. Bradley. AMDG.<br />
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<br />
<a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/20110614_Edward_C__Bradley__physician_and_priest.html">The Philadelphia Inquirer</a> printed a similar obituary in today's addition. The arrangements are as follows.<br />
</div><br />
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BEATI MORTUI QUI IN DOMINO MORIUNTUR<br />
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<u>Viewing:</u><br />
<br />
Tuesday, June 14, 2011 6-8 PM<br />
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 9:30-10:30 AM<br />
St. John Bosco Church<br />
235 East County Line Road<br />
Hatboro, PA 19040<br />
<br />
<u>Funeral Mass:</u><br />
<br />
Wednesday, June 15 10:30 AM<br />
St. John Bosco Church <br />
235 E. County Line Road<br />
Hatboro, PA 19040<br />
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Burial will follow at the Wernersville Jesuit Cemetery.<br />
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<u>Notes of condolence may be sent to:</u><br />
<br />
John Kezlaw (cousin)<br />
Lakeview Dr.<br />
Dennisville, NJ 08214<br />
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Catherine McClure (cousin)<br />
6312 Ballensby St.<br />
Philadelphia, PA 19149 <br />
<br />
Anne Schuster (niece)<br />
405 Newton Rd.<br />
Halboro, PA 19040 <br />
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The poor found in him a generous friend. May they now welcome him into the Heavenly Kingdom.<br />
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Saints of God, come to his aid!<br />
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Hasten to meet him angels of the Lord!<br />
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Receive his soul and present him to God the Most High.<br />
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Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord,<br />
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And let perpetual light shine upon him.<br />
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May he rest in peace. Amen.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mdsj.org/news.html"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><strong>Fr. Edward C. Bradley, SJ, dies</strong></span></a><br />
Doctor served the poor, counseled medical students <br />
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A Mass of Christian burial will be offered Wednesday for Fr. Edward C. Bradley, SJ. Fr. Bradley died of kidney failure June 8, at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, where he practiced medicine and taught for more than 30 years. A Jesuit for 37 years and a priest for 32, he was 82. <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The son of Marie Cecilia Wood and Edward Charles Bradley of Philadelphia, he was born July 18, 1928. He was a graduate of St. Joseph's Preparatory School and earned his bachelors degree from Saint Joseph's College (now University) in 1951 and his MD from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1955. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fMED7_qrzBk/TfduXYrxRYI/AAAAAAAADwc/BEgXsSokMIc/s1600/Bradley_Edward.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fMED7_qrzBk/TfduXYrxRYI/AAAAAAAADwc/BEgXsSokMIc/s320/Bradley_Edward.jpg" t8="true" width="221" /></a>Dr. Bradley interned at Lankenau Hospital in Philadelphia before going to the U.S. Navy School of Aviation Medicine in Pensacola, Florida, where he served as a flight surgeon and rose to the rank of lieutenant commander. </div><br />
Additionally, he completed fellowships in cardiology at the University of Goteborg in Sweden and in cardiovascular research at the University of Southern California School of Medicine. He joined the USC faculty in 1964 and was made assistant professor in 1966 and was co-investigator of the circulatory shock unit. <br />
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When Dr. Bradley learned of a Jesuit priest in Vietnam in dire need of medical supplies and assistance, he gathered equipment and took it to two Vietnamese villages. He opened clinics there, focusing on tuberculosis and polio cases. He appealed to President Richard Nixon for supplies. Nixon responded with supplies and personnel to inoculate some 8,000 villagers, virtually eradicating the disease in these areas. <br />
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In 1974, he resigned from USC to enter the Society of Jesus at the novitiate at Wernersville, Pennsylvania. He professed first vows Sept. 11, 1976. He continued the practice of medicine and in 1975 joined the faculty of Jefferson Medical College. In 1977 he went to study for a master of divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California. During his studies he practiced medicine at St. Mary's Hospital in San Francisco and the USC/Los Angeles County Hospital. <br />
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Fr. Bradley was ordained a priest June 9, 1979, and served a pastoral year at Old St. Joseph's Church in Philadelphia. The following year, he opened a medical practice in North Philadelphia to care for the poor and rejoined the Jefferson faculty. In 1987, he began serving as a counselor to faculty and students at Jefferson, a position he held until last year. <br />
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The medical school honored Fr. Bradley's work several times. The graduating class in 1991 presented his portrait to the university. He received the Clarence E. Shaffrey SJ award from the medical alumni of Saint Joseph's University in 1999. And in 2008, the year after he retired from teaching, Saint Joseph's University Medical Alumni Chapter established the Edward C. Bradley, S.J., M.D. '51 Medical Alumni Award. <br />
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Viewing will be held Tuesday, 6-8 p.m. and Wednesday 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at St. John Bosco Church, 235 E County Line Rd, Hatboro, Pa. The Mass of Christian burial will be offered at the church at 10:30 a.m. with burial to follow at the Jesuit Cemetery in Wernersville, Pa.44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-21938724650505464292011-06-01T12:23:00.000-04:002011-06-01T12:23:08.255-04:00'You go in their door. You bring them out ours.'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nni4FGBpFGo/TeZlOEgqV2I/AAAAAAAADv4/Db2xKhqHkYk/s1600/rugg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nni4FGBpFGo/TeZlOEgqV2I/AAAAAAAADv4/Db2xKhqHkYk/s640/rugg.jpg" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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<a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleges/20110601_Jesuit_influence_apparent_in_rugby.html?viewAll=y"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: x-large;"><strong>Jesuit influence apparent in rugby</strong></span></a><br />
By Frank Fitzpatrick <br />
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Inquirer Staff Writer<br />
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It's probably not too surprising that a Catholic order conceived in the aftermath of battle, one which has always seasoned its intellectual and spiritual fervor with a healthy respect for physical strength, has become the principal force behind the growth of American rugby.<br />
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So many Jesuit high schools and colleges are playing and succeeding at the rugged and increasingly popular sport that it seems as if the 477-year-old religious order, founded by a converted Spanish soldier, Ignatius of Loyola, has added rugby devotion to its vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.<br />
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"The whole idea of what Ignatius inspired in Jesuits, a competitive spirit and the development of the whole person, is really alive in the sport," said the Rev. Bruce Bidinger, a Jesuit counselor at St. Joseph's University and the chaplain for that school's basketball team.<br />
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The traditional game, with 15 players on each side, and the hybrid "sevens" version, with seven players per side, of the sport are experiencing an American boom, nowhere more so than at the 80-plus Jesuit high schools and colleges from coast to coast.<br />
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While Boston College will be the only Jesuit school competing at this weekend's 2011 USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship in Chester's PPL Park, the rosters of the 15 other teams will be teeming with Jesuit high school products.<br />
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In a recent Rugby Magazine poll of the nation's best high school rugby teams, five of the top 10 - and seven of the top 17 - were from Jesuit institutions in Sacramento, New York City, Dallas, New Orleans, and Washington.<br />
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Though Gonzaga of Washington was the top-rated team for much of 2011, this year's high school championship was won by Jesuit High of Sacramento over Xavier of New York, the latter a Jesuit school in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.<br />
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The Sacramento school has long been the primary feeder for the dynastic rugby program at Cal, which has won 26 national collegiate rugby titles. Seven players on the U.S. national team - Ray Lehner, Kirk Khasigian, Chris Miller, Kort Schubert, Lou Stanfill, Eric Fry, and Colin Hawley - played at both Jesuit and Cal.<br />
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"Those [Jesuit] schools produce smart, tough players who are also good students," said Alex Goff, the editor of Rugby Magazine.<br />
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That rugby-Jesuit connection is evident locally, too, as St. Joe's Prep, rated 17th in that same poll, captured this year's Pennsylvania rugby title. Its program - like most, a club-level sport - was formed in 2005 by three teachers at the North Philadelphia school, all graduates of Jesuit universities.<br />
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Overall, there are 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States. Most, like St. Joe's, Scranton, Georgetown, Santa Clara, and BC, have rugby teams. Almost all play at the club level since rugby is not an NCAA-approved varsity sport.<br />
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Bit of spunk<br />
Jesuits, whose guiding philosophy about the union of body and spirit is the Catholic counterpart to the Protestant notion of "muscular Christianity," have long advocated for sports.<br />
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Most of their colleges are too small to compete effectively with the wealthier and more populous state schools in football, but they have a history of success in basketball and lacrosse. Rugby fits neatly into that tradition.<br />
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"I don't have any definitive answers [as to why the links between rugby and Jesuits are so strong]," said Colin Curtin, a BC star who played scholastically at St. Joe's Prep. "There doesn't seem to be any reason why there are such great rugby programs and rugby cultures at these schools. But there is. The correlation is unbelievable."<br />
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According to Curtin, plans are in the works for a 2012 Jesuit collegiate tournament featuring BC, Georgetown, Santa Clara, and Fairfield.<br />
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Curtin said that in his senior year at St. Joe's Prep, when the rugby team played in the national championships, "at least three or four of the other teams were from Jesuit schools."<br />
