The social and religious context in which a young Dutch man, who was born 500 years ago on 8 May 1521, entered the Society of Jesus was not that different to the one in which we find ourselves today, writes Thomas Flowers SJ, and so Peter Canisius’s story should command our attention. His vocation is as rich a source of surprise and instruction today as it was when he became a Jesuit. Read >>
Through studying the life of an early Christian whom we meet in our first reading on 8 May, we can see that an oft-misunderstood gift of the Holy Spirit can orient us towards God, ourselves, one another and the world in such a way that we can live a life worthy of our calling, says Brian Purfield. ‘As Pope Francis remarks, piety is not about going around with your eyes closed “to pose like a picture and pretend to be a saint.” Piety is all about relationships.’ Read >>
‘The Holy Spirit can be said to possess an infinite creativity, proper to the divine mind, which knows how to loosen the knots of human affairs, including the most complex and inscrutable’, writes Pope Francis in Laudato si’. Thinking Faith is exploring how the gifts of the Spirit help us to co-operate in loosening those knots. Here's the series so far >>
Reading from the archive for other anniversaries this weekend:
This weekend is the feast and the 160th anniversary of the birth of the Irish Jesuit who was beatified by Pope Francis in 2017: John Sullivan. Sullivan's life story - which parallels that of another Jesuit, George Tyrrell - also has about it some vestiges of that of St Augustine. Read about John Sullivan SJ on Thinking Faith >>
The most familiar psychological approach to addressing the phenomenon of faith is probably that of Sigmund Freud, who was born 165 years ago on 6 May 1856. Freud was critical of faith, but do other models that seem to be ‘faith-friendly’ really offer a more positive interpretation? Moreover, are any of these accounts of faith recognisable to believers? Read >>
