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Theology teacher Tom Healey '77 explains his creative approach to teaching morality to high school students in this latest Lessons from Loyola Hall.

On Monday, the Church celebrated the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and on the next day the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. These feasts are set side-by-side to remind us of their relationship as well as the unity of the two people involved. They share a call to each of us: to soften the evil that sometimes lies in our hearts.

Despite what some might think, there has never been a time when all who proclaim faith in Christ have held the exact same beliefs in essential areas like faith and morals. Healey points out the links to other faith traditions in this week's Gospel readings.

“Holy Spirit burning bright, help me get these answers right.” During his homily at the Senior Class Mass of the Holy Spirit last Friday, Fr. Raymond Guiao, S.J. ’82 recounted this brief pre-exam prayer from his high school days. Within this story was a message for each person present: "It's not all about me."

Over the years, the journal "Communio" has done its best to bring clarity to the theological and cultural issues of the day and has spread to include 14 different editions in a variety of languages across the globe. The work of its three founders connects across this weekend's Mass readings, encouraging us all to speak the truth in love.

The themes and lessons from Mr. Healey's own summer reading always tend to seep into his Christian Manhood class in the fall. This time around, it is speeches from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn that have made their way into a course intended to concretely help students live good lives following Christ. For spiritual brotherhood has the ability to encompass all humanity.

Jesus knew Peter better than Peter knew himself. Sometimes Peter speaks without thinking, blurts out without understanding, and shows himself to be the simple and impulsive fisherman that he is. Deep down, he is not too different from each one of us--nor a boxer of box office fame.

At the dawn of this new and unusual school year, Mr. Healey recalls a Prayer for the Start of a School Year that he wrote in 2016. What he wrote was inspired by his late friend and colleague, Jim Skerl, whose way of living as a man of faith is worthy of reflection for the virtues he exuded in all he said and did.