News

St. Augustine wrote this about the relationship between the two halves of the Bible: “The New is hidden in the Old, and the Old is made manifest in the New.” The link of the story of Abraham and Isaac to the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross is somewhat obvious, but sometimes it is in the obvious that we can overlook that which is right in front of our eyes.

During his time as a student at Saint Ignatius Mr. Healey had the privilege of being in the classroom with a number of legendary teachers across a spectrum of disciplines. But the freshman year mentor who had the most lasting effect on his theological and spiritual life was Fr. Jim Lewis, S.J., who died last month.

What is the Gospel? By that Mr. Healey means: What is the Good News? On this, the 1st Sunday of Lent, we are told exactly what the Good News is and the answer comes directly from the mouth of the Messiah. “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem.” These words of Jesus provide the thematic glue for the Pope Francis’s Lenten message, and they point directly to the fulfillment of the mission of the Messiah. As we acknowledge Ash Wednesday in different ways this year, it is still in a spirit that unites faith with fasting, hope with prayer, and love with giving alms.

God’s will is an expression of His omniscience and His perfection. Sometimes our requests align with His will and we, without knowing it, ask for that which fits God’s perfect plan. Unfortunately, most of the time we ask for things that fit our will and not God’s. So how are we to find hope when our prayers appear to go unanswered? Mr. Healey explains.

February 8 is the Feast Day of St. Josephine Bakhita, the patron saint of victims of human trafficking. As a victim of this terrible system, St. Josephine is worth emulating for her steadfast faith and her trust in the Christ of the Cross.

Is a book written a couple millennia ago still relevant to our present times? The Book of Job in this weekend's first reading is reason enough to lay that question to rest. For, in a world that's like a deadly labyrinth of ideologies antithetical to the Gospel and its Old Testament foundation, Job trudges on--and so should we.

Did you know that Catholics of African descent have played a truly important, yet generally unknown and vastly underappreciated, role in our Church? If the name Kennedy means anything to you, allow this Lesson from Loyola Hall to introduce you to the Healys.