By James Martin, S.J. || A life of poverty, chastity and obedience was the last thing on James Martin’s mind when he began his corporate career at General Electric in the early 1980s. “To survive in G.E.,” he reported in his memoir In Good Company, “you had to be tough, almost impervious to criticism,...
On a journey to East Africa a New York deacon gets gifts for ministry || A statement on the Maryknoll Society website caught my attention: “Crossing borders and encountering our brothers and sisters around the world is an opportunity for a mutual exchange of the JOY that comes from the Gospel.” It was a call...
Readers respond to our print, web and social media posts || CONCERNED FOR HAK The article in the January/February 2017 Maryknoll magazine titled Visiting the Aged and the Lonely in Anlong Kngan mentions Hak, a poor woman who receives food “through a low entrance into her home (so that visitors...
Priest’s faith grows as he serves in Japan || Mission work frequently involves doing ministry outside our comfort zone. I find that particularly true in Japan, where I have served for the last eight years. My faith is rooted in the Catholic Church of El Salvador, where I was born and raised....
|| Pentecost, arguably the most significant event in the Christian calendar, seems, paradoxically, almost overlooked. No cards. No trees. No colored eggs. But it overflows with more gifts than Christmas and burns with divine fire rather than electric lights! After Jesus’ death on the cross,...
The spiritual practice of growing older || What’s beautiful about Vesper Time is that it doesn’t give spiritual exercises for the journey of aging; it shows how aging itself is a spiritual exercise. Vesper Time opens our eyes to the experience of growing older “in wisdom and in grace” (Luke 2:52)....
Program director for a grassroots movement brings together youth of different faiths to work to end division || Hannah Hochkeppel leaned forward in her chair as three children—Christian, Jewish and Muslim—took the microphone to pray at their friend’s Bat Mitzvah. They began, “May we see the day when...
COMMON MISSIONS I am writing to thank you for Maryknoll magazine, which comes to me regularly. The November/December issue especially touched me. Although I am not Catholic, my own experiences as a Mennonite missionary make me realize how much we have in common with each other. My husband and I met both...
A Maryknoll priest learns about playing a mission song || When people help me find God in my life and when I help people find God in theirs, that’s mission for me. As a Maryknoll priest, I’ve had the privilege to do that among young people here in Asia. I must say, inheriting the artistic […]
Dust to Dust || When it comes to Ash Wednesday, I am definitely “old school.” I have nothing against telling people—or hearing—“Repent and believe the Good News!” but this admonition lacks the sobering, gut-wrenching: “Remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return.” We are, every...
