Unsafe abortion mill in Ohio is shut down Posted on June 19th, 2013 by Squeaker in Abortion Gosnell was just an outlier, right?A Summit County abortion clinic that was connected with a Toledo abortion clinic that lost its transfer agreement from the University of Toledo has been shut down by the state because of deficiencies found during a February inspection, including allowing under-qualified people to administer drugs and using patients’ blood without their knowledge.
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Dom Mark Daniel Kirby is Conventual Prior of Silverstream Priory in Stamullen, County Meath, Ireland. The ecclesial mandate of his Benedictine community is the adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar in a spirit of reparation, and in intercession for the sanctification of priests
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Empty seats reserved for press at Gosnell Trial. Photo credit: JD Mullane, news writer and columnist, Bucks County Courier Times, The Intel, Burlington County (NJ) Times.So, something happened yesterday, something I have been praying would happen, regarding many stories, for years — at least since the death of Tim Russert
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Media Assist: Easy, Logical, Fair Angles to Pursue on Gosnell Story – UPDATED
Information: Feast Day: February 1Born: 451 or 452 at Faughart, County Louth, Ireland Died: 1 February 525 at Kildare, IrelandPatron of: babies; blacksmiths; boatmen; cattle; chicken farmers; children whose parents are not married; dairymaids; dairy workers; fugitives; infants; Ireland; mariners; midwives; milk maids; newborn babies; nuns; poets; poultry farmers; poultry raisers; printing presses; sailors; scholars; travellers; watermen Born in 451 or 452 of princely ancestors at Faughart, near Dundalk, County Louth; d. 1 February, 525, at Kildare.
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e-mail this to a friend printable version » 10/05/2012 12:36TIBETGudrub, 53rd Tibetan sets himself on fire to oppose Chinese occupation Gudrub, 41, died shortly after the self-immolation. The incident occurred yesterday in Diru County Nagchu (Tibet Autonomous Region).
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TIBET – Gudrub, 53rd Tibetan sets himself on fire to oppose Chinese occupation
PRO-LIFE WITNESS: Renfrew County Right to Life invites everyone to participate in the annual North America wide ‘Life Chain’, to take place on Sunday, September 30, 2012, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m
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Upcoming Pro-Life Chain in the Ottawa Valley this coming Sunday. Hope to see you there!
Windsor Essex Catholic District School Board director Paul Picard speaks during a meeting at Holy Names High School on June 26, 2012. When Ministry of Education troubleshooter Norbert Hartmann takes over as supervisor of the Windsor-Essex County District School Board next week he, in effect, becomes the school board.When Ministry of Education troubleshooter Norbert Hartmann takes over as supervisor of the Windsor-Essex County District School Board next week he, in effect, becomes the school board.That was the blunt analysis provided Wednesday by Paris Meilleur, senior adviser of communications for the Minister of Education Laurel Broten, as she outlined the job and duties the educator with 35 years experience is likely to encounter once classes resume.“He becomes the board,” said Meilleur
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e-mail this to a friend printable version » 08/28/2012 09:27TIBET – CHINATwo Tibetan teenagers set themselves on fire in SichuanDamchoe, 17, and Lobsang, 18, self-immolated in Ngaba, calling for the independence of Tibet. The number of self-immolations now stands at 51.
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TIBET – CHINA – Two Tibetan teenagers set themselves on fire in Sichuan
Sir Dan of the blogosphere left me a message earlier asking for prayers for Irish farmers.