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"It's a sport that allows a lot of people to fit in," said Bidinger. "You don't always have to be the most fit or the strongest. In that sense, it's inclusive. For rugby, all you need is a little bit of spunk and a little bit of energy."<br />
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Overall, non-Jesuit Catholic schools are also doing well with rugby.<br />
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Notre Dame, operated by the Holy Cross fathers, recently reinstated its rugby team, a response, some insiders suggested, to the school's losing too many Jesuit-trained athletes to Jesuit colleges.<br />
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Some suggest an Irish connection is at work. Rugby is among the most popular sports in Ireland. And since the student bodies at many Catholic high schools are overwhelmingly Irish, parents and students there naturally have pushed for the sport.<br />
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"[Those connections] have made many Catholic school administrators more open to the sport," said Goff.<br />
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The progenitor of American football and long a sporting afterthought on this side of the Atlantic, rugby began slowly digging a foothold at Catholic colleges and high schools in California and the Northeast during the 1960s.<br />
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While the process of adding another sport in public schools could be bureaucratically challenging, other Catholic institutions were able to establish teams quickly and, in the process, attract new students.<br />
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"These schools were finding success on a national stage, and [others] began to follow suit," said Goff. "Enthusiastic coaches realized that they could persuade a Jesuit school to start a rugby program much more readily than any other type of school. . . . Any coach who wanted to coach high school rugby only had to sell [the idea] to one administration at a private Catholic school rather than to an entire school district."<br />
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The Jesuits, of course, being a religious order, have not overlooked the opportunities rugby offers for evangelizing.<br />
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"It's like St. Ignatius said," the Rev. James Keane, a Jesuit with a passion for the sport, said of that possibility, " 'You go in their door. You bring them out ours.' "<br />
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Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleges/20110601_Jesuit_influence_apparent_in_rugby.html?viewAll=y#ixzz1O2ZeSOf3 <br />
Watch sports videos you won't find anywhere else44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-86721715643129939882011-05-28T09:09:00.000-04:002011-05-28T09:09:55.572-04:00gratias tibi ago<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BXLVFZ_Wpcw/TeDz-tiwIoI/AAAAAAAADv0/ADtHrZmqj5A/s1600/NYC+030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BXLVFZ_Wpcw/TeDz-tiwIoI/AAAAAAAADv0/ADtHrZmqj5A/s640/NYC+030.jpg" t8="true" width="640" /></a></div>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-45480708674276792692011-05-14T09:40:00.000-04:002011-05-14T09:43:17.566-04:00Little Flower High School...<div align="center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7mDsjJcMQB0/S2yBsvGMchI/AAAAAAAADGc/jUiGxhvDVBg/s1600-h/lf.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434861455886021138" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7mDsjJcMQB0/S2yBsvGMchI/AAAAAAAADGc/jUiGxhvDVBg/s320/lf.jpg" style="cursor: hand; height: 215px; width: 320px;" /></a></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size: 78%;">Serving Little Flower for more than 70 years, collectively, are, from left: </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size: 78%;">Sister Kathleen Klarich, R.S.M., principal; Marguerite Nicholson-Schenk, </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size: 78%;">assistant principal for student services; Patricia McCaffrey, assistant </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size: 78%;">principal for student affairs; Sister Donna Shallo, I.H.M., president; and </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size: 78%;">Rita McGovern, assistant principal for academic affairs. </span></div><span style="font-size: 78%;"></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7mDsjJcMQB0/S2yBTQPnsnI/AAAAAAAADGM/vX25No3n1TY/s1600-h/lff222.jpg"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434861018107327090" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7mDsjJcMQB0/S2yBTQPnsnI/AAAAAAAADGM/vX25No3n1TY/s320/lff222.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 192px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 320px;" /></span></a><a href="http://www.cst-phl.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=1480&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=2666&hn=cst-phl&he=.com"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 130%;"><strong>Little Flower High School is Thriving! -- Catholic Standard & Times</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><br />
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By Jim Gauger<br />
Special to The CS&T<br />
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PHILADELPHIA — When you speak with Sister Donna Shallo, I.H.M., and Sister Kathleen Klarich, R.S.M., of Little Flower High School for Girls, the enthusiasm in their voices is almost overwhelming.<br />
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They head a leadership team at the school, located in the Hunting Park section of North Philadelphia, that is both experienced and committed. Little Flower, which opened Sept. 1, 1939, “as the most modern of the secondary schools and the pride of the Philadelphia Catholic system,” is still going strong despite facing closure in the early 1990s.<br />
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“Our current students are our best advertisers,” Sister Donna, the school’s president, said. “The word of mouth is that our students are happy here, and parents want happy teenagers.” That spirit is the engine that drives the faculty and the students each day, said Sister Donna, who has been at Little Flower for 19 years.<br />
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And another key element to Little Flower’s continued success? Commitment to service. The principal, Sister Kathleen, has been at the school for 15 years. Then there are Rita McGovern, assistant principal for academic affairs — 15 years; Marguerite Nicholson-Schenk, assistant principal for student services — 14 years; and Patricia McCaffrey, assistant principal for student affairs — 10 years.<br />
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“It is very significant (having the administration in place for such a long period),” Sister Kathleen explained. “Each one is an individual with her own gifts and experiences. We are unified, committed to the mission of the school. We respect one another and communicate effectively.”<br />
</span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7mDsjJcMQB0/S2yBTO0nYKI/AAAAAAAADGE/mYqKb4voOYU/s1600-h/lf11.jpg"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434861017725624482" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7mDsjJcMQB0/S2yBTO0nYKI/AAAAAAAADGE/mYqKb4voOYU/s320/lf11.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 130px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 320px;" /></span></a><span style="font-family: times new roman;">That sense of continuity and stability is welcomed by Sister Donna. “We are all interested in the students and embrace the mission of Little Flower,” she said. According to the school’s web site, Cardinal Dennis Dougherty, in order “to express his personal devotion to St. Therese of Lisieux, named the school Little Flower confident that as patroness of the school she, in her Little Way, would be a model for the girls who would be educated here.”<br />
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In 1953, Little Flower was the largest Catholic girls’ high school in the country, with a student body of 3,312. Just about 40 years later the school was battling to survive as archdiocesan high schools adopted open enrollment. “Due to the deficit situation” in the Archdiocese, Little Flower and nine other schools were to be closed.<br />
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Sister Donna, who came to the school in 1991 as director of activities, remembers. “It was horrible,” she said of the 1992 crisis when enrollment was in the 900s. “All but St. James (Chester) and Bishop Kenrick (Norristown, her alma mater) survived.” <span style="color: #660000;">(click title for the entire article)</span> </span></div><span style="font-family: times new roman;"></span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7mDsjJcMQB0/S2yBsXK9A4I/AAAAAAAADGU/TCtmyBqBkCI/s1600-h/lffff.jpg"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434861449463530370" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7mDsjJcMQB0/S2yBsXK9A4I/AAAAAAAADGU/TCtmyBqBkCI/s320/lffff.jpg" style="cursor: hand; height: 228px; width: 278px;" /></span></a><br />
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<div align="center">This for my buddy Clare Pfeil, <span style="color: #660000;">LFHS '84 </span><span style="color: black;">(student #844350),</span> who still sings it -- not well but it doesn't stop her ;-)</div><div align="center"><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="color: #660000;">Alma Mater, good and true<br />
The pride of Church and City,<br />
We pledge our all to God and you<br />
Under Mary's mantle blue.<br />
Our faith is anchored here<br />
With love that will light your years;<br />
Staunch hearts will ever sing in praise of you.<br />
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Hail to you, Little Flower, hail!<br />
Pride of all, our love will not fail<br />
Guide us and keep us safe through the years<br />
Bring us your children, brave through all fears.<br />
Onward we will march foursquare<br />
Vanguard of truth to do and to dare,<br />
We, to you, our pledge renew,<br />
Fore'er we will be true.<br />
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Little Flower, we glory to see<br />
Your colors gleam in the sunlight,<br />
Maroon for love and loyalty,<br />
Snowy White for purity<br />
Proud, we your banner fling,<br />
Exultant, your praises sing.<br />
