Deep Calls to Deep Writing… for a change 2: On Insecurity
I don’t like feeling insecure. Nor do I particularly like feeling vulnerable. I do like my security and have found quite a few ways to ensure that I feel secure. Most of these strategies don’t work for very long. I believe that the liturgical practice of the foot washing at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper (Holy […]
“Who I am & Why I’m here”
Greetings! My name is Roc O’Connor, SJ. I’m a Jesuit priest (that’s what the “SJ” says in effect) assigned just last August to serve as associate pastor at the Church of the Gesu, Milwaukee, WI. I started to blog for two reasons. First, I want to support the sales of my recently published book, “In the […]
011-A Hidden Way out of Hell?
Self-Obsession is a closed system. Self-absorbtion means isolation. Spiritual narcissism is hell. Do I end up promoting self-obsession by encouraging people to attend to their interior movements? My answer: I believe this approach uncovers what is already there on one’s life. Self-absorption? Hmmm… I have found that attentiveness to the breadth of my inner life […]
010-“A Good Question is the son of the Son of God”
A Good Question is… Here are three of my many questions prompted by loss, disappointment, & disillusionment. The list is not exhaustive by any means. These three were among the first that became like small lamps in a dark wilderness. They jump-started me into exploring my inner life. First question: “What’s in it for me?” […]
JPS Homily – Sixth Sunday Ordinary Time (B)
John Schlegel, SJ engages parishioners at the Advent Day of Prayer 2014 Sixth Sunday Ordinary Time (Cycle B) Homily by Fr. John P. Schlegel, SJ, pastor of the Church of the Gesu Mark 1:40-45 ‘… Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made […]
009-Time for Serious Levity
We’re seven days into Lent 2015. I find that it’s time for some serious levity, compliments of the Muppets. Consider, “Put Down the Ducky” as a fun way to look at a way that holding our attachments too closely does not really allow us to “do discipleship” the way we hope to. Have at it! […]
008-A Proposal of Counter-Intuitive Proportions
A Proposal of Counter-Intuitive Proportions I comment on a quotation from Annie Dillard most often used to confirm the view that we don[t get what’s going on at Mass: “If we only knew the Mystery we encounter in liturgy…” Well, here’s a second opinion…
Roc Homily-First Sunday of Lent 2015
First Sunday of Lent 2015 (Cycle B) Mark 1:12-15 “And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him…”
007-The Case of the “Interested Listener”
The Case of the “Interested Listener.” No, not a Perry Mason episode. Really. It has to do with our relationship to the Word we hear precisely as those who are ‘interested’ in protecting our way of life and preserving our very identity! How might this reality affect our presence to Christ in liturgy?
006-Origins of IMOS
006 – Origins of IMOS The God-given gift of having some facility with languages early in my life encountered suffering and boredom and led me to seek an adequate translation of both scripture and liturgy. Can the liturgy speak to the real lives of adults who suffer? who are bored? Here’s a brief story of what led […]
Deep Calls to Deep 