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Ricardo Quinones“All people are the same,”breezing she goes over her bubbly;“Oh no they’re not,”passing on the fly I let out,with which I am glad to sayeven my masseuse agreed,though she doubled down on diversity.Thus began my recent runof California skirmish,my adopted native land.Once again my chest hollow sinksat the latest gush of fabled wealth.Flotillas of pricey modelspreen as they pass bythrough every street and shopping stripbarracuda-eyed and snub-nosedcontoured additions to the terrainDown that sink-hole cycleI did not need that vocal brand“STK PRFT”on a Bimmer tooling by“I am glad you spent it, dear,” I think,but need you advertise the haul?Wasn’t older wealth more discreet?They didn’t shower in the street.Democratic ease and sufficient opulencewas how Whitman wanted itand particularly betterif the getter knew how it was gottenor was somewhat philanthropic.My heart jumpedwhen barely an hour lateran apparition rounded the vergeof my condo complex road:A retired couple—no down-and-outers they—she quite pert in her synthetic whitesand he slim trim and neatly tuckedcarrying a pick-spade in oneand in the other hand a veggie bag:Something had clearly turned aroundin the tunings of southern Orange County.You can bet my converse was eagerMagi never met an equal joyA communal garden they were tendingand he rattled off the shades of lettuce:Iceberg, romaine, escarole and moreLike Bottom I was deliriouswith sweet peas and snap peas—“Keep ringing them up, please,” I implored20 x 20 plots of land-fillwith water twenty dollars a year—I thought we were back with FDR.Pilfering was of no account;they had a renewable resourceand didn’t need what they didn’t have.Such sorting of the ways:Diagonal from these municipal plots,students zoom up in sporty carsand uncontrollable apparel,parents wait on their wagons throbbing,yet symphonists still master onwith brows of concentrated fervor.My own way stepped far back thento our own “Victory” gardenwhen through hot summers of WWIIover the Lehigh River bridgeI carried our baskets of produce,hoards for winter storage,festive salads on our Italian table:those medleys of color and chord.That very eve of the big Spring changethe crescent first moonhung phosphorescent and aloneexcept for Venus:minding the ladle,as my friend Rik explained,whose growth on his prostateis to be cut come Monday prime.Share
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Posted on May 21st, 2012 by Paycheck in Homosexuality
A lesbian couple who claimed they were victims of a hate crime have been arrested after police determined they staged the incidents.
On Oct. 28, Aimee Whitchurch, 37, and Christel Conklin, 29, called police and reported the words “Kill the Gay” were scrawled in red spray paint on the garage door of their Parker, Colo., home.
The next day, the couple told deputies they found a noose hanging on the handle of their front door.
The women told officers they believed the incidents were retaliation from their neighbors and homeowner’s association, who had complained the couple did not pick up after their dogs.
Due to the nature of the crimes, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office worked in tandem with the FBI to investigate. After reviewing witness statements, authorities determined Whitchurch and Conklin had staged the incidents.
Both women are charged with criminal mischief and false reporting. Whitchurch faces an additional charge of forgery.
She told ABC’s Denver affiliate KMGH-TV police were mistaken and vowed to fight the charges.
“This is a fight I started. This is a fight I’m going to finish. This is a fight I’m right on,” she said. “I have every right to live where I want to live.” (Source)
Hatey-hate crimes. Useful for shutting down any complaints whatsoever…except when you get busted.
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» 04/21/2012 08:06
CHINA – TIBET
Sichuan, school that taught Tibetan forcibly closed
Authorities fear and prohibit all forms of autonomous education: in Tibet and Tibetan-majority provinces in China, one must speak and write in Mandarin. Headmaster and a teacher arrested: The school was open for over 20 years.
Dharamsala (AsiaNews) – Chinese authorities in Kardze County, Sichuan Province, have forcibly closed a school that taught young people in the Tibetan language. The principal and a teacher were arrested and taken to an undisclosed location. According to Beijing, the teaching of Tibetan – the language but also culture, music and history – is a crime comparable to separatism..jpg)
Some sources have confirmed the incident. On 2 April, but the news has only filtered through, a group of uniformed officers went to the Khadrok Jamtse Rokten school and ordered its closure. At the protests of the principal Nyendak and the teacher Yama Tsering they pulled out their weapons. The institute has served the local population for more than 20 years and is funded entirely by locals.
Immediately after closing, the authorities sent orders to all households in the area to send their children (more than 7 years of age) to the government school of the City of Kardze. In addition, all have been warned of “serious consequences” in case of the illegal reopening of the school.
Beijing regards educational freedom as a threat to its rule over Tibet. Since the 1949 invasion, the central government has imposed on Tibetans to read, write and work in Mandarin Chinese. The aim is to nip in the bud any possible spirit of independence.
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CHINA – TIBET – Sichuan, school that taught Tibetan forcibly closed
“Where the funding’s coming from and who’s doing the training?” asked Dana Cody of Life Legal Defense Foundation.
State Sen. Christine Kehoe addressed eight graders on Constitution Day.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 19, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Although a legal loophole has long allowed the process, a California legislator has proposed a bill to formally allow non-physicians – including midwives – to perform abortions. Now a state pro-life group wants to know who has been anonymously paying for and conducting an existing training program.
