Father Knows Best: Feast of the Holy Family

 

Sir 3:2-6, 12-14

Ps  128 or 105

Lk 2:41-52

 

Today’s feast of the Holy Family reminds us that Jesus was born into and raised within a family. The immediate family was small but there are hints that Jesus grew to adulthood within the context of a larger extended family. Perhaps clan might be a better word.

 

He lived in a particular social world, at a specific time in history, in a definite place. Jesus’ world was governed  by the religious traditions and laws of Israel. 

His parents observed the traditions and laws regarding circumcision, purification,

dedicating the first born male to the Lord, and, as we hear today, going up to Jerusalem for the Passover. 

 

The story of Jesus, is a very human story. We can identify with those human dimensions and rejoice that we share our humanity with that of the Holy Family.

We can identify with the narrative of Jesus being separated from his parents while in Jerusalem, each of us in his or her own way.  Any parent today can identify with his parents' frantic response when they realized he was not with them.  We can also understand Mary's obvious annoyance when she asked,

"why have you done this to us?"  How did she enunciate those words? Did she sound angry or relieved?

 

Like us, Jesus was carried in his mother's womb and endured the messiness of childbirth.  Like us, Jesus began life as a helpless infant who grew into adulthood. Jesus was like us in all things but sin.  He did not put in a cameo appearance on earth shifting his shape or appearance to suit various needs

only to return to a distant mountaintop after wreaking vengeance on an enemy god or goddess.

 

 

Jesus did not remain aloof from life on this earth, with its trials, tribulations,

joys and sorrows.  Rather, he experienced them fully.  The late Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner points out that Jesus “came into the world the same way we did

in order to come to terms with the given facts of human existence, and to begin to die”

 

And to begin to die.

 

There were hints of that future death in Simeon’s cryptic comment to Mary:

“and you yourself, a sword will pierce” or, in another translation  “and a sword will pierce through your own soul also.” What did Mary feel when she heard these words?  Did she recall them as she admonished Jesus in today's gospel?  Did they echo in her ears as she stood at the foot of the cross?

 

No fear surpasses that of a parent whose child is missing. No grief exceeds that of a parent who endures the death of a child at any stage of the child’s life, from life in the womb to death when both parent and child old.  Mary knew that fear and unimaginable pain.

 

The Feast of Holy Family challenges us to pray for families, particularly those that are fragmented, and those that are under attack. We pray for those families hat are unstable because of divorce, casual live-in arrangements with no commitment, and pregnancies that never involved a father, or at least one who maintained no presence following conception.

 

The Feast of the Holy Family challenges us to recognize Jesus when we encounter Him and wherever we encounter Him.  It challenges us to recognize

the sanctity of the family, and to preach that sanctity at every opportunity.

The challenges are significant.  We are, after all, sinners who don’t always get it right.  But we have the example of the Holy Family.

 

The example of Mary’s yes, at the Annunciation“ may it be unto me according to your word.”  The example of Joseph’s silent yes to the angel who instructed him: “Do not fear to take Mary your wife . . .”The example is in Jesus’ yes at Gethsemane, “not as I will, but as thou wilt.” 

 

As we commemorate the Holy Family as we contemplate their yes to the will of God we pray that we will also say yes.  

 

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Photos from one of the best Christmases I had in years.  It was 2016 while in Ljubljana, slovenia.  It was the only day our main meal was in the evening rather than at noon.  I wandered the city for hours that day, and a few others, shooting.  The straw nativity halfway down was an amazing scene. 

 

 Have a Blessed New Year 

Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

Seventh Day: O Emmanuel . . .

 

O Emmanuel, 
Rex et legifer noster, 
exspectatio gentium, et Salvator earum: 
veni ad salvandum nos Domine Deus noster.

O Emmanuel, 
God with us, our King and lawgiver, 
the expected of the nations and their Savior: 
come to save us, O Lord our God.

Meditation: Advent has run its course. Tomorrow we will begin the Great Feast commemorating that Jesus Christ, true God and true man, was born. Try to put the sloppy sentimental imagery associated with Christmas out of your head.  What we call "The Christmas Story" does not end with Hosanna in Excelsis and a star. That is only the beginning of the story of our redemption. There was much to be suffered before the full history of our salvation through Jesus' saving act would be written. Consider the manger and the shadow the cross cast on it. 

Prayer:  

Give us, O God, the vision

which can see Your love in the world 
in spite of human failure.
Give us the faith to trust Your goodness 
in spite of our ignorance and weakness.
Give us the knowledge that we may continue to pray 
with understanding hearts.
And show us what each one of us can do 
to set forward the coming of the day of universal peace.