We march on strong with trust in God above.</span> </span></div>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-43848975863119374702011-05-08T12:33:00.000-04:002011-05-08T12:33:35.911-04:00Happy Mother's DayThis is for all of those people out there who no longer have mothers. For us old guys, of course, but especially for those younger people who lost their moms when they were way too young. I know how difficult it must be being inundated with all the advertisements at this time of year. The constant wishes... only to be turned into "<em>I'm sorry</em>." Don DiJulia, the AD at St. Joe's, gave the best advice when he told me "<em>we're all rookies when it comes to losing our mothers, no matter the age</em>."<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lRAdNdyXvqI/TcbB4a4va8I/AAAAAAAADvc/XFbXYQoLJ3g/s1600/232323232%25257Ffp348%25253Enu%25253D3266%25253E338%25253E5%25253A6%25253EWSNRCG%25253D3233%25253B59556566nu0mrj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lRAdNdyXvqI/TcbB4a4va8I/AAAAAAAADvc/XFbXYQoLJ3g/s200/232323232%25257Ffp348%25253Enu%25253D3266%25253E338%25253E5%25253A6%25253EWSNRCG%25253D3233%25253B59556566nu0mrj.jpg" width="133" /></a>I was lucky enough to have a great Mom... aka Ma. I hope you were too. I keep a County Mayo sticker on the bumper of my Dodge Charger to remind me of her, as she always had one on her car. Don't let the last name fool you -- she was "thoroughbred Irish", as she and her mother liked to boast. I never had perogis or golumpkis growing up.... just a roast cooked for 12 hours (<em>until it just fell off the bone</em>) and seemingly every meal had potatoes. Like all good mothers you were first on her mind when she woke up, and the last thing on her mind when she went to sleep. All those meals, all those rides to CYO games, all the washing and ironing, all the handkerchiefs she would spit on to remove whatever it was you got on your face. All the love, altruism, selflessness. Always putting <u>you</u> before her. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>If you were lucky you got one like I did that dispensed excellent Yoda-like advice at the drop of a hat (<i>oh how I wish that once I had the things I threw away</i>), or had a comeback no matter what you said or did (<i>are your ears painted on</i>?). Hopefully she let you fight some of your own battles, like the time I fought the Jewish kid down the street while the parish priest was in our house visiting, and then told you to invite the boy to the house for dinner the next week - which I did and we became best friends (a Philadelphia rowhouse brand of Catholicism?). She was there, whether you wanted her to be or not, at almost every significant moment in your life. Should it have felt like your world was falling apart -- you knew there was one person who would always be on your corner. One caveat however - being in your corner didn't mean she told you wanted you wanted to hear. <br />
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At certain times in my life I would love to have just one more home cooked meal served up in the small kitchen, followed up by one of our endless conversations over Miller Lite and a Benson & Hedges Deluxe Ultra Lights. All gone now... <em>oh how I wish that once I had</em>.... ringing in my ear.<br />
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So for all of you out there -- don't think of how she died but celebrate how she lived. Say a prayer and remember at least one great memory, of either the lady who brought you into this world, or the lady who raised you. She is still worthy of that honor. But don't be too sad. You miss her, and I'm sure she misses you... but she is having supper with Lord now. By His cross, death and resurrection Christ conquered death. That is the consolation of Christianity. But don't think for a moment she's still not watching over you, and perhaps wondering <i>what in God's name possessed him to do that.</i> She may have retired the handkerchief by now though ;-)<br />
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TFB / 5-8-11 / AMDG<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6o74AK38-jA/TcbBsfWIaLI/AAAAAAAADvY/R9j2o-Ym7zc/s1600/IMAG0007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6o74AK38-jA/TcbBsfWIaLI/AAAAAAAADvY/R9j2o-Ym7zc/s320/IMAG0007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-61050746886705394072011-04-26T10:12:00.001-04:002011-04-26T11:14:10.166-04:00John W. Smithson - interim SJU presidentThe end of an era, I'm afraid. The first non-Jesuit president in our history. I hope Fr. Lannon wasn't the last of the long black line, listed below.<br />
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This situation is not peculiar to St. Joe's as this article, <em><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/fewer-jesuit-priests-this-easter-but-more-people-learning-jesuit-ideals/2011/04/21/AFicfhPE_print.html"><span style="color: #660000;">Fewer Jesuit priests this Easter, but more people learning Jesuit ideals</span></a></em>, from last week's Washington Post indicates. <br />
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As a Jesuit educated laymen -- it isn't the same as having a man who dedicated his whole life to the Society. As Fr. Martin succintly puts it; "“It’s <em>like running a program in Italian studies with someone born in Italy, who has their PhD in Italian from an Italian school, versus someone born here who studied here,” he said. “As immersed as someone can get, they’re not living it the same way a Jesuit is. There’s something qualitatively different.”</em><br />
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AMDG.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AT39hRhQdfg/TbbQlogBHpI/AAAAAAAADvI/WHKmoxYRYDI/s1600/mailmast-boardoftrustees.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="81" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AT39hRhQdfg/TbbQlogBHpI/AAAAAAAADvI/WHKmoxYRYDI/s400/mailmast-boardoftrustees.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
Dear Alumni, Parents and Friends, <br />
<br />
I am pleased to announce that at a special meeting on Tuesday evening, April 19, the Board voted to appoint John W. Smithson ’68, M.B.A. ’82 as Saint Joseph’s University’s Interim President. Members of the Board unanimously agreed that Mr. Smithson meets the expectations and aspirations of the campus community for this interim leadership role which were clearly articulated through the many e-mails sent to Trustees and the Open Forums that Board members held with students, faculty, the Jesuit community, administrators and staff, and alumni.<br />
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The Board heard the University community’s desire for a strong leader who will engage all constituencies within the community. It was made very clear that members of the University community desire an individual who will maintain the momentum established by Fathers Rashford and Lannon. The Board, along with those expressing their thoughts via the forums and e-mail, were united in their belief that an Interim President needed to demonstrate strength in four areas:<br />
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1. Commitment to Ignatian mission and values; <br />
2. Commitment to and capable of, maintaining and building momentum in academic life, student life, fund raising, and fiduciary stewardship; <br />
3. Sensitivity to student and faculty needs, and commitment to maintaining a visible and accessible leadership profile for the SJU community; and <br />
4. Proficiency in Saint Joseph’s administrative affairs. <br />
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There was consensus across the community that we appoint an individual familiar with Saint Joseph’s and who has demonstrated a commitment to its Catholic, Jesuit mission. The Board concluded that the University needed an individual who did not require a learning curve and could be effective from day one. As a result, the Board agreed that an internal candidate was best able to act as a steward of the University’s legacy during this interim period.<br />
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As you know, Mr. Smithson served as a University Trustee from 1999-2007 and Board Chair from 2003-2007. He has been serving as the Senior Vice President at the University since February 2010. As a result of his deep engagement with Saint Joseph’s, John possesses a deep and holistic understanding of the University’s mission and history, its short-term needs and its long-term goals. He understands its current operational strengths and weaknesses. Most importantly, John has a demonstrated respect for and understanding of student and faculty needs.<br />
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Mr. Smithson was recruited back to Saint Joseph’s as a result of Fr. Lannon’s and the Board’s desire to strengthen University leadership and enable the President to focus more time externally. Previously, he held the position of Senior Vice President at Towers Watson Reinsurance and, he was also the CEO and President of PMA Capital Corporation.<br />
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Under Mr. Smithson’s leadership as Board Chair, Saint Joseph’s achieved some remarkable successes, beginning with the appointment of Fr. Lannon as its 26th President. The University also experienced the establishment of the Brian C. Duperreault ’69 Chair for Risk Management and Insurance, the addition of the residence halls on City Avenue now known as Rashford and Lannon Halls, the revitalization of the City Avenue Special Services District (CASSD), the establishment of the Catholic Bioethics Institute and the Pedro Arrupe Center for Business Ethics, the signing of the agreement to purchase the Merion Campus from the Episcopal Academy and the highest ranking from US News & World Report, to name just a few.<br />
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Mr. Smithson will assume the position of Interim President of Saint Joseph’s University on May 18, 2011.<br />
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I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who took the time to attend an Open Forum regarding the search and selection process for the Interim President of Saint Joseph's University. I appreciate your interest and concern. It is very clear that each and every one of you is passionate about Saint Joseph’s and wants what is best for our community. I know that the other Trustees who attended the sessions found it very beneficial to hear first-hand what is of most importance to you.<br />
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Concurrently, the Presidential Search Committee is continuing the search process, focusing initially on potential Jesuit candidates who are qualified and available, to be considered as the full-time successor to Fr. Lannon.<br />
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As the Board Chair, despite this period of transition, I am both pleased by and confident in the excellent situation which Saint Joseph’s is in today. There are a number of strategic initiatives in place, including Academic Affairs, Student Life, Athletics, Development, Enrollment Management, Information Technology and Marketing. Under the guidance of the Board of Trustees and the interim leadership of John Smithson, these key initiatives will continue to move forward as we continue to make every effort to provide our students with the highest quality Saint Joseph’s education.<br />
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Please join me in wishing Mr. Smithson well as he assumes the interim leadership of the University, and in offering him your support during this time of transition at Saint Joseph’s.<br />
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Sincerely,<br />
<br />
Paul J. Hondros ’70 <br />
Chair<br />
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<br />
Saint Joseph's University, 5600 City Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HAky5y703Jc/TbbRvJut8YI/AAAAAAAADvQ/WiORVOygg-E/s1600/sju.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" i8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HAky5y703Jc/TbbRvJut8YI/AAAAAAAADvQ/WiORVOygg-E/s400/sju.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
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Rev. Felix Barbelin, S.J. 1851 1856 <br />
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Rev. James Ryder, S.J. 1856 1857 <br />
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Rev. James A. Ward, S.J. 1857 1860 <br />
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Rev. Felix Barbelin, S.J. 1860 1868 <br />
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Rev. Burchard Villiger, S.J. 1868 1893 <br />
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Rev. Patrick J. Dooley, S.J. 1893 1896 <br />
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Rev. William F. Clark, S.J. 1896 1900 <br />
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Rev. Cornelius Gillespie, S.J. 1900 1907 <br />
