Every year during Advent, the four-week season leading up to Christmas, Catholics hear passages from Scripture that remind us to be watchful and ready for the coming of Christ. These passages explain that we are not only awaiting the celebration of Jesus’ birth, but also for his second coming at the end of time. Gabriel …
Around One Table
A few weeks ago, I co-organized and participated in Georgetown’s annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Prayer Service. Brought together by the Office of Campus Ministry and the student Interfaith Council, students representing different religious groups on campus gathered to share prayers, songs, and reflections of gratitude from their particular traditions. Diverse members of the Georgetown community were …
Learning from St. Jean de Brebeuf
Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the North American Martyrs, a group of eight 17th-century Jesuits who were murdered during their missionary work among the Hurons. Though today--informed by pluralism and more open to religious diversity -- we may not agree with the Jesuits' goal to convert the non-Christians, we can learn much …
Palestine and the unanswered question
Back in 2008, I heard about a young Palestinian named Ibrahim Abu Jayyab, who made campaign calls to the U.S. urging Americans to vote for Obama, who he thought would help the Palestinian cause if he became president. When I interviewed Obama in Indianapolis that year, I told him about Ibrahim, and asked him how, if …
9/11/11: A new American anniversary
In my most recent posts, I’ve discussed the terrorist attacks in Norway, offering quite a depressing analysis of their causes and implications, many of which are related to Islamophobia in America. Fear of Muslims existed in the American psyche before September 11, 2001, but the terrorist attacks ten years ago only amplified and cemented those …
JORDAN DENARI DUFFNER 