A pal from my New York days, scholastic David Paternostro, SJ., is now writing entries on a young Jesuit megablog offering daily retreat meditations inspired by St. Ignatius himself. (Scholastics are essentially Jesuits in priestly formation, and are addressed by the title of "Mister," as opposed to temporal coadjutors, who are called "Brother." Presumably one of our readers can explain better than me, who is basing this on a 30-second glance at Wikipedia). Come on down and have a look!
And yes, Paternostro is his real last name. This is especially funny as the New York archdiocese also has a priest whose first name is Deogratias, if I remember correctly (!).
*Insert Matteo Ricci joke.
Speaking of Matteo Ricci, watch for my article on him in an upcoming issue of Catholic World Report. Shrine readers might also enjoy one of my sources, The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci by Jonathan Spence.
ReplyDeleteGreat! I will look for it. And The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci was airplane reading for me some years ago--fun stuff, though the practicality of his memory technique somewhat eludes me.
ReplyDeleteThe ins and outs of Jesuit formation would take a blog unto itself to explain, but the Mr./Br. thing is right- basically, being a Jesuit priest (and, hence, training to become one) is seen as being a different vocation from being a Jesuit brother, and vice-versa, so that unlike a number of other groups, "brother" isn't used as a sort of default title for members of the Jesuit order.
ReplyDeleteSome last names are just awesome. I know a fellow whose last name is Maristella. I wish I was named for a prayer or title of Our Lady!
ReplyDeleteSadly, I am named for someone who drove a cart.