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Rev. Denis T. O'Sullivan, S.J. 1907 1908 <br />
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Rev. Cornelius Gillespie, S.J. 1908 1909 <br />
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\Rev. Charles W. Lyons, S.J. 1909 1914 <br />
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Rev. J. Charles Davey, S.J. 1914 1917 <br />
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Rev. Redmond J. Walsh, S.J. 1917 1920 <br />
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Rev. Patrick F. O'Gorman, S.J. 1920 1921 <br />
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Rev. Albert G. Brown, S.J. 1921 1927 <br />
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Rev. William T. Tallon, S.J. 1927 1933 <br />
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Rev. Thomas J. Higgins, S.J. 1933 1939 <br />
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Rev. Thomas J. Love, S.J. 1939 1944 <br />
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Rev. John L. Long, S.J. 1944 1950 <br />
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Rev. Edward G. Jacklin, S.J. 1950 1956 <br />
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Rev. J. Joseph Bluett, S.J. 1956 1962 <br />
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Rev. William F. Maloney, S.J. 1962 1968 <br />
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Rev. Terrence Toland, S.J. 1968 1976 <br />
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Rev. Donald I. MacLean, S.J. 1976 1986 <br />
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Rev. Nicholas S. Rashford, S.J. 1986 2003 <br />
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Rev. Timothy R. Lannon, S.J. 2003 2011 <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c6wIGoeEt-U/TbbSj-XuS3I/AAAAAAAADvU/ArDRavtksk0/s1600/StJChapel44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" i8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c6wIGoeEt-U/TbbSj-XuS3I/AAAAAAAADvU/ArDRavtksk0/s640/StJChapel44.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-66783769841652551772011-04-22T15:57:00.001-04:002011-04-22T16:08:15.491-04:00Fr Currie to speak at SJU Commencement<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sju.edu/news/archives/commencement_speakers_041111.html"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><strong>Charles Currie, SJ Chosen as Saint Joseph's University Commencement Speaker</strong></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o9d2wWIn5sc/TbHbbHnnM_I/AAAAAAAADu8/KY0HiY5nrTY/s1600/frcurrie.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o9d2wWIn5sc/TbHbbHnnM_I/AAAAAAAADu8/KY0HiY5nrTY/s320/frcurrie.png" width="215" /></a></div><br />
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Father Currie, who will give the commencement address at the graduate, doctoral and College of Professional and Liberal Studies ceremony, has served as president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities since 1997. In his career in Jesuit higher education, he has served in various leadership positions, including president of Wheeling Jesuit and Xavier universities, special assistant to the president of Georgetown University and rector of the Jesuit Community and adjunct faculty at Saint Joseph’s University. Throughout, he has interwoven a deep commitment to community and poor and marginalized populations worldwide. <br />
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In 1989, he traveled to Vietnam to arrange cooperative programs between Georgetown and Vietnamese universities. Later that year, following the assassination of Jesuit priests in El Salvador, he traveled to that country numerous times as special assistant to Georgetown’s president to coordinate the university’s response to the tragedy. Following the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005, he coordinated a rapid response by Jesuit colleges and universities to admit more than 1,600 students from Loyola University New Orleans and other affected institutions.<br />
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A Philadelphia native, he has studied at Fordham University, Boston College and Woodstock College, gaining graduate degrees in philosophy and theology, and at the Catholic University of America where he earned a doctorate in physical chemistry before pursuing postdoctoral research at Cambridge University the Canadian National Research Council and the National Bureau of Standards in Washington. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pGMB8PGjH48/TbHcIX98RfI/AAAAAAAADvA/0rU6KWp1HUA/s1600/Picture+064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" i8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pGMB8PGjH48/TbHcIX98RfI/AAAAAAAADvA/0rU6KWp1HUA/s400/Picture+064.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Charlie Currie, SJ with Joe Lacey, SJ at the Memorial Mass last </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">year for John Deeney, SJ of the Jamshedpur Jesuit Province.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mR_2dMGMY9o/TbHfp_OvT_I/AAAAAAAADvE/d-XtVpuwoZc/s1600/D3S_6777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" i8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mR_2dMGMY9o/TbHfp_OvT_I/AAAAAAAADvE/d-XtVpuwoZc/s320/D3S_6777.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Both of Father's brothers are Jesuits as well, Joe was at Fordham and is now at Wernersville, and Rob is in Nicaragua. Father looks to be trying to escape our conversation here -- as most smart people do when chatting with 44 ;-)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-37120687169018302602011-04-18T12:09:00.000-04:002011-04-18T12:09:40.496-04:00Sr. Mary Scullion, RSM -- the Laetare MedalThree word answer for a close to perfect imitation of Christ: <span style="color: #660000;"><u>SISTER</u> <u>MARY</u> <u>SCULLION</u></span>, RSM. <br />
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She is the real deal. While the recently departed head of Philadelphia's Housing Authority, Carl Greene, drew a $300,000 salary, lived in a million dollar condominium, and wasted the tax payer's money on parties and attorney fees (and 20 leather trimmed Tumi carry-on duffel for PHA hacks - at $796 apiece ) -- this lady, this living saint, does far more for far less. <br />
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While coaching in North Philadelphia I took two of my players to a pre-season Eagles game and then dropped them off at their apartment at 23rd and Norris Streets. After they got in I saw this lady walking across the street and yelled "Sr. Mary." We chatted and she asked me what I was doing there. She knew both the boys as they lived in Rowan Homes -- a place she built for former homeless people. And she lived directly across the street.<br />
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Congrats Sr. Mary and Joan Dawson McConnon. I couldn't think of more deserving recipients! I'm sure your buddy Jon Bon Jovi will be there for the award ;-)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d0cnEY081wI/Taxfg87hHGI/AAAAAAAADu4/3qhlvxMr1vE/s1600/sculbonjo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d0cnEY081wI/Taxfg87hHGI/AAAAAAAADu4/3qhlvxMr1vE/s320/sculbonjo.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">From the website </span><a href="http://www.whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">Whispers in the Loggia</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">, on April 3rd, by Rocco Palma. </span><br />
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Keeping its 130-year tradition on this Fourth Sunday of Lent, the University of Notre Dame announced this morning that the co-founders of the River City’s pioneering Project H.O.M.E. -- Religious Sister of Mercy Mary Scullion (above) and Joan Dawson McConnon -- are 2011’s joint recipients of American Catholicism’s most prestigious and venerable award, the Laetare Medal.<br />
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Founded in 1989, Project H.O.M.E. (“Housing. Opportunities for Employment. Medical Care. Education.”) has been credited with cutting Philadelphia’s homeless population in half. Its efforts based around a program that invites the homeless to come in from the streets to access the education and empowerment tools to find work, stability and a place to call their own, the empire of service created by this year’s Laetare laureates has grown from a start-up in an abandoned building with 12 men looking for help to providing nearly 500 affordable housing units for its current clients, countless more gone on to owning homes, multiple businesses to employ and train those who've come in search of the step up, and a multi-million-dollar North Philadelphia technology center where underprivileged youth spend six days a week learning the computer skills they'll need in today's workplace.<br />
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According to its figures, some 95 percent of Project H.O.M.E. alums "stay off the streets for good," and attempts to imitate the model have popped up around the country.<br />
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Along the way, with McConnon -- an accountant who left the corporate world behind after volunteering in a church hospice -- quietly overseeing the operations side of the work, the fierce, formidable religious known from City Hall and national newsrooms to shelters simply as “Sister Mary” would go on to become Philadelphia’s most credible and prominent moral authority, her passionate, unvarnished conviction winning an army of followers ranging from the longtime Republican (then Democratic) Senator Arlen Specter and the new owners of NBC to the musician Jon Bon Jovi, who's dubbed the "nun who spits and swears" his "mentor" in undertaking his own considerable efforts at service. Further underscoring the point, while sisters engaged in social ministry usually find their cheering section on one side of the political aisle, such are Scullion’s devotees across all sorts of divides that, when the Philadelphia Housing Authority was recently placed under Federal oversight amid allegations of mismanagement and settled sexual-harassment claims against its now-former executive director, the city’s leading conservative commentator took to prime-time TV brandishing a “big idea”: send in Sister Mary to whip the beleaguered agency back into shape.<br />
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Twenty-five years after opening her first shelter -- a home for mentally-ill women -- as her own housing goes, Scullion now lives in a one-bedroom apartment at Project H.O.M.E.'s recently-built residence for mothers who’ve come in from the streets with their kids. Prior to that, she kept her room at a former convent which the apostolate converted into a residence for 25 male addicts in various stages of recovery.<br />
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Dubbed “the nun who won’t take ‘no’ for an answer” by NBC Nightly News -- and, by others, the modern successor to her hometown’s own St Katharine Drexel, or even "Joan of Arc" -- Sr Mary has thrice made TIME magazine’s list of the world’s “100 Most Influential People,” tapped alongside such luminaries as Oprah Winfrey, Sarah Palin, President Obama, the topmost leaders of Britain, France and Germany, China’s presidential heir apparent, the founder of Amazon and the Evangelical mega-pastor Rick Warren... not to mention B16 himself.44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-62058830450781426362011-04-04T10:45:00.001-04:002011-04-04T10:46:21.557-04:00Vinny O'Keefe on Pedro ArrupeA brilliant blog by Fr. Jim McDermott, SJ about the life of Father-General Pedro Arrupe, SJ, as told in interviews with his closest asistant and former Vicar General Fr. Vincent O'Keefe, SJ. <br />