State Senator Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, introduced a bill allowing non-physicians, such as midwives and nurse practitioners, to perform suction abortions after receiving training through a state project.
“I think it endangers women’s health,” Dana Cody, president and executive director of Life Legal Defense Foundation (LLDF), told LifeSiteNews.com. “They’ll get more medical information if they get plastic surgery than they will if they undergo an abortion.”
The bill is sponsored by Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, NARAL Pro-Choice California, the American Civil Liberties Union of California, and California Latinas for Reproductive Justice. It is supported by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
(Click “like” if you want to end abortion!
The measure, S.B. 1338, codifies an existing loophole. Cody said California state law allows certain staff personnel to perform medical procedures, and the law does not specifically preclude abortion.
The University of California-San Francisco began offering the Health Workforce Pilot Project #171 (HWPP) to teach the abortion techniques to lower level medical staff in 2007. An estimated 40 people have completed the course.
However, much remains secret about the training.
Cody said $3.5 million of the funding for HWPP comes from an undisclosed private foundation. The names and records of the trainers and graduates were also missing.
LLDF petitioned UC-San Francisco for this information in late January. After ignoring the petition for more than a month, the university has yet to furnish all the public documents LLDF sought – so last Friday the legal rights group filed a Writ of Mandate to compel administrators to turn over these records.
“The purpose of the writ was to get information subject to public record, since it’s a University of California regent program, to see where the funding’s coming from and who’s doing the training. Do they have any reports against them?” Cody asked. “I think the public is entitled to know that.”
From the incomplete information officials have turned over, Cody said LLDF has learned “the agencies doing the training are Planned Parenthood and Women’s Health Services, which is a Sacramento-area clinic with a terrible history.”
“Is this just another way to get money for clinics?” she asked.
Increasing abortion and opening a lethal procedure to less qualified medical personnel are bad ideas under any circumstances, she said – but especially while so many unanswered questions remain.
“It just seems like with this issue of abortion, they have a free pass on so many levels,” Cody told LifeSiteNews.
LLDF will get its day in court on May 10 in the Superior Court in Alameda County.
A hearing on S.B. 1338 is scheduled for Thursday, April 26 before the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee.
Cody said concerned persons can contract their assembly member, and members of the committee, by visiting www.leginfo.ca.gov.
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Planned Parenthood pushes California bill to let non-physicians conduct abortions
The Vermont Senate has defeated a bill to legalize assisted suicide again.
Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin promised to legalize assisted suicide during the 2010 election campaign. Shumlin also accepted out-of-state money from the suicide lobby towards his election campaign.
In mid-March the Vermont Senate Judiciary committee rejected a bill to legalize assisted suicide. Bills to legalize assisted suicide have been defeated on several occasions over the past few years.
The suicide lobby appears to be getting desperate in Vermont.
After the assisted suicide bill was rejected in March, the supporters of the bill decided to
attach the assisted suicide bill to a tanning bed regulation bill
.
After a two hour debate in the Vermont Senate, yesterday (April 12), the Senate voted 18 to 11 to reject the assisted suicide bill again.
The article on WPTZ.com (News Channel 5) stated:
Supporters
engineered the showdown earlier in the week when, in a surprise maneuver, the
Health and Welfare Committee attached the bill to an unrelated measure
regulating indoor tanning salons.
The
Judiciary Committee had earlier decided against sending the end of life bill to
the Senate floor.
“For ten
years we’ve watched the ‘death with dignity’ bill in the Senate, for ten years
it’s stayed in committee with no hope of getting out,” said Sen. Claire Ayer, an
Addison Democrat. “At least have the discussion, whether the vote is up or down
is almost irrelevant.”
But
opponents, including Sen. Richard Sears of Bennington County who is chairman of
the Judiciary Committee, railed against what he considered an assault on Senate
procedure. At one point Sears told colleagues the bill had been “hijacked” from
his committee and if senators stood by, the “people of Vermont would be the big
losers.”
Republican
Lt. Gov. Phil Scott ruled the tanning and end of life measures were not germane
to one another and senators agreed, effectively ending consideration for the
year.
But the
preceding debate, before a standing room only crowd, including spirited floor
speeches zigzagging between the value of providing terminally ill Vermonters
with end of life choices, and the relative importance of following Senate
protocol.
