One of the good things about technology is that it enabled me to see Br. Paul Desmarais, SJ, and hear his laughter all the way from Zambia. Books on agriculture (academic or otherwise) were stacked from his desk to his bookcase and everywhere in between. It was against this backdrop that he described how …
Brother Paul Desmarais: Sowing the Seeds of Knowledge Read More »
Chain-smoking, dishevelled, even hearing confessions in a bar: Fr. Martin Royackers, SJ, never ceased to amaze. According to several sources, he rarely made a good first impression. Yet this Canadian Jesuit with a razor-sharp mind was a strong advocate for human rights, deeply committed to social justice, and firmly rooted in his relationship with God. …
Cigarettes, Coffee, and Justice: The Unusual Holiness of Martin Royackers, SJ Read More »
“Sometimes I find it hard to look at the deforested mountains in some departments,” says Br. Marcel Charélus, SJ, director of the Centre de Spiritualité Pierre-Favre in Port-au-Prince. Fortunately, Haitian Jesuits such as Br. Marcel and Br. Mathurin Charlot, SJ, are involved in some reforestation projects. The latter, an agricultural technician and one of the oldest Jesuits in Haiti, works in the Artibonite Department with the Project to Support Reforestation and Agricultural Development (PAREDA). Br. Marcel describes their …
The Ministry of Fresh Mangoes, Meaty Coconuts and the Shade of Trees Read More »
After months of being under lockdown in Montreal, I was happy to go to Ferme Berthe-Rousseau, an organization located on forty acres of land in Durham-Sud whose mission is to welcome and provide accommodation to people living in difficult circumstances. Marie-Ève Barbeau, one of the persons in charge, received me with the joy and passion that were already apparent when we spoke on the phone. Although the farm is nondenominational, it is in fact part …
Cultivating Land and Soul: The Work of the Ferme Berthe-Rousseau Read More »
“The best week of my life was spent on a canoe-camping trip with the Pioneer Scout. We paddled a hundred kilometers, we only had five minutes of rain, and it was extraordinary,” said Brother Bernard Hudon, a Jesuit from Quebec, after I had asked him to share some of the moments of deepest consolation that …
By John McCarthy, SJ Since once again, Lord – though this time not in the forests of the Aisne, but in the steppes of Asia – I have neither bread, nor wine, nor altar, I will raise myself beyond these symbols, up to the pure majesty of the real itself; I, your priest, will make …
Everything is Sacred: Seeing the Wonders that Play Below Read More »
“The Indigenous peoples of the Amazon can help us to move forward on the path of spiritual growth,” says Jean-Claude Ravet, former editor-in-chief of Relations and now an interim member of the editorial team, commenting on the latest issue of the journal. The idea for this issue, entitled “In Defense of the Amazon and Its …
Saving Our Common Home: Relations Highlights the Wisdom of the Amazon and Its Peoples Read More »
Photos/Ignatius Jesuit Center The Ignatius Old-Growth Forest Project is one of the ministries of the Ignatius Jesuit Center in Guelph Ontario. It consists of nearly 100 protected acres of trails, forests, meadows, wetlands, and waterways that are home to a rich biodiversity of plant and animal life. The project encourages the sharing of the sacredness of …