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A great idea to get these stories on tape before they are lost forever. Way to go Fr. McDermott! Below please find his preface, and one video. Simply click <a href="http://vinnyokeefe.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #660000;"><strong>Vinny O'Keefe on Pedro Arrupe</strong></span></a> to enjoy the entire series.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c0-WPGXBDrk/TZnWAFFagbI/AAAAAAAADu0/HQsExlNY3Zc/s1600/arrupe4burke285.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c0-WPGXBDrk/TZnWAFFagbI/AAAAAAAADu0/HQsExlNY3Zc/s320/arrupe4burke285.png" width="254" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">1965-1983</span></div><br />
Anyone who ever meets Fr. Vinny O'Keefe, even for just a few minutes, walks away feeling they've made a new friend. He's just that kind of guy -- warm, solicitious, funny, the sort of person that makes you feel like you're the only person in the whole world when you're talking to him.<br />
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For 18 years, Vinny worked at the Jesuit Curia in Rome as one of Fr. Pedro Arrupe's general assistants. Vinny was the only assistant of Arrupe to stay with him from the beginning of his term as Superior General of the Society of Jesus until its end. And when Arrupe had his stroke, it was Vinny that the Society turned to to serve as Vicar General, until Pope John Paul II appointed his own man.<br />
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There's no one living that knows Arrupe like Vinny did, and certainly no one who had the sort of seat Vinny had as the Pope intervened in the Jesuits' governance and the Society went through one of its most challenging and uncertain periods. <br />
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This year marks the 20th anniversary of Pedro Arrupe's death. To hear the stories of him is to come to know a modern, happy saint. And to watch Vinny O'Keefe tell them is to meet one of our living saints. <br />
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(NOTE ON THESE VIDEOS: These short videos are arranged in a specific order, with the one directly below this note being the first, and so on down the line. Of course you're free to pick and choose, but especially when it comes to the set of 9 on the Papal Intervention, the story flows in a rather specific order.<br />
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As you reach the end of a page of videos, click the link on the bottom right hand side -- "Older Posts" -- to get to the next set.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/5eHJfaT56NM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Vinny O'Keefe, SJ; Go to the World</div>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-4464291804701791642011-03-20T09:36:00.001-04:002011-03-20T09:36:00.309-04:00It's t-shirt time...<span style="color: black;">One never knows what gift might be the favorite. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">When I visited our Jesuit friends in the Jamshedpur Province in India, along with Johnny Gill and the Klarichs, we brought a bunch of supplies with us, including some 300 t-shirts we had printed by Greg McDermott for our young friends at the St. Paul Miki School. I had badgered Fr. John Deeney, SJ before our trip for St. Paul Miki's school colors. Fr. wrote to me that this was a small rural school and they had no school colors. Johnny joked that we should have asked what their mascot was. So, of course, we made them St. Joe's crimson. When we arrived we found that their school uniforms were blue -- which would be their school colors!</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">I'm happy to report that half of the second batch was received -- in <span style="color: #0b5394;">St. Paul Miki blue</span> ;-)</span><br />
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If interested check out the <a href="http://www.jamshedpurjesuits.org/gallery/photo-slides/fr-jim-visit/"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Jamshedpur Jesuit website</span></a>, in particular the pictures of Fr. James Shea, SJ, the Maryland Province Provincial, who visited the same tribal areas as we did.<br />
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<span style="color: black;">It's t-shirt time in Pandabir, India...</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-EIcW4akB5J8/TYSy2pDao7I/AAAAAAAADuo/UbTS4844Cks/s1600/Image006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><img border="0" height="512" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-EIcW4akB5J8/TYSy2pDao7I/AAAAAAAADuo/UbTS4844Cks/s640/Image006.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"></span></div><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Dear Tom,</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Peace of Christ, loving greetings from Pandabir!</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">With grateful heart I acknowledge that two of your parcels had arrived in Loyola Niwas about a month back but unfortunately I could not bring them this side those days. I brought them here last week and </span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">distributed to our K.G. and 1st grade children. Thanks a billion for the nice t-shirts for our lovely children, some nice spiritual books, beautiful jacket of St. Joseph's Prep for me, delicious <strike>Irish whiskey</strike>, rosaries, basketballs, and a t-shirt for Fr. Sushil Jojo, S.J. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Forgive me for my so much delay as I have to blame every time for our bad energy system and dodgy internet. The school kids are very happy. I have taken a picture of myself with the K.G. kids. I will definitely send you in my next mail. We had organised the annual sports day for our school children, it was a grand success and this year there was coverage from the media (newspaper). I am having a very tough time these days as admission for all the classes are coming in great number especially K.G. I do know how will I be able to squeese so many. I have gone up to 82 seats for K.G.(new batch). We usually don't go more than 60. People of this area have realised and learned about us and also the school. As the years go there will be more pressure for admissions leading us to make two sections of K.G. At present it is not possible. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">It looks like I may have a transfer in May........ more later only when it is out as I do not know the details. Once again my sincere thanks to you, your Ignatian prayer group and our friend Johnny Gill for his generosity.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Lovingly,</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Greg S.J.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Gregory S. D'Silva S.J.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">St. Paul Miki Centre, Pandabir</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">C/O St. Xavier's High School</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Lupungutu,</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">P.O. Box - 10</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-q0xBYrW5JY4/TYSy3wHl8LI/AAAAAAAADuw/f4HDfOiJ4Fs/s1600/Image0324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-q0xBYrW5JY4/TYSy3wHl8LI/AAAAAAAADuw/f4HDfOiJ4Fs/s640/Image0324.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Greg D'SIlva, SJ, Gulshan Kujur, SJ and catechists at St. Paul Miki.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span> <br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Dear Tom,</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Peace of Christ!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Thanks a lot for your email. I am happy to forward to you the picture of our school kids with the teachers, catechists and Fr. Gulshan and myself.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">I am fine and I do believe you and your prayer group are in good health too. Very soon we begin the lenten retreats in the villages for our Catholics. Every year during Advent and Lent we arrange retreats in the villages itself. Coming days will be very hectic (even now) with new admissions, results, supply of books for kids etc. One picture is of our parishoners (two of them on my side) whom I will be sending for jobs to Mangalore on 30th March.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Thats all for the time being.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Once again thanks to you and all our friends who visited us.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Lovingly,</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Greg S.J. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><img border="0" height="512" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-RalLQrKJj8M/TYSy3gYVCuI/AAAAAAAADus/QNg8fI6etQc/s640/Image008.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Fr. Greg, the fine teachers, and the beautiful kindergarten and 1st grade students of the St. Paul Miki School. The school is operated by the Jesuits and serves the growing educational needs of the Ho Tribal Catholics in Border and Pandabir.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-RalLQrKJj8M/TYSy3gYVCuI/AAAAAAAADus/QNg8fI6etQc/s1600/Image008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"></span></a></div>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-40844051800300641492011-03-19T09:16:00.001-04:002011-03-19T09:16:51.382-04:00Happy St. Joseph's Day!<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-NwXx03rmmx4/TYSr9luq2LI/AAAAAAAADuk/jvpWm2JvHFg/s1600/josmast-president-2009-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" r6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-NwXx03rmmx4/TYSr9luq2LI/AAAAAAAADuk/jvpWm2JvHFg/s400/josmast-president-2009-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9yvws6jp1So/TYSr4m5ZwWI/AAAAAAAADug/KbHuyb5AB-M/s1600/joseph_statue220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9yvws6jp1So/TYSr4m5ZwWI/AAAAAAAADug/KbHuyb5AB-M/s320/joseph_statue220.jpg" width="212" /></a>Today is the Feast of St. Joseph, our patron saint who took the Lord Jesus as his son! We celebrate this day with the fathers of our Prep students. God blessed our Prep fathers with sons who give the Prep faculty and staff a great deal of joy each class day. The sons, too, who are not so engaged and the sons who get into trouble! All are carrying gifts into a future, gifts that will mature in times of challenge and opportunity. </div><br />
I give thanks for the Prep fathers who have met the responsibilities of fatherhood, some with both sons and daughters; I pray for those who are struggling to meet their challenge more fruitfully; I ask your prayers that we at the Prep can be enthusiastic partners with the fathers of our students. <br />
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St. Joseph, pray for us! Help us to know Your Son as You knew Him. <br />
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A.M.D.G.<br />
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Rev. George Bur, S.J. '59<br />
