Make the World a Brighter Place

This first homily was given on the feast of St. Anthony of Padua at the Church of San Ginés, dedicated to the French Saint Genès d'Arles. This is one of the oldest churches in Madrid. Fr. Michael preached after an all-night plane ride and a full day of touring Madrid, the highlight of which was visiting the famous Prado art museum. From June 12 - 23, 50 pilgrims embarked on a 10-day pilgrimage to Spain, visiting the sites associated with St. Ignatius Loyola and other Saints of Spain. The trip was sponsored by the Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House. They were led by Fr. Michael Sparough, SJ as the spiritual leader for the group, assisted by Erin Maiorca - the Executive Director of Bellarmine, Betsey Beckman - who led movement prayer, Bob McCaffery-Lent - who led the music, and Fr. Mark Scalese, SJ - who assisted as Associate Chaplain for the group. For the next ten weeks we will be watching and listening to homilies from this in-depth exploration of Ignatian spirituality. Fr. Michael describes a pilgrimage as 1/3 spiritual exercise, 1/3 history lesson, and 1/3 hyper-active vacation. The pilgrimage was both physically demanding and spiritually enriching. We hope you enjoy this special Summer series!