Pictured above are several places important in my sense of God’s grandeur--the mosaic of Christ in the Church of St. Paul Outside the Walls is beautiful, but also recalls the very ordinary grace of the place where pilgrim’s still come and where four several pilgrims first vowed themselves in what became the society of Jesus.  On the far right is a similar image, for me: the very plain desk and chair where Ignatius wrote the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus.  So very ordinary and simple, yet full of extraordinary grace--incarnate love that transforms our world not by magic or power, but by simply being accepted and received.  I love such places and such moments--love to see them, to photograph them, to be part of them.  And they seem to make up my whole life, and the whole life of us all, if we pay attention.

Too often, I think, grace is presented as “magic” that comes rarely into the world from a rather capricious God who drops it here and there, for the lucky among us to find.  But the truth is, I think, that grace is not so rare; indeed, it is the most pervasive element in the universe.  For grace (which is nothing else than God’s own self, pervading the world) is present in every moment and every goofy or grand thing we know or do.  It is part of the most ordinary of days:surrounding us like the air we breathe.  And if we don’t feel it, it is only because we are too busy to take a breath and to let it revive us--or we have been conned into believing that we don’t deserve the grace and love desired for us. 

It is my firm belief that grace is present in every moment of life and is possible in every joy and sorrow.  This website--with its pictures and somewhat random thoughts--can, I hope, be a chance for those of you who visit it to think about your own moments of grace and your own encounters with God’s grandeur.  I invite you to read what you find interesting (I don’t promise constant postings, but hope to keep up with some things I have written), and to look at the photos of some people and places I have been graced to encounter.  Feel free to download what you like and let me know what is helpful to you or if you would just like to comment.

I claim no special expertise in anything that follows--I am not a professional theologian or photographer--but I will say what one of my favorite poets, W.H. Auden said: “I know nothing but what everyone knows: if there when Grace dances, I should dance.”

Blessings,

John D. Whitney, S.J.