President<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>A • M • D • G</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<span style="color: #660000;">St. Joseph's Preparatory School</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">1733 Girard Avenue</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #660000;">Philadelphia, PA 19130</span></div>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-10625713917965916792011-03-07T11:02:00.003-05:002011-03-07T11:10:50.386-05:00Jaywalking laminations...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-416Io4Ea2xU/TXTYCo_CEvI/AAAAAAAADuM/nknjRmXqkBc/s1600/SE+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-416Io4Ea2xU/TXTYCo_CEvI/AAAAAAAADuM/nknjRmXqkBc/s400/SE+001.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Last year Fr. Terrence Toland, SJ (former president of St. Joe's) and I took in a game at the Hagan Arena. Since I was with a Jesuit I figured it was OK to park at the Jesuit Residence for the game. While walking down to the traffic light at 54th Street Father told me that his predecessor, Fr.William Maloney, SJ, advised him of two things; 1) watch the small bills because they can add up, and 2) never ever jaywalk on City Avenue. And as he finished that sentence he began to jaywalk across the street. I hope he was better watching the small bills ;-)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-VzarAl120wY/TXTYKjgOIfI/AAAAAAAADuQ/T2GFvE-rizc/s1600/SE+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-VzarAl120wY/TXTYKjgOIfI/AAAAAAAADuQ/T2GFvE-rizc/s400/SE+005.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yes, the SE Brothers appreciated the First Principle and Foundation laminations Mrs. 44.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-kXof6rbk_ds/TXTYOuwH-dI/AAAAAAAADuU/9oGxJuLPHV8/s1600/SE+0070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="343" q6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-kXof6rbk_ds/TXTYOuwH-dI/AAAAAAAADuU/9oGxJuLPHV8/s400/SE+0070.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">With the Klarich brothers...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WASG0IVrKLY/TXTYWmRj4OI/AAAAAAAADuY/9LqbW_k4UVA/s1600/SE+009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WASG0IVrKLY/TXTYWmRj4OI/AAAAAAAADuY/9LqbW_k4UVA/s400/SE+009.jpg" width="317" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-w3hfSCkftRo/TXTZ5Q5EiAI/AAAAAAAADuc/3F8dYcl8dgo/s1600/osjj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" q6="true" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-w3hfSCkftRo/TXTZ5Q5EiAI/AAAAAAAADuc/3F8dYcl8dgo/s640/osjj.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Welcome to Old St. Joe's... please turn off all cell phones and electronic devices...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-87298576318450832842011-03-06T02:17:00.006-05:002011-03-06T14:53:04.552-05:00In defense of vouchers...<div style="text-align: center;"></div><br />
Oh well... it appears that the Philadelphia Inquirer will not publish my letter to the editor ;-(<br />
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Here it goes...<br />
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Re: <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20110216_School_voucher_debate_heats_up_at_state_hearing.html"><span style="color: #660000;">School voucher debate heats up at state hearing Philadelphia Inquirer 2/16/2011</span> </a><br />
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An interesting article by Ms. Lu on the ongoing school voucher debate. Excellent points were made on both sides of the argument yet I think an important distinction be made that "public education" does not have but one definition as it depends upon your ZIP code. There is a great difference between the quality of public education a child will receive in Cherry Hill and Lower Merion as opposed to Camden and North Philadelphia. I suppose for some this "separate and unequal" model is acceptable if you're in the suburbs but to defend the status quo that mandates that generation after generation of the poor receive a substandard education is, perhaps, a mortal sin. <br />
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Personally I grow tired of the rhetoric of certain voucher opponents as the hypocrisy knows no bounds: We have a gentleman attacking vouchers for the poor who represents the affluent suburb of Haverford Township. A former Philadelphia public school superintendent, who while leading the Philadelphia public school system -- chose to send his children to private schools. We also have the current mayor of Philadelphia, a man I admire, bragging during an election commercial that "<i>my daughter attends public school -- where else</i>?" A surprising statement since he himself was educated at <a href="http://www.phillychurchproject.com/transfiguration.htm"><span style="color: #660000;">Transfiguration of Our Lord Grade School</span></a> and <a href="http://www.sjprep.org/"><span style="color: #660000;">St. Joseph's Preparatory School</span></a>. That would constitute a "<i>where else</i>", would it not? But it sounds as if their children all received a quality education. I suppose it's laudable that they care about inner city students but I would be more impressed if their children attended those same under-performing and dangerous schools that they continue to defend. <a href="http://www.all4ed.org/files/archive/publications/AfAm_FactSheet.pdf"><span style="color: #660000;">50%</span></a> of Black and Hispanic males in Philadelphia do not graduate from high school. Is this what they're defending? Should the quality of an American child's education depend solely on their parent's wealth, the ability to move to an suburb with fine public school system, or the ability to pay for a private education? Or is it time to think outside the box and let the parents, regardless of their standing in society, choose what school may be best for their children?<br />
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Of course some have already grown tired of waiting for the government's (broken) promise to provide a good education to the poor. One such group is the Jesuits (Society of Jesus) who have started the <a href="http://www.cristoreynetwork.org/"><span style="color: #660000;">Cristo Rey</span></a> initiative, with schools throughout the nation, now in over 20 inner cities. The first <a href="http://www.cristorey.net/about/our_story.html"><span style="color: #660000;">Cristo Rey</span></a> school was founded in <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/2006/12/24/the-rev-john-foley.html"><span style="color: #660000;">Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood</span></a>, a majority Hispanic neighborhood predominated by children of undocumented aliens seeking a better life for their children. The local public school mirrored the same anemic graduation rates seen in Philadelphia. No voucher opponents, the intention was not to "skim" the best students. The Cristo Rey schools partner with businesses for an innovative work-study program for high school students called the <a href="http://www.jesuit.org/blog/index.php/tag/jesuit-father-john-w-swope/"><span style="color: #660000;">Corporate Internship Program</span></a>, whereas students work for those companies five times a month in order to pay for 67% of their tuition. They not only receive an outstanding college preparatory education but valuable work experience as well, often in industries previously unfamiliar to the kids.<br />
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I volunteered to coach basketball at a charter middle school in North Philadelphia for a few years, and you would be hard pressed to find a more dedicated group of teachers in the world. And they would be the first to tell you that it is not just about funding. Many of the 8th graders I knew would have gone on to William Penn High School, which after being named one of the Commonwealth's <a href="http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/unsafe_school_choice_option/7417/persistently_dangerous_schools/508690"><span style="color: #660000;">persistently dangerous schools</span></a> (see 08-09 statistics) in seven out of nine years was finally closed. The most important component to a child's success in the classroom is the parents, and no amount of dollars directed at a school can overcome parental neglect. We as a society must do our best to eradicate the structural sins that lead to poverty. We can look at educational alternatives such as vouchers, or we can continue to build new prisons that cost $30,000 per inmate per annum. While visiting India I stood in Kolkata, on a side street, witnessing the worst poverty in the worst slum I had ever seen. I asked my friend Fr. Hansel D'Sousa what would be the cure for this. He gave a one word answer; education. So whether in North Philadelphia, Camden, or Kolkata -- the answer is the same.<br />
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A comparison can be made to the original G.I. Bill which provided college or vocational training for servicemen returning after World War II. These fixed sum payments were made to the veterans to be used for tuition payments, books and lodging. It didn't matter to the government whether the veteran chose a secular institution such as <a href="http://www.temple.edu/"><span style="color: #660000;">Temple University</span></a>, or a religious institution such as <a href="http://www.sju.edu/"><span style="color: #660000;">St. Joseph's University</span></a> that as part of the <a href="http://slulink.slu.edu/special/digital/spiritual-journeys/ratio.html"><span style="color: #660000;">ratio studiorum</span></a> mandated Catholic theology classes, usually taught by Jesuits. They let each veteran make their own choices where to attend school. How refreshing would it be to have another such omnibus bill passed, this one though a parents bill of rights for their children's education. To allow parents, regardless of their income level, to choose the best schools, public or private -- regardless of affiliation, for their children. To give them the same choices that only people of means have now. People in wealthy towns such as Haverford, former superintendents, and current mayors who claim to know what's best for other people's children but would never, ever send their own children to a school such as William Penn. Vouchers would allow parents to opt out of schools that no one wants to attend in favor of another public, charter, religious or non-sectarian school -- the same choice that those in the middle and upper-middle classes can now make. Vouchers are not a miracle panacea but they can and should be an option. <br />
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I also find it ironic that some on the left look to Canada and other Western nations to emulate their health care systems yet ignore the fact that those same nations financially support all of their schools, both public and private. Yet the argument that gives me a chuckle is the concern over proselytizing. A local example is the <a href="http://www.gesuschool.org/"><span style="color: #660000;">Gesu School</span></a> at 17th and Thompson, once a parish school closed by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia but resurrected under the auspices of the <a href="http://www.jesuit.org/"><span style="color: #660000;">Jesuits</span></a> and the <a href="http://www.ihmimmaculata.org/who.html"><span style="color: #660000;">Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary</span></a>, that now has a Protestant president guiding the school. Approximately 80% of the children who attend the Gesu are non-Catholic. Their parents sacrifice greatly to pay the subsidized tuition and choose a faith based education for their children. Should they grow disenchanted with the school -- they can choose to send their children elsewhere. Simply put -- let the parents make the decisions.<br />