Frank Borman, Apollo 8 space mission, 1968

On Christmas Eve 1968 the Apollo 8 astronauts, Bill Anders, Jim Lovell, and Frank Borman broadcast live from their space capsule. Each of them read part of Genesis chapters 1-10 while orbiting the moon. An interesting side note is that Madalyn Murray O'Hair, a notoriously strident atheist, sued the U.S. government for violating the first amendment. The Supreme Court dismissed the suit due to lack of jurisdiction.  Borman wrote the prayer which he also shared.  That must have made O’Hair nuts. 

'O Come, O Come Emmanuel.' Even more appropriate tonight than the first day of Advent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSRocN1dTrM(Latin)

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Today is the last of the antiphons.  Photos are from this morning.  I had the 8 AM Mass.  Took camera with me.  Did not expect a flurry of confession requests after Mass.  Did not have the energy to relight the candles etc.  I like the effect.  

 

Through some decorative ironwork in a door at the back of the chapel.

It was a beautifully sunny day though very cold.  Seven.  Fahrenheit.  

 Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

Sixth Day: O King of the Gentiles . . .

 

O Rex gentium, et desideratus earum, 
lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti.

O King of the gentiles and their desired One, 
the cornerstone that makes both one: 
come, and deliver man, whom you formed out of the dust of the earth.

Meditation: Both the Old and New Testaments refer to the king being anointed with oil. David was anointed. Jesus' feet were anointed with oil and tears at table before his passion. The sacraments of baptism, confirmation, ordination, and the sacrament of the sick include anointing with specifically blessed oils: the oil of catechumens, sacred chrism, and the oil of the sick. The anointing we receive at baptism and confirmation joins us to Jesus in a share of His Passion. Consider the great gift of anointing. What does it mean to me?

Prayer:
The Anima Christi appears on the fly-leaf of The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. It is an ancient prayer that was not written by Ignatius. However, it is obvious Ignatius knew the prayer and entered deeply into it.

Soul of Christ

Soul of Christ, sanctify me 
Body of Christ, save me 
Blood of Christ, inebriate me 
Water from the side of Christ, wash me  
Passion of Christ, strengthen me 
O good Jesus, hear me 
Within Thy wounds hide me 
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee 
From the malicious enemy defend me 
In the hour of my death call me 
And bid me come unto Thee 
That I may praise Thee with Thy saints 
and with Thy angels 
Forever and ever. Amen.  


Anima Christi (sung in Latin)

National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MhEsqPrdAY

Gate to the enclosure at the Charterhouse in Vermont.  The snow was slowing down after dropping seventeen inches.

 

 

F

Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

O Key of David . . . .

 

O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol iustitiae: 
veni, et illumina sedentes 
in tenebris et umbra mortis.

O dawn of the east, brightness of light eternal, and sun of justice: 
come, and enlighten those
who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Meditation: 
Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace. 

The Agnus Dei is the final prayer of the Mass before communion. Immediately afterwards we acknowledge our unworthiness and ask that the Lord heal us despite that unworthiness. In the Agnus Dei we ask that he not only have mercy on us but that he grant us peace, peace in our world and peace within our own selves.  
Prayer:  

Nothing is more practical than
finding God, that is, falling in love
in a quite absolute, final way. What
you are in love with, what seizes
your imagination, will affect every-
thing. It will decide what will get
you out of bed in the morning, what
you will do with your evenings, how
you will spend your weekends, what
you read, who you know, what
breaks your heart, and what amazes
you with joy and gratitude. Fall in
love. Stay in love. And it will 
decide everything.

Pedro Arrupe, SJ

Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace)  

 

Bach's B minor Mass is one of the most perfect pieces of music ever written.  The Dona

Nobis Pacem of the Agnus Dei brings it to an ethereal end.

 

Close your eyes and allow the music to swirl around you no matter if you are seeking peace for yourself, for another, or the world. That is the peace that Christ promises. That is the peace He brings. That is God's gift to us, if we are willing to accept it. 
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffrsc3wdBt4

 

The photo is of sunrise from sv. Višarje in the Julian Alps of Italy, just across the border from Slovenia and Austria.

Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

O Key of David . . .

 

O clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel: 
qui aperis, et nemo claudit; 
claudis, et nemo aperit: 
veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris.