Spectators
witnessed several moments of political theater when Sears questioned Sen. Hinda
Miller, the Chittenden County Democrat who had engineered the debate, asking her
to explain legal and ethical considerations of the
bill.
After
Miller was unable to answer a series of questions, she asked for a recess and
rushed over to confront Sears.
Senate
President Pro-Tem John Campbell then tried to referee the tension between
members of his own party.
A moment
later, Sears said to Miller, ‘If you want to debate, we’ll have a debate. If you
aren’t prepared for the debate, you shouldn’t cry foul! It’s not
abuse.”
“Be nice,”
another Democrat cautioned Sears.
Campbell,
who also opposes the legislation, told reporters with so much pressure by
advocacy groups, “this debate has to happen.”
The bill
would permit Vermont doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to a
patient who had twice requested it, was in the final weeks of life, and who had
cleared a series of other eligibility requirements. It is patterned after an
established law in Oregon.
Several
members spoke passionately about their own family histories with terminal
illness, or those of vocal constituents, arguing for or against various
dimensions of the proposal.
“I respect
those who object on religious grounds, but my choices should not be restricted
because of someone else’s religious preferences,” said Sen. Diane Snelling, a
Republican from Chittenden County.
Ahead of
the vote, some members made clear they were not passing judgment on the merits
of the ‘death with dignity’ bill, but on the process of the
Senate.
Many
expect the issue will be reintroduced next year. Gov. Peter Shumlin supports the
bill, and House Speaker Shap Smith has said a majority of his chamber would vote
in favor of it were the Senate to approve it
first.
Dick
Walters, president of the advocacy group Patient Choices Vermont, said he
“appreciates the attempt by our Senate supporters to bring this bill to the
Senate floor for a vote. We celebrate their courage and willingness to discuss
an issue that is so important to so many
Vermonters.”
The roll
call vote (to overturn the ruling of Lt. Gov. Scott and proceed with full
consideration of the bill) follows:Ashe –
YES
Ayer – YES
Baruth – YES
Benning – NO
Brock – NO
Campbell –
NO
Carris – NO
Cummings – NO
Doyle – NO
Flory – NO
Fox –
ABSENT
Galbraith – YES
Giard – NO
Hartwell – NO
Illuzzi –
NO
Kitchel – NO
Kittell – YES
Lyons – YES
MacDonald – YES
Mazza –
NO
McCormack – YES
Miller – YES
Mullin – NO
Nitka – NO
Pollina –
NO
Sears – NO
Snelling – YES
Starr – NO
Westman – NO
White –
YES
YES-11
NO
- 18
Congratulations True Dignity Vermont.
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| Medieval map showing location of purgatory and the island of Brazil |
Did you know that purgatory was in Northern Ireland? This was an established fact already by the late Middle Ages; it once regularly appeared so on world maps.
The entrance was a two-foot by three-foot cave on an island in Lough Derg, in County Donegal.
St. Partrick discovers the mouth of purgatory.
By legend, the cave was originally discovered by St. Patrick in a vision. He used it as a proof to the Irish of the reality of the afterlife and the need for repentance. And, by all accounts, it worked. It grew to become a major pilgrimage site for people from all over Europe. We have several literary accounts of actual pilgrimages, which include vivid descriptions of the tortures of the underworld. Having been on the pilgrimage to Patrick’s Purgatory established a reputation similar to that of having been initiated into the mystery religions of ancient Greece. It was understood to be truly life-changing.
One of the sights of purgatory, according to a Medieval traveller’s account.
Oddly, considering the great tourist potential, the cave entrance has been sealed since 1632. The consequences of doing otherwise may have been too terrible to contemplate.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
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Well this has been an interesting week. I have been on reading week from my college courses an the break could not have come at a better time! Something definitely Norwalky has been going through the house the last few days. Today I pulled out the chicken soup recipe and the laundry has been going non stop.
However it has also been a day of simple blessings. I was able to go through some things that have been piling up.
One of the great things about homeschooling is the flexibility. Yesterday there was a freezing rain warning, which resulted in school closures in our region. So seeing as the rest of the county got a snow day, the kids got a snow day today as well.
I am definitely enjoying parental leave and I am positive that given the choice, most parents would also choose to stay home more often with their kids, but the biggest concern for mot people is probably finances. When I began this year long experiment, I wanted to show people that it was possible to stay at home and not have to sacrifice too much…which I can confidently say that we have so far been able to do by the grace of God. But I will also say that it has not been easy.
Probably the biggest challenge has been choosing healthier food choices while living on a limited budget. The truth is, it is far less expensive to by the regular vegetables (which have probably been genetically modified in some way) than it is to buy the organic stuff. Same goes for cereal and just about everything in between. I was getting sleepy driving home the other day and wanted to get a snack to keep me a bit more alert. My preferred choice would have been sunflower seeds…but they were about three times more expensive than the Cheetos that I ended up buying. I know that eating healthy is about making conscious choices but when every dollar counts chances are you are going to spend your five bucks on the GM peppers, carrots, apples and corn instead of the organic broccoli which costs $3.99/ bunch.
But for the most part, I really do think that having lots of kids is more affordable than people think…in fact I like to think that our family is living proof of that.
Incidentally, as part of the transition from traditional to non-traditional employment, I have decided to change the tithing model for this blog. A while back I said that I would be reverse tithing any income we received from this blog, giving the tithe to charities that fed the hungry, sheltered the homeless and clothed the naked. While we are still going to tithe to the same causes, I have decided to apply a more conventional tithe model (%10) to any of the donations we receive from here on.
Also I want to send a public note of thanks to everyone who has donated to either TiPSI Dad or TiPSI Mom, you have been instruments of God’s provision in more ways than you know.
Next post: For the love of Chocolate!!!
TiPSI Dad
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We were schoolmates in major seminary
Pope Benedict XVI has appointed the Most Reverend William C. Skurla, as metropolitan archbishop of the Byzantine Archeparchy of Pittsburgh.
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He will be enthroned in Pittsburgh on April 18, 2012.
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Skurla was born in Duluth, Minn., on June 1, 1956, the son of the late John and Mavis Skurla. He attended Catholic and public elementary schools and graduated in 1974 from Chisholm High School, Chisholm, Minn.
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He graduated from Columbia University in New York City in 1981 with a concentration in philosophy. He then studied at Mary Immaculate Seminary in Northampton, Northampton County, receiving a master’s of divinity in 1986 and a master’s of theology in 1987.
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Skurla entered the Byzantine Franciscan community in Sybertsville, Luzerne County, in 1981. He was ordained a priest in 1987 at St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church in Freeland, also in Luzerne county.
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He served as pastoral administrator at St. Melany Byzantine Catholic Church in Tucson, Ariz., from 1993 until 2002.
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He was enthroned as bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys on April 23, 2002 in Phoenix.
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In December of 2007 he was appointed bishop of the Eparchy of Passaic and was enthroned at St. Michael Cathedral, Passaic N.J., on Jan. 29, 2008.
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Skurla, 55, succeeds Metropolitan Archbishop Basil M. Schott, who died after a short illness in June 2010.
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The Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh is the only self-governing Eastern Catholic Church in the United States, meaning it is directly under the authority of the pope rather than a Catholic patriarch in Eastern Europe or the Middle East. It stretches from Erie to Texas and has 58,000 parishioners and 65 priests in 78 parishes.
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There are many factors that get in the way of my seeing much of the rest of Manitoulin Island outside of our weekly visits to Anderson Lake – not having a license being the main one, but we’re also pretty busy here most of the time, so that cuts down on potential traveling time!!-. So, you can understand that I was rather looking forward to spending a day or 2 with Fr Jim Kelly, who has parishes in 4 other locations on the Island (M’Chiging, Gore Bay, Mindamoya and Sheshawaning. ) a few weekends ago. Besides the fact that I knew I’d get along with Jim amazingly well, I was eager to see some other parts of this beautiful Island, but also to visit other parishes. As attached as I am to Wiki, I needed to experience how other parishes live their faith on Manitoulin Island.
And I got to do just that on this particular Saturday afternoon and Sunday, though there was much more in store for me that I had imagined. First off, Jim was a brilliant guide!! He and I were driving from Anderson lake where we had spent the day helping out at a ministries weekend, and he kept taking detours and stopping in places so that I could see the hidden treasures of this Island. The most wonderful site for me was in the La Cloche Mountains. This mountain range gets this particular name -The Bells- because
according to Wikipedia “the hills were warning bells, used by local first Nations for signaling. These “Bell Rocks” could be heard for a considerable distance when struck, and accordingly when the French voyageurs explored the area they named it ‘la Cloche’.” Well…on this particular day, Fr Jim took me to a site where we could find one of these bell rocks. We went into a quarry, and after a few minutes of driving, got to a spot where we could see and hear an example of this very special rock..if you banged it, it was as if you were banging a sheet of metal (or…I guess…a big bell!!). It was rather fascinating. And the mystery to me is that there were no other rocks around it that have that same property, though there are said to be quite a few of them in this mountain range that do. I had heard many legends about these bell rocks since I’ve been here, so it was nice to actually hear one!!