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But let's be honest -- red herring arguments against vouchers are made by those with everything to lose. Giving an opportunity for lower income families to opt out of failing public schools, to give them a choice, would not benefit the NEA or AFT at all, and only result in a decline in membership. Teachers' unions are a special interest just like the NRA and any other PAC and make their decisions based on whether it is good for their dues paying members -- not whether it is good for the society at large. So why voucher opponents and teachers' unions may be commended for their commitment to public education -- know full well that they are dooming yet another generation of children in the inner cities. And most of those will be students of color. Whether the reasons for the defense of status quo are ignorance, self-interest, or bigotry... the results are the same. And the parents of today's school children, just like their parents and their parents before, will never see their children realize the American dream. But don't look for alternatives, don't allow the poor a choice in their children's education -- just build more prisons. Should you have the time an interesting exercise would be to see how many of the congressmen and congresswomen we send to Washington send their children to the DC public schools. And let me make one thing perfectly clear... <span id="search"><em></em></span>President and Mrs Obama would never send their children to those schools either. Click here to read what our <a href="http://millermps.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/obama-d-c-schools-dont-measure-up-to-his-daughters-private-school/"><span style="color: #660000;">President thinks about them for his daughters</span></a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.senatoranthonyhwilliams.com/"><span style="color: #660000;">Senator Anthony Hardy Williams</span></a> is to be commended. I agree wholeheartedly with his sentiments; "<i>I'm here to speak for a generation that has no one speaking for it. I'm compelled by my conscience and my compassion. I'm here because it's fair. Those who have can make choices. . . . Those who don't are obligated and relegated</i>." Those who are relegated in life need someone, finally, to speak on their behalf.<br />
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Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again... but expecting different results. I think our children deserve better.<br />
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<i>Thomas F. Brzozowski</i><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="mailto:AMDG44@aol.com"><span style="color: #660000;">AMDG44@aol.com</span></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jesuit Father John W. Swope, president of <a href="http://www.cristoreybalt.org/"><span style="color: #660000;">Cristo Rey Jesuit High School</span></a>, who worked at M&T Bank on Friday, under the guidance of junior, Allan Johnson, Jr. said, “Allan and other Cristo Rey Jesuit students who work at M&T Bank take on real responsibilities for projects. In doing so, they learn critical skills for work, college and life.” <br />
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</div>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-25152338731223912422011-03-03T11:15:00.002-05:002011-03-03T11:16:30.957-05:00Prep's Communion Breakfast...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="385" src="http://www.sjprep.org/images/alumni/communion.jpg" width="250" /></div><br />
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Another great day at 17th and Girard! For more pictures click <a href="http://www.preppics.com/p443836931#h8afb3a2"><span style="color: #660000;">here</span></a> and for the introductions click <a href="http://www.sjprep.org/news/items/1011/communionbreakfast.html"><span style="color: #660000;">here</span></a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_tqG-JPbBVQ/TW-45ory3KI/AAAAAAAADtc/9qBtG8tkAtQ/s1600/IMAG1004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" l6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_tqG-JPbBVQ/TW-45ory3KI/AAAAAAAADtc/9qBtG8tkAtQ/s320/IMAG1004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, T, and St. Ignatius ;-)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pergolins x 4!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-G-cwWV8ZPYI/TW-5gs6xePI/AAAAAAAADts/xXN91VWwCDs/s1600/Hawks-Prep+037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-G-cwWV8ZPYI/TW-5gs6xePI/AAAAAAAADts/xXN91VWwCDs/s320/Hawks-Prep+037.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two great Preppers: Mike Farrell and Joe Ruggeri.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LC_6xZVGmnA/TW-5kdQCoqI/AAAAAAAADtw/Y8Dw51Wiky4/s1600/Hawks-Prep+0380.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" l6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LC_6xZVGmnA/TW-5kdQCoqI/AAAAAAAADtw/Y8Dw51Wiky4/s320/Hawks-Prep+0380.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Joe, Tom Prior, and Bob Carson, SJ.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9Sue_Dk4as4/TW-5mDZPNDI/AAAAAAAADt4/frnYcworXAc/s1600/Hawks-Prep+013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" l6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9Sue_Dk4as4/TW-5mDZPNDI/AAAAAAAADt4/frnYcworXAc/s400/Hawks-Prep+013.jpg" width="277" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-60318742151973420952011-03-03T10:43:00.000-05:002011-03-03T10:43:56.233-05:00How I do I find Jesus...<img alt="John Swope, SJ" height="175" src="http://www.jesuitvocation.org/assets/images/jesuit_photos/Swope_John_02.jpg" width="150" /><br />
Rev. John W. Swope, S.J.<br />
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<a href="http://www.jesuitvocation.org/jesuits/reflection_swope_john.htm"><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><strong>How do I find Jesus in my apostolic work today?</strong></span></a><br />
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A backpack full of life experience … <br />
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If Ignatius of Loyola were with us today, he would probably agree that the quality of a Jesuit life depends in part on reverently looking into my "rear view mirror." By engaging in this spiritual exercise on a regular basis, I sense that I am able to examine my life and draw wisdom from it. I am not so much talking about looking back in order to reconstruct a "one-thing-after-the-other" chronicle, but rather to discover the mystery of the presence of Jesus in the "history" of my apostolic life. If Socrates' assertion that "the unexamined life is not worth living" is true, Ignatius turned that life wisdom into a spiritual art to help men and women actually lead an "examined life." At my best moments during the day (I wish there were more of these!), I have this sense that God's spirit empowers me to bring together whatever wisdom my life offers, and let it lead me in every single encounter with others. But more importantly, when I sense this more contemplative attitude, the many faces of Jesus Christ that I have met throughout my Jesuit life form a kind of emotional and spiritual "scaffolding" for me as I attempt to be attentive to the person or task before me. <br />
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<img align="right" alt="John Swope, SJ" height="240" hspace="10" src="http://www.jesuitvocation.org/assets/images/jesuit_photos/Swope_John_01.jpg" width="320" />In my mission as the founding president of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Baltimore, my life now revolves around finding Christ in our city, one of the most violent cities in the United States. I see the daily crime summaries in the newspaper and the stories on local TV news that attest to the crisis in the neighborhoods of beloved Baltimore. In our city, hearts break and tears flow and men and women bend beneath heavy burdens. At the same time, I see business leaders, politicians, community organizers, faith-based social service providers and individuals standing up to be catalysts of hope in those same neighborhoods. As in other times in my life, I experience suffering with Jesus who was crucified, and moments of great joy and hope with Jesus who was raised from the dead. <br />
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In August 2006, with a staff of four holed up in cramped rented offices in Baltimore's Mount Vernon section, and with a committed small group of trustees, we trusted and followed the instruction that Jesus gave to Paul after his conversion, "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do" (Acts 9:6). I have had a deep sense that where following Christ requires risk, that effort will bring forth great fruit and attract others to join. Highly qualified teachers have joined the Cristo Rey Jesuit mission to serve the young men and women of Baltimore. They repudiate the quality of the schools in our city, reject the voices that place the blame for low academic achievement on our young people, and pour themselves out for the Cristo Rey Jesuit mission.<br />
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Cristo Rey Jesuit received its first 9th grade class in September 2007 in the midst of the deep social pathologies of our city, and at a time when quality college-prep educational alternatives for the overwhelming majority of the city's young people were simply out of reach. Most of our young men and women come from the most distressed neighborhoods in Baltimore. And yet, in the midst of that chaos, our students aspire to a life of greatness. Here we are, four years later, on the threshold of our first graduation in June 2011. The Class of 2011 has worked for justice and peace in our neighborhoods, succeeded academically, cried and laughed together, been the first in their families to be accepted into college and are dreaming of creating a far better world. "Jesus of the Cross" as I look out over our City … "Jesus of the Resurrection" as I see our committed staff and our young people go forth to realize their dreams.<br />
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I think that the authenticity of my Jesuit apostolic life here in Baltimore depends on my encounters with these two faces of Jesus.44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-81633549092075233922011-02-25T18:27:00.000-05:002011-02-25T18:27:36.504-05:00John Markoe, SJAn amazing story about a Jesuit I never knew about before. Thanks to buddy Novaboy for the heads up ;-)<br />
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<a href="http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Racism-Is-a-God-Damned-Thing-Pat-McNamara-02-22-2011?offset=0&max=1"><strong><span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">"Racism Is a God-Damned Thing": Father John Markoe, S.J.</span></strong></a><br />
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February 22, 2011<br />
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As a whole, the Catholic Church was slow to get fully involved in the Civil Rights movement of the mid-20th century. Whether or not Catholics publicly endorsed segregation, they certainly accepted it in their churches and schools, North and South.<br />
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Many Catholic institutions weren't fully integrated until the 1960s, but before that era there were some exceptions to that general reality, usually forged via an informal network of laypeople, priests, and nuns who were long-committed to promoting racial justice.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HwjHle0KbSo/TWg6fjk-7UI/AAAAAAAADtE/rFiPTa-nXac/s1600/Markoe_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" l6="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HwjHle0KbSo/TWg6fjk-7UI/AAAAAAAADtE/rFiPTa-nXac/s1600/Markoe_1.jpg" /></a></div>One of these was a Midwestern Jesuit who led sit-ins, marches, and boycotts long before they made national headlines. Tall and handsome, John Markoe looked like a movie star, and in fact his story would actually make a good movie; it is the story of a lumberjack, football star, soldier, alcoholic, priest, teacher, activist. Markoe's biography, a peer noted, "reads like fiction." NAACP leader Roy Wilkins said Markoe "fought the Civil Rights battle long before it became respectable, or even popular."<br />