O Key of David, and scepter of the house of Israel, 
who opens and no man shuts, 
who shuts and no man opens: 
come, and lead forth the captive who sits in the shadows from his prison

Meditation:
The door to eternal life is never locked from the inside. In various parts of the New Testament Jesus refers to himself as the gate, the door, and the way, and as the entry to eternal life. We lock our doors from the inside at night. We do so for our own safety. Jesus' door is always open. That too is for our own safety. Only we can lock the door to Jesus from the outside. We lock it when we refuse the gift of faith. We can also choose to unlock it.

Prayer for Generosity

O Lord, teach me to be generous
To serve you as you deserve
To give and not to count the cost
To fight and not to heed the wounds
To toil and not to seek for rest 
To labor and not to ask for reward
Save that of knowing I do your holy will
St. Ignatius of Loyola

Since By Man Came Death' from Handel's Messiah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o_djBlF6-o

 

 

An elaborate "doorknob" at the  Cistercian Abbey in Stična Slovenia.  

Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

O Root of Jesse . . .

 

O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, 
super quem continebunt reges os suum, 
quem gentes deprecabuntur:
veni ad liberandum nos, iam noli tardare.

O Root of Jesse, that stands for an ensign of the people, 
before whom the kings keep silence 
and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication: 
come, to deliver us, and tarry not

Meditation: Consider the tree that grew from the root of Jesse. The roots of that tree anchor the earth. The tree is a symbol of life. It is the symbol of eternal life. The tree from which Adam and Eve ate represents hubris over humility. The tree on which Jesus hung reverses the equation. Humility and obedience conquered hubris once and for all. Imagine yourself carrying a cross on your shoulders for the sake of someone else. Imagine Jesus carrying it on his shoulders, and then hanging on it, for the sake of the entire universe.

Prayer:  
Patient Trust (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ)

Above all, trust in the slow work of God
We are quite naturally impatient in everything
to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages. 
We are impatient of being on the way to something
unknown, something new. 
And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through
some stages of instability—
and that it may take a very long time. 

And so I think it is with you. 
your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste. 
Don't try to force them on, 
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances
acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow. 

Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be. 
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you, 
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself 
in suspense and incomplete. 

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ

 

Wait for the Lord (Taizé chant)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7GexIvX8HU&list=PLZryXP-J6HpM8-Be6ZJ4Jui-hZjWEtibV&index=11 

 

 

O Lord and Ruler . . .

 

O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel, 
qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,
et ei in Sina legem dedisti: 
veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.. 

O Lord and Ruler of the house of Israel, 
who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush
and gave him the law on Sinai: 
come, and redeem us with outstretched arms

Meditation: As Moses saw the Lord in the burning bush we can see Him in the flaming skies of sunrise and sunset. We can see Him in all that occurs between those boundaries between day and night, night and day. We hear in the third Eucharistic Prayer at Mass the words, "You never cease to gather a people to yourself so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name."   Some time today ask yourself, where, how, or in whom did I see the Lord today?

Prayer: 
Longing for Christ (c. 10th century)

Come, true light.
Come, life eternal. 
Come, hidden mystery.
Come, treasure without name.
Come, reality beyond all words. 
Come, person beyond all understanding.
Come, rejoicing without end. 
Come, light that knows no evening. 
Come, raising up of the fallen. 
Come, resurrection of the dead.

Tell Out My Soul (Mary's Magnificat)

These O Antiphons precede and follow the recitation of the Magnificat which is prayed every night at vespers.  The lyrics are a version of Luke’s prayer that begins, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, My spirit rejoices in God my savior .  . . . “

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz-FkqobgXY

 

 

 

Tabernacle on the main altar of the Sanctuary of Loyola, the birth place of St. Ignatius.

O Holy Wisdom

 Over the next week I will be posting each of the seven "O Antiphons" that begin and end the Magnificat.  Each post will include the antiphon in both Latin and English, a meditation, a prayer,  a music clip from YouTube and a photos.  

DECEMBER 17, 2024

O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, 
attingens a fine usque ad finem, 
fortiter suaviter disponensque omnia: 
veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.  

O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High, 
reaching from one end to the other, ordering all things: 
Come and teach us the way of prudence. 

Meditation: One of the sad realities today is that wisdom is ignored or dismissed in favor of quickness, the snarky comment, cynicism, or an easy laugh. The great gift the aged have given to all societies throughout history is wisdom, a virtue gained only through experiences of victory and defeat, mistakes and right decisions, joy and sorrow, and life well-lived. Even those who are dying can instruct us if we allow them. The desire to kill the inconveniently sick or the demented elderly in the name of a false mercy is one of the great sins of our world. It is the antithesis of wisdom, prudence, and understanding.  