Of course, driving around this area means is quite beautiful. The mountains cut across much of the Island and make for a very scenic drive. According to some people I spoke to, these are probably some of the oldest mountains in the world. Millions of years ago, they were probably as big as the Appalachians or the Rockies. Anyways, we drive up this very same route every week to go up to Anderson Lake -which is off the Island, in Espanola- and I never get bored of this route. The mountain range itself is part of ‘Rainbow County’ and as I recently learned, the reason for this name is that the rock from the Mountain range is various colors of reddish brown, greyish light blue, and some could even argue yellow.It makes for a stunning site to see every time!
The second reason that the experience was very moving for me was that Jim had asked me to speak at one of the parishes about my vocation. Now, I assumed I’d only speak at this one parish only, but in the end, he asked me to do it at all 3 parishes. And true to character, I was very passionate and even emotional about this vocation of mine, to the point where I made a few people cry in all 3 congregations that I visited. Jim was very happy about the impact I had had on his parishioners, but mostly, I was just inspired to meet with people afterwards who came up to me and thanked me for sharing my experience with them. One father brought his teenaged daughter to come chat with me about my experience in Russia and with missionary work, as she was about to set out on a school trip to Latin America; One woman thanked me, saying that she had been praying that her teenaged son would be able to hear something inspirational coming from the Church as he was about to graduate from High school and probably needed a little inspiration -didn’t think what I had to say was that inspiring, but she claims it was!-; In the last parish we visited, I met a school teacher from Scotland who was visiting her uncle who works for Development and Peace in Canada and who attends Church in this region. She was also very moved by my account and insisted that the Scottish Catholic Church needed Jesuits like Jim and myself to come infuse it with life.
In a way, all of this was very humbling. I know I’ve got a gift with words and a passion when I get fired up by stuff…but I don’t feel like I usually have much of an impact on people’s lives, nor do I have public speaking skills. I speak from the heart…that doesn’t mean I speak eloquently! But apparently, that alone is enough to achieve something in this world. Apparently, my vocation and the stories that shape it can inspire people today. Perhaps that’s where the humility comes in!! See,the way I envisioned my vocation, my Jesuit life will be busy, but at the same time quiet…far from the limelight. I knew I’d be doing ‘great things’ for and with God, things like teaching kids, working for social justice, being a spiritual guide to people in need, becoming a writer who takes a critical look at the modern (nonspiritual) world etc… but all of this, I expected would be done very quietly and discretely, in a little community, far from public attention. But then there are moments like these ones I experienced 2 weekends ago that force me to ask the question “if I do have that kind of impact on people, shouldn’t I trust that God wants me to go out there and inspire people with my passion rather than become a self effacing Jesuit who works assiduously for a better world but stays away from being the center of attention??”.
Well, I don’t know the full answer to that question yet. All I know is that this place has challenged my concept of what my ‘Brother’s Vocation’ is going to be in so many ways, which only reminds me that, perhaps it would be good for me to stop assuming I know exactly what it is that I will do as a Jesuit, and start assuming that there is so much that I need to discover, about God, about the world, but most importantly, about myself. In the end, I am starting to understand one basic principle: I’ve always beaten myself up over the fact that there is so much ‘basic knowledge’ that I don’t have -especially in the Sciences-, but what I should be doing instead is to accept that
a) there is a wonderful humility within that lack of knowledge that is edifying for many people, one that says “I have a great life experience that has given me much wisdom that I am so happy to share with others, but I also have so much still to learn”. I can never let go of that.
b) In fact, the ‘lacunes’ in my education are not something to be ashamed of, but an opportunity to expose myself to new experiences, which I know I will cherish and embrace for the rest of my Jesuit vocation. I think that’s what’s key here: I really don’t know what lies ahead for me…but I do know that, no matter what I do, every day can be educational, if I allow God to work in me as he has been doing here!
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