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Born in 1890 to a blueblood family whose ancestors included Benjamin Franklin, John Prince Markoe was the son of a prominent Minnesota doctor. At 18 he was accepted to West Point, but deferred the appointment in order to go west, to work on the railroads. In 1910, he entered the military academy, where his friends included Dwight Eisenhower. He played football against Knute Rockne and Jim Thorpe, and was named an honorably-mentioned All-American.<br />
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When he graduated in 1914, the yearbook said: "Possessing unlimited abilities, there is very little which he is incapable of performing." But he earned his classmates' contempt when he stood up for Marcus Alexander, the Point's only African-American cadet. His final class ranking might have been higher, had Markoe not been a full-fledged alcoholic by his senior year.<br />
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Lieutenant Markoe was assigned to the Tenth Cavalry, a Black regiment. He welcomed the opportunity, fraternizing with his troops more than was deemed appropriate for a white officer. But nine months after graduation, heavy drinking cost him his commission. He never fully forgave himself. Back in Minnesota, he entered the lumber business and enlisted in the National Guard.<br />
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In 1916, during the unofficial war against Pancho Villa in Mexico, he regained his commission. Down in Mexico, Markoe got letters from his brother Bill, a Jesuit working with African-Americans. These piqued his interest, and he started thinking about another kind of life than the army. After his discharge in 1917, Captain John Markoe joined the Jesuits in Missouri. He and Bill took a private vow to work for the "salvation of the Negroes in the United States." (Bill later worked with their cousin John LaFarge, also a Jesuit, for racial justice.)<br />
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As part of his training, John was assigned to St. Louis, a highly segregated city. African-American Catholics were relegated to separate parishes, denied a Catholic education, and banned from Catholic hospitals. (The local archbishop was notoriously racist.) John worked in Black parishes and attended NAACP meetings. In magazine articles, he argued that racism was a moral issue, even a heresy. His work was not well-received by local whites, Catholics included.<br />
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Ordained in 1928, Markoe was assigned to St. Elizabeth's Church, a Black parish in St. Louis. The work was hard, yielded few results, and some of his fellow priests ostracized him. It took a toll, and after twenty years of sobriety, he returned to the bottle. On one occasion, it took half a dozen police to drag the priest out of a bar, as he had taken on its entire clientele. For seven years after that, he stayed at St. Joseph's Infirmary, Missouri, fighting alcoholism.<br />
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In 1943, he re-entered the fight. Assigned to St. Malachy's, another Black parish in St. Louis, Markoe and his brother Bill campaigned to desegregate the Jesuits' St. Louis University. Father Claude Heithaus, a sociology professor, publicly asked why the school admitted people of all faiths, but rejected Catholics on account of their color. They won the fight, but John was soon sent ("exiled," some said) to Creighton University, Omaha, where he spent the rest of his days...<br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;">(click on title for the entire article)</span>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-4832883637500427832011-02-25T12:01:00.000-05:002011-02-25T12:01:34.400-05:00Let's go Paul VI ;-)<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Best of luck to my buddy Lammers and the Paul VI Eagles as they head into the playoffs on Sunday.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">TB:</div><br />
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Here is our varsity team. We are headed to North Jersey on Sunday to play DePaul Catholic in a state tournament 1st round game. DePaul is a tough competitor so we have our work cut out. But, this PVI team has recently found its soul, so we are a very dangerous group. <br />
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Regards,<br />
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John <br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_esoOyzeudM/TWffRkEjIgI/AAAAAAAADtA/d8Xdom7d9uw/s1600/pviiii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" l6="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_esoOyzeudM/TWffRkEjIgI/AAAAAAAADtA/d8Xdom7d9uw/s640/pviiii.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TMRkmN6ADWc/TWffPAgg1zI/AAAAAAAADs8/UA4k4fIi_J8/s1600/PVI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="376" l6="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TMRkmN6ADWc/TWffPAgg1zI/AAAAAAAADs8/UA4k4fIi_J8/s640/PVI.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>44http://www.blogger.com/profile/04813736476703966463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3823339765027017083.post-90814948187855478182011-02-16T10:34:00.000-05:002011-02-16T15:01:08.753-05:00Scranton student needs our help...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7mDsjJcMQB0/TUoia3PXPrI/AAAAAAAADr8/wBwNOfbOK8k/s1600/university-of-scranton_2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="121" s5="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7mDsjJcMQB0/TUoia3PXPrI/AAAAAAAADr8/wBwNOfbOK8k/s320/university-of-scranton_2.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">February 2011</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Dear Friends of the Jesuits,<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Over two decades ago, <a href="http://www.scopefoundation.com/history.html"><span style="color: #351c75;">Father Brendan Lally</span></a>, a Jesuit highly involved in Campus Ministry at <a href="http://matrix.scranton.edu/"><span style="color: #351c75;">The University of Scranton</span></a>, established a program to help the poor and disadvantaged advance our Jesuit mission of becoming “men and women for others.” He did this by traveling with Scranton students and spending time in Mexico City at a home for troubled boys. Today, the University’s International Service Program (ISP) has expanded to include employee chaperoned service trips to the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, and Mexico. I am fortunate to be among the sixty-five students chosen to participate in a summer 2011 ISP trip. I will be serving in El Salvador. I am writing to ask for your support of this mission project. My goal is to raise $1,500 to help fund this important initiative.</div><br />
The money raised for the <a href="http://matrix.scranton.edu/news/elsalvador/scranton-elsal.shtml"><span style="color: #351c75;">International Service Program</span></a> will support my participation and help cover costs associated with the trips including essential immunizations and a small monetary donation to our host site. In addition to my personal fundraising goal, the entire ISP team will sponsor group fundraisers during the spring semester. Our largest fundraiser is called The Great Commons Ball Roll – an annually anticipated event. Each student sponsored initiative will secure funding for our service trips. <br />
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</div>Many service supporters are able to make financial contributions of $1,000, and others are able to support this important program with gifts of $25. Please know that your gift, at whatever level you choose to give, will be greatly appreciated. 100% of your gift will directly fund this unique learning experience.<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This opportunity is one to which I am fully committed. The application process for the program included an essay, personal recommendations, previous service experience, and an intense interview process. During the spring semester, I will devote much of my extra-curricular time preparing for this special experience. This involves team building, prayer and reflection exercises, specialized culture and language sessions, biweekly preparatory meetings, and the critical fundraising component.</div><br />
I look forward to the challenges and opportunities this trip offers me, as well as the responsibility I will carry with me to raise awareness of living the Jesuit mission and educating my mind, body, and soul to serve as a student for others. This is a mission that is very near to my heart, as I grew up in the Jesuit tradition through the guidance of my parents, Owen and Mary Patterson, Saint Joseph’s University classes of 1980 and 1981, respectively. My dad brought me along to games at the Fieldhouse from infancy. However, through these experiences with my dad, I learned about more than just basketball. I gained an understanding of the importance of the Jesuit ideals, especially striving to be a woman for others. I attribute much of the reason why I ended up at a Jesuit university myself to the wonderful role models I witnessed since childhood. Now, with your help, it is my turn to give back. <br />
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I consider it a great honor to be able to work amongst the people of El Salvador, learning from both them and my fellow students. After much thoughtful and prayerful consideration, I decided to apply for the incredible experience of an International Service Program in order to challenge myself, to step outside of the box that I have grown comfortable with over the past three years of my college career. My education has been and continues to be one of the greatest blessings of my life, but I have much to gain from this experience so far out of the classroom. <br />
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I thank you in advance for your support. If you are unable to make a contribution at this time, please keep The University of Scranton students in your thoughts and prayers as we complete our important service work for others.<br />
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For accounting purposes, please visit our website at www.scranton.edu/isp in order to give by either credit card or check. Be sure to select El Salvador as the service trip and indicate that it was me, Marianne Patterson, who requested the gift by printing my name in the comment section. If you have any questions about the program, the service projects, or how your contribution will make a difference, you may contact Elise Gower, the International Service Program Coordinator, at The University of Scranton: <a href="mailto:gowere2@scranton.edu"><span style="color: #351c75;">gowere2@scranton.edu</span></a> or (570) 941-4138. I personally can be reached at <a href="mailto:pattersonm3@scranton.edu"><span style="color: #351c75;">pattersonm3@scranton.edu</span></a>. <br />
I cannot express my appreciation of your generosity enough. Thank you for considering me and remembering me in your prayers. I consider it a great privilege to be able to be an instrument of your generosity.<br />
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Most gratefully, <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Marianne Patterson </span><br />
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<em>If by some unforeseeable reason I am unable to participate in this service experience, your gift will continue to support the important service mission for this year’s program.</em><br />
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