Prayer:  
Suscipe (St. Ignatius of Loyola)

Take Lord, and receive 
all my liberty, my memory,
my understanding, 
my entire will, 
all I have and call my own. 
You have given all to me,
to You, Lord, I return it. 
Everything is yours; do with it what you will. 
Give me only Your love and Your grace,
That is enough for me.

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring

One of Bach’s great chorales played on piano in her own arrangement by the great British pianist and harpsichordist Dame Myra Hess.  The photo of the Christmas Market was taken in Ljubljana on a misty and miserably cold night before Christmas. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGsPdEm3FfI

 

Overlooking the Christmas Market in Ljubljana, Slovenia

 Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

Rejoice Always: Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday)

 

Zep 3:14-18a

Phil 4:4-7

Lk 3:10-18

 

Gaudete in Domino semper,

iterum dice gaudete. 

Dominus enim prope est.

 

“Rejoice in the Lord always;

again I say rejoice! 

The Lord is near.” 

 

Gaudete means “rejoice, thus the traditional name for the 3rd Sunday of Advent

Gaudete Sunday or Rejoice Sunday.  Gaudete is one of two Sundays of the year

on which priests have the option of wearing either purple vestments or, ideally, the dusty rose vestments that visually hint at the joy that is to come. Note:  the color is dusty rose NOT Pepto-Bismol pink.  There is an enormous difference.

 

We rejoice because in the words of the antiphon we know:  Dominus enim prope est:  The Lord is near.  The Lord is very near.  We rejoice because Jesus was born in the same way we were, and into same world in which we now live and breathe.  He walked upon the same earth on which we work and relax, rejoice and mourn.  Fully human, Jesus knew cold and heat, hunger and thirst, joy and sorrow.  He knew the feel of the earth under His feet and gentle breezes caressing His skin.  We celebrate because Jesus; fully divine and fully human,

like us in all things but sin, walked this same planet.  We rejoice because Jesus brought us forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life. 

 

The readings highlight the rejoicing.  Zephaniah tells us:

 

"Be glad and exult with all your heart . . .

The Lord has removed the judgment against you . . .

the King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst,"

 

When the judgment against us was removed eternal life was opened for us.  The responsorial psalm confirms what we know,

 

"My strength and my courage is the LORD,

and he has been my savior.

With joy you will draw water

at the fountain of salvation."

 

The Lord has been my savior. The Lord is my savior.  The Lord will be my savior.  Always.

 

Paul is direct in his letter to the Philippians. "Brothers and sisters: Rejoice in the Lord always.  I shall say it again: rejoice!"

 

Our rejoicing will increase over the coming days until the Gloria in Excelsis Deo of Christmas explodes throughout the known universe and then travels beyond the edges of the universe.  On Tuesday December 17, the Church’s anticipatory joy will enter another phase as we chant or recite the first of the seven ancient “O Antiphons” that introduce and end Luke's canticle at vespers:

 

"Magnificat anima mean . . . "

 

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord

My spirit rejoices in God my savior."

 

The antiphon on Tuesday is: "O sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti . . . .

 

“O Wisdom, O holy Word of God. 

You govern all creation with strong yet tender care. 

Come and show your people the way to salvation.”  

 

The final antiphon on December 23 celebrates Emmanuel, God with us:

 

“O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver,

desire of the nations,

Savior of all people, come and set us free,

Lord our God.”

 

There is a hidden message in the antiphons.  If one takes the first letter after the “O” in the Latin antiphon and reads from the last to the first one discovers a Latin anagram: Ero Cras, that means, tomorrow I will be, tomorrow I will be there,

tomorrow I come.  The Messiah was foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament.  He was announced by John the Baptist, the bridge between the Old and New covenants,  John the Baptist of whom we heard in the Gospel, who exhorted the people and preached to them the Good News.

 

Jesus was borne of Mary, whom we honor nightly when we pray the Magnificat,

the prayer with which Mary responded to Elizabeth's greeting at the Visitation.  The time of waiting is coming to an end.  Only one more Sunday stands between us and the great Feast of the Nativity of the Lord.

 

Expectant waiting will be replaced by unfettered joy. Ero Cras will come to fulfillment.

 

Gaudete in Domino semper,

iterum dice gaudete. 

Dominus enim prope est.

 

“Rejoice in the Lord always;

again I say rejoice! 

The Lord is near.”  

 

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Winter photography is deeply satisfying.  The photos below were taken a few years ago in Vermont when I was stranded on Mt. Equinox for three days in a blizzard accumulating 17 inches.  It was very  cold, the snow was mostly powder and there was no wind.  Took undreds of shots.

Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord: Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent

 

Baruch 5:1-9

Ps 126

Phil 1:4-6,8-11

Lk 3:1-6

 

A favorite memory from my time Temple Medical School in ‘72 was the night six of us scrounged together enough money for dinner at a restaurant in Center City Philadelphia after which we walked to the Forrest Theater to see "Godspell" a rock musical that had opened on Broadway in 1971.  Godspell is subtitled, “A Musical Based  Upon the Gospel According to St. Matthew.”  It was quite a romp.  Though it was later made into a movie I much prefer the play. Today’s readings bring back the memory the joyful opening number. 

 

After blowing the shofar the John the Baptist character intones the words, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord” which he repeats several times. Then the instruments kick in along with the cast singing.  The command to prepare the way of the Lord morphs into a celebratory and very energetic production number.  The joy in the music was and is infectious.  The joy in the reading from Baruch is similarly infectious.

 

Baruch is a small book of uncertain provenance that is canonical for the Catholic Church but considered apocryphal by Jews and Protestants. The author described the return of the exiles to Jerusalem in exquisite poetic images.  Led by the Lord, Jerusalem will welcome them back to enjoy a new era of prosperity and peace.  That joyful return however, will require preparation and a change of heart; it will require a conversion.  It will require preparing the way.

 

Paul prays for that kind of conversion in his Letter to the Philippians when he writes, “that your love may increase ever more and more. . . to discern what is of value.” That discernment is increasingly complicated in this modern world of competing values.   But, what better way to prepare for the coming of the Lord than to look into ourselves in prayer to discern the values that guide us? 

 

Luke's gospel describes a necessary element of that preparation, John the Baptist.

 

The degree of John’s kinship with Jesus is unclear.  Luke’s magnificent first chapter described the first encounter between John and Jesus, “. . . and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit cried out in a loud voice and said ‘Most Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  And how does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  For the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leapt for joy.” 

 

Who was this herald known as John? 

 

In some art work, avant-garde movies, and whacked-out novels, John is oftentimes depicted as somewhere between drugged out hippie and a wild-eyed lunatic who dressed in animal skins and ate a diet that, by modern standards, would be considered inedible, except by the fat guy on the Food Channel who ate bizarre foods for a living. 

 

Fortunately, we have credible testimony about John from a variety of contemporary sources.  Luke’s Gospel, in particular, situates John’s appearance around A.D. 27.  In addition to being attested in all four Gospels,  John is mentioned in the Antiquities of Josephus, an historian who lived from about A.D. 37 to 100.  He wrote the following about John: “He was a good man and had exhorted the Jews to lead righteous lives, to practice justice toward their fellows and piety toward God, and in so doing to join in baptism. . . (a baptism that) was a necessary preliminary if baptism  was to be acceptable to God."  Josephus went on to explain that baptism was not to be used so as to gain pardon for whatever sins an individual committed, but as a consecration of the body because the soul was already thoroughly cleansed by right behavior. 

 

John’s non-PETA approved mode of dressing was no different from that of any other desert dweller.  The animal skins were necessary during cold desert nights.  His diet had nothing to do with radical vegetarianism, veganism, low-fat, or other fads.  His diet was driven by the much more prosaic need to maintain ritual purity of his diet.  His dress and diet are irrelevant during this holy season. His message, however, is as relevant to us today as it was to the ancient Judeans, both those who sought him out and those whom he criticized. 

 

As Josephus noted, he “exhorted the Jews to lead righteous lives, to practice justice toward their fellows and piety toward God.”  Justice toward one's fellows and piety toward God.  What better way to prepare the way of the Lord? 

 

Truly, the Lord has done great things for us.  Let us be filled with joy as we prepare His way.  

 

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The photos were taken at the Charterhouse in Pleterje, Slovenia when I was doing some work there.  It is old, was founded as a charterhouse, had several changes of "ownership" and eventually returned to the Carthusians.  It I very large as it functioned as a "double" community when some French Carthusians had to go into exile.  

 

A small chapel used for the daily private Mass celebrated by all priests after the conventual Mass.

Lunch.  The monks are vegetarian.  The food was very good and wine very cold. 

The monastic church.  The bells are rung by hand, thus the knotted rope.

The stalls are intricately carved

The rood screen in the church. 

 

 Fr. Jack, SJ, MD