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Writer's pictureProfiles in Catholicism
Jun 13, 201817 min read

Religious Orders | The Society of Jesus

Updated: Jul 23, 2021

Prayers


Prayer in Memory of Father Stan Swamy SJ


India, India why have you killed your greatest son who served the poor and lifted up the wretched and oppressed. No greater champion, a saintly servant gave his life for them, and died suffering in distress. He served the poor, the powers banded him subversive, as Jesus was, and locked him in the dark cruel cell, He was denied his rights, medical help and lived in human hell.

At 84 this Jesuit Priest, Stan Swamy was falsely blamed and put on trial,| tagged terrorist in his elderly years weak and frail. He suffered Parkinson’s and other illness from his life of poverty and denial, A man who stood for justice and died a prisoner while the judiciary denied his bail. Who is more corrupt, the police or prosecutor, the judges or the system that steals the wealth? addIt leaves poverty and great hunger, pain and misery for the poor that is sorely felt.

Let the protests grow and may his memory never fade, until the greatest debt of gratitude with all respect and honor is duly paid. Father Stan is the man who fought for truth and justice, he lived among the poor, He organized them to speak their needs and from oppression rise, Until the iron fist of Modi fell fast and hard with sudden shock and surprise. Yet Stan lives on, his life and words are there to guide, lead us on and set us afire, So none of us will forget to follow his example and fight for justice and to his greatness we aspire. Amen by Father Shay Cullen Profiles in Catholicism


A Prayer Father Stan Swamy, S.J.


Good and gracious God.


Father Stan Swamy, S.J. died in the hospital after being put on a ventilator. He had COVID and other diseases that added to his underlying issues. He was among 16 accused in a sedition case. They were charged under the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the federal National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is tasked to combat terrorist activities. Charges under UAPA are considered non-bailable. Please welcome Father Swamy into your loving arms as he has served you tirelessly for over 50 years. Help the others captured with him. We ask you this through Jesus Christ, His Son, Our Lord. Please help all those in India to receive the vaccine necessary for their health.

by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism



A Prayer for Father Ray Schroth, SJ


Good and gracious God,


We bring to you the life of your Jesuit son Father Ray Schroth, SJ. He was a priest, a journalist, and a teacher of students. He was rigorous in his class preparations. He demanded much of his students and was popular among them. He cared for their well-being. He befriended many; encouraged all. He presided at the weddings of more than a few. His teaching inspired generations of learners, men, and women, now well into their professional lives. Among them, notable attorneys and journalists, including Pulitzer Prize winners. As much as he loved to teach, he also loved to report. He viewed journalism as a noble calling. In an NCR review of a 2018 Seymour Hersh memoir, Schroth wrote: "Journalism embodies the basic virtues of society. We need the press to condemn what is wrong and embrace what is best for the community." His keen moral outlook spilled beyond his classes. While teaching at Fordham, for example, he initiated the "Great Walk," an annual student trek from Manhattan's Battery Park to the Bronx campus, showing them parts of New York City that they might not otherwise see, according to one Fordham News account. We see Lord, a man who balances his relationship with you and his dedication to the students he teaches as well as the words he writes. Schroth used his literature classes to excite minds, to explore the human condition, and to cast light and hope. He was passionate and frequently made waves; his style did not always endear him to his peers. During his career, he left his marks at Rockhurst College, Loyola University New Orleans, Georgetown University, Fordham, College of the Holy Cross, and St. Peter's College in Jersey City, New Jersey, where he ended up a professor of humanities.


Dear Lord, during his short but prolific life on earth he wrote eight books. Two were biographies, choices that revealed his heroes, and some of his character. He focused his biographical research on Eric Sevareid, the CBS newscaster, and Jesuit Fr. Robert Drinan, who served six terms in Congress. Of Schroth's The American Journey of Eric Sevareid, a Los Angeles Daily News reviewer wrote that it was "as much a primer on good journalism as it is a biography." Schroth admired Drinan, 13 years his senior, and another Jesuit of passion and global reach. Schroth's admiration showed in his treatise Bob Drinan: The Controversial Life of the First Catholic Priest Elected to Congress). Publisher’s Weekly seemed to get it right when it called the book a "loving tribute." As a book enthusiast, Schroth enjoyed compiling book lists. He was attracted to the classics but also sought out books that he felt shed extra light or hope. His life, Lord was filled with joy in doing the work for the kingdom. Bless him now and forever.

by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism



Good and Gracious God,

We are horrified by the testimony of a former Salvadoran army officer that the "high command" gave orders to eliminate Jesuits priests during the country's civil war in 1989. These men were the priests to the people, Lord, and ministering to their needs. As with Pontius Pilate, the Central American country's president knew of the crimes to be committed and did not intervene.

These men with their housekeeper were brutally treated, Lord, by a former colonel in the army of  El Salvador, who is on trial in Spain, Inocente Orlando Montano, on the campus of the Catholic University. Lord, we beg you to help the people of El Salvador who bear the brunt of this loss, help them to continue to heal even 30 years later.

At the testimony July 8, Mendoza said his superior, Guillermo Benavides, a former colonel and then-director of the army academy, told troops the night before the crime that an order had come to move against Spanish Jesuit Father Ignacio Ellacuria, rector of Central American University in San Salvador. May Guillermo Benavides, realize how the horror and evil of this act affected the entire community.  Assist all in San Salvador to heal.  May the plentitude of vocations to the priesthood for the Jesuits in this region continue to flourish and make a difference. by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism

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