January 2, 2018 Edition
Carissimi, while the manger is still up, I suggest you prepare for Mass with the following excerpts from an article by Terrance Klein entitled “Why Are There So Many Statues in Catholic Churches?”

…Catholic and Orthodox forms of worship revel in the human. We do more than depict humanity in all its variations on the walls of our churches. We vest mere humans in sacral robes. We light candles, burn incense, smear oil and sprinkle water as though God could come to us through our senses.

There are not many moments in our worship when our bodies are not being used to say something about what we believe, moments when we are not standing, kneeling, processing, crossing ourselves or holding out our hands…

For us, a God beyond the human is inconceivable. We do not mean that the eternal God is limited to the human. Not at all. Like Jews and Muslims, we also insist that God is utterly transcendent, a mystery quite beyond us.

Yet as we, admittedly, cannot conceive of God’s very self, we revel in the self-revelation of God, which, for us, is centered in the human, in the one who is fully God and fully man, Jesus Christ.

Today, many people describe themselves as spiritual rather than religious. They recognize that some true mystery lies far beyond or far beneath themselves. Indeed, this mystery is so transcendent that it need not intrude into their lives. It is something to be pondered when they are ready, at a time of their choosing, in the tranquil cloister of their own thoughts.

What a perfectly lovely form of spirituality! It is so antiseptic, so set free from all the messiness of human life. There are no church leaders to disappoint us. No hypocrites wanting to share a pew. No expectations at all, stemming from a life shared with other believers. No scandal. No sin.

But we, who feel compelled to gather each Sabbath, are dismissed by the enlightened ones as spiritually immature, dependent. We think that we need to hear—and from another human being!—“Your sins are forgiven.”

We think that we need to humbly stretch out our hands when no more than another human says to us, “The Body of Christ.” Why, we don’t even consider ourselves to be married unless we gather in front of other believers and solemnly promise ourselves to God and to them.

We think that little acts of sacrifice and penance are pleasing to a God whom we cannot even comprehend, that such a God takes note when we light a candle…

We truly believe that the utterly inconceivable God comes to us by way of the merely human.
Upon the recommendation of the Pastoral Council, I am exploring the possibility of forming a Liturgical Ministry Committee . I am looking for parishioners who have an understanding of the Liturgy, good organizational skills, and are willing to actively assist with the following tasks:

  • Providing me feedback and suggestions for liturgical planning
  • Training readers, acolytes, ushers, and greeters of all ages for all the Masses
  • Implementing a scheduling software program
  • Developing security and safety procedures during liturgies
  • Composing a weekly call to prayer and the General Intercessions
  • Organizing a flower guild
  • Planning for liturgical seasons and special Feasts
  • Coordinating the ministers at the 10:30 AM and 6:00 PM Masses
  • Encouraging and enhancing children and young adult participation in parish liturgies

If you would like to explore this opportunity for service, please contact me at
Follow Up on Gifts to Hopkins Bayside
Your Christmas Giving at the Child Life Program at Hopkins Bayside

As you remember, because giving back is such an integral part of our Parish community, especially during Advent, we arranged a partnership with the Child Life Specialists at Hopkins Bayview to fill and replenish their toys, board-games, and equipment. This very special group of folks works with children, who often are very sick, to help them process their fears, understand their medical condition, and help to explain what is happening in terms that they and their siblings can understand. ( Click here to view article that articulated our giving goal). We wanted to also share a video with you of the delivery of Christmas toys at Hopkins Bayside, and the gratitude of the staff.
This Week's Main Events
In celebration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., St. Ignatius Church is hosting or participating in a few memorable events that we want to point you towards.
Presented by the Racial Justice Subcommittee of St. Ignatius’ Justice & Peace Committee, I Am Not Your Negro envisions the book that social critic James Baldwin never finished. It is a radical narration about race in America, using Baldwin’s original words, as read by actor Samuel L. Jackson. Alongside a flood of rich archival material, the film draws upon Baldwin’s notes on the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. to explore and bring a fresh and radical perspective to the current racial narrative in America.

Raoul Peck’s Oscar-nominated documentary is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter. It is a film that questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassination of these three leaders, Baldwin and Peck have produced a work that challenges the very definition of what America stands for.

This presentation is the kickoff event of the St. Ignatius’ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Week and will be shown in Ignatian Hall at 7:30 PM.

There is no charge for this event. Popcorn, snacks and beverages will be provided.
Warriors of Healing: "an uplifting of our faith in dismantling the evils of racism"
Saturday, January 13 - 9AM.
Come join our Justice and Peace Committee/Racial Justice Committee, the Racial Justice Circle and our Catholic Community of St. Ignatius as we explore the tenets of our faith using the call of the Gospel to dismantle the sins of racism. Click here for complete information.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Mass of Remembrance
Sunday, January 14, 10:30 AM
Join us at the 10:30 Mass for a special MLK Weekend Mass. Special music and prayers of petition in this Mass in remembrance for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Tribute.


Bishop Madden Prayer walk (MLK focus)
Monday, January 15 - Noon
Join Bishop Madden for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Walk for Peace In Our City. March begins at St. Bernardine Catholic Church. Click here for complete information.

Fight for $15 - Campaign Launch
Monday, January 15 - 5 PM
A Justice & Peace Economic Justice Subcommittee Event. In honor of Dr. King’s dream of ending poverty, join Maryland FF $15 to fight to raise wages for Maryland workers statewide. For complete information, click here .
An Audio Reflection For MLK Week
In keeping with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Week – we wanted to underscore his looking for the "day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

With that in mind we bring you an excellent audio story from Krista Tippet's podcast "On Being." It shows how despite skin color, race or religion, we really all are the same and needful of one another – literally! This story, “The Doctor and the Rabbi” wraps itself around the whimsical and touching inexplicability of life, even spiritual life, and the way our deepest selves find their way in our bodies. Enjoy Ellen Burstyn's rendition of Aimme Bender's "The Doctor and the Rabbi."
Worship with Offerings, Liturgy and Prayers for Others
POOR BOX 
Each weekend St. Ignatius specifies a Poor Box collection for a needful cause. This week's support goes to  Vulnerable Families in Crisis.

MASS MUSIC   
Attached is the listing for the music selections at next Sunday's 10:30 Mