2 Thoughts Amidst the Scrambling

Evelyn Waugh once wrote that New Yorkers suffer from a neurosis that they mistake for energy, a kind of must-do-this-now-latest-thing drive that simultaneously gives life some meaning and robs it of value. In that sense, today I am a New Yorker. I am in the midst of a major scramble to meet academic deadlines, prepare for diaconal ordination and plan my summer. The tick-tick of the clock is my only discernible heartbeat. So here are two random thoughts for scramblers like me: First, Fr. Bill Barry is one of the best spiritual writers in the history of the American Jesuits. He has a gift for explaining to people (like me) in very clear, down-to-Earth language, just how to go about having a conscious relationship with God, especially within the noise and fever of everyday life. His latest book, Changed Heart, Changed World is available here. Bill's hope for the book is that it will introduce readers to some practical ways in which to integrate the inner life, where we experience a friendship with God, with the outer life, where we live in relationship with our world. I could use such advice right now. Perhaps you could too. If so, you should check out Bill's book. Second, some young Jesuits here in Britain have put together a new blog, Catching Fire. The blog is penned by an eclectic group of Jesuit seminarians from three different continents. It too is a good read, especially if one is looking for a way to lift one's gaze above the mundane, if only for a moment. Okay, that's it for now. I'm late to catch a bus. Barely enough time to finish this sent