JESUITICA: Fine wines down under

“Complex savoury scents and plush, textured bass line with soft, natural-acid balance, with notes of charcoal, prune fruits and Havana leaf.” So goes one reviewer’s assessment of St Ignatius (2006), a magnificent red produced in Sevenhill Cellars, the oldest winery in South Australia’s Clare Valley. Founded by two Austrian Jesuits in 1851 in order to provide sacramental wine to the emerging Catholic parishes, Sevenhill was part of a larger presence of Jesuits, which included St Aloysius’ Church and a Catholic boys’ school. The winery now produces many award-winning wines, particularly its St Ignatius Cabernet and its Inigo Rieseling. Overseeing the operation is Br John May SJ, one of a number of Jesuits who live in Sevenhill, where there is also a Centre of Ignatian Spirituality.

Haiti update

Jesuit Refugee Service has provided emergency relief in the form of food, medicine, tents and debris-removal tools to thousands of citizens in Port-au-Prince to aid their recovery from the devastating earthquake of January 12. Additionally, in coordinated efforts with partner organizations in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, JRS has set up locations throughout the countries to deliver aid to more people in an efficient and organized manner. One of the JRS staging centers for earthquake relief in Haiti is the Jesuit novitiate in Port-au-Prince. Tents have been set up in the courtyard for medical volunteers to sleep in, and trucks unload their goods at the novitiate as well. Read here the remarks of the Director of JRS/USA, Fr Kenneth Gavin, who emphasises that JRS is committed to Haiti for the long haul. (Photo by Jose Manuel Morena SJ)

Go therefore and tweet to all nations!

“Priests are challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelisation and catechesis.” So says Pope Benedict XVI in his message for the 44th World Communications Day, announced on 24 January, 2010. The theme of his address - The priest and pastoral ministry in a digital world: new media at the service of the Word coincides with the Church’s universal celebration of the Year for Priests, who according to the Pope, “stand at the threshold of a new era: as new technologies create deeper forms of relationship across greater distances, they are called to respond pastorally by putting the media ever more effectively at the service of the Word.” World Communications Day will be celebrated this year on Sunday, 16 May.

‘Blind obedience’ from Belvedere students

Two Belvedere College students won second prize in the BT Young Scientist Exhibition awards at the RDS, Dublin, 13-16 Jan. Owen Killian and Andrew Griffin investigated the use of intense ultraviolet radiation (UVC) to preserve par-baked bread. This novel technique if proven could save bakeries a fortune when compared to current methods of preservation which are difficult and lengthy. David Connellan and Killian Creaner examined the similarities between ant colonies and human societies, whilst John King and Brian Donnelly entered a project in the Behavioural Sciences category entitled “Do as you’re told: A study into blind obedience”. Both projects were highly commended. And for once students were allowed to throw paper planes in class as Cormac Fitzgerald and Iarla Scaife  investigated the variance of the flight-path of paper aeroplanes depending on their weight, in their project ‘Made to Fly’!

Light in the dark rooms of grief

Messenger Publications hosted the launch of Mary Brady’s book Time Without You: Moving through the Rooms of Grief, on 21 January, in Manresa Jesuit Centre for Spirituality, Clontarf. Myles O’Reilly SJ, chaplain for the Bethany Bereavement Support Group, launched the book. Interspersed throughout the text are images of Mary’s own artwork:  pencil drawings, oils, charcoals, sculptures and embroidery, as well as diary entries and poetry. The MJP team worked closely with the author to capture a record of her journey through grief and how she tried to make sense of the loss of her husband. According to MJP Manager Triona McKee, “Mary’s soul-bearing honesty in sharing her most testing moments is done in the hope that it would offer a glimmer of light and encouragement to those struggling through the confusion and pain of bereavement.” Available through www.messenger.ie , €8.99.

‘Crescent’ bridge from poverty to prosperity

Students of Crescent College Comprehensive were told by President Mary McAleese that they carried with them an ‘imprint of Jesuit education, a character which doesn’t change’. Speaking at a closing ceremony in the College to mark 150 years of Jesuit education in Limerick, on Thursday 21 January, she thanked the staff for investing in their young people. She also praised the Jesuits who, along with other religious organisations, had played a role in building a bridge from poverty to prosperity in an Ireland which is ‘confident, vibrant and dynamic,’  a different Ireland to that of her own schooldays. The  President and her husband Dr. McAleese recieved a  warm welcome from staff, pupils and the Board of Management at the Crescent College special school assembly. Read more »

Short notices

• Coláiste Iognáid’s 5th Year Kairos retreat was held this year in Dromantine, Newry from 22-25 January. 37 students took part in a full programme of talks, group work and liturgies. The retreat was led by Brendan McManus SJ, assisted by Cathal Doherty SJ, and teachers Elaine Coffey (pictured) and Brian Stewart. Eddie Cosgrove SJ participated as an observer, taking a break from his studies. Feedback from the students shows it was a great success.
• The health of Gerard Keane SJ, of the Malaysia/Singapore region, is in decline.  He was admitted to hospital in the last week of November 2009 on emergency.  With the advice of the doctor, a heart pace-maker was inserted in his chest. Since then he has been cared for by nursing staff. Please remember him in your prayers.

Fr Jean Yves Calvez SJ

Renowned French theologian and philosopher Jean-Yves Calvez SJ died in Paris on 11 January, aged 82. For half a century he was well established as a deep and innovative thinker on issues relating to the Church’s social teaching. Soon after his ordination he wrote an influential account of the philosophy of Karl Marx, and in the years leading up to the Council he edited collections of Church documents on social issues. As Assistant to Jesuit Fr General Pedro Arrupe,  Fr Calvez did much to promote the notion that familiarity and solidarity with the poor are an essential dimension of Jesuit life. At a personal level, he was (in the words of the editor of Études, a Jesuit journal which Fr Calvez himself once edited) “a  man of extraordinary modesty” who had little time for honours and awards.

The Holocaust by bullets

On Monday evening, 18 January 2010, the day after the Pope’s historic visit to the Rome Synagogue, another historic visit occurred. Representatives from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, prelates from the Vatican, and nine ambassadors to the Holy See came to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome to listen to a French Catholic priest, Father Patrick Desbois. They heard him describe how he has spent the last decade criss-crossing Ukraine to find the truth about how 1.5 million Ukrainian Jews were shot dead and buried in mass graves during the Second World War. Pictured here, left to right, are Tom Casey SJ, President of the Cardinal Bea Centre for Judaic Studies, who led the evening, Fr Patrick Desbois, and the Chief Rabbi of Florence, Rabbi Joseph Levi, who also works part-time in the Cardinal Bea Centre with Tom.

Forthcoming events

• 26 January: Psychologist David Coleman fundraising lecture, “Getting Your Child through their Teens in the ‘Teenies’ “. Belvedere College, Gt. Denmark St., Dublin 1. 7.30pm
• 1 February: Soul night – Reflection and prayer in Gardiner Street Church. At 6.00-6.30pm.
• 10 February: Lecture on ‘St Ignatius and the World of the Royal Court: Chivalry and Courtly Love’ by Professor Terence O’Reilly, holder of the Veale Chair in Spirituality 2009-2010 at the Milltown Institute. In Lecture Room X at 4.00 pm.