Celebrating the Life of John Surette, SJ

1934 – 2023

 

Once Upon a Universe, painted by Mary Southard, CSJ

We received the message below from Maureen Wild of Sisters of Earth.

A wonderful Brother of Earth, deeply inspired by the universe story and the teachings of Thomas Berry, passionate lover of earth and cosmos, John was co-founder of Spiritearth in 1990 with Sister Mary Southard, CSJ (our Sisters of Earth co-founder in 1994). For many years he produced and disseminated the Spiritearth newsletter with its wonderful reflections, many of which were written by SOE. He was author of the book, The Divine Dynamic – Exploring the Relationships between Humans, Earth, and The Creative Power of the Universe. He preached many retreats on the theme of how the story of the universe enriches our images of God. John’s homilies consistently invited listeners to come to deeper understandings of what it means to be human in relationship to the Sacred Universe.

Link to his obituary.  Click here!

A short reflection by John just two years ago, Dec 2021: Understanding Ourselves, Imagining the Divine:
https://www.jesuitseast.org/our-work/justice_and_ecology/surettereflections/december2021/

And he wrote this to his Jesuit brothers about his dream as an older Jesuit:
https://www.ecojesuit.com/the-dream-of-an-older-jesuit/

Here’s a link to a recording of his mass service: https://campioncenter-my.sharepoint.com/…/ETPpwoTD4A9Bj…

Thank you for blessing our journeys with your joyful, warm, reflective presence, and for all your wonderful contributions to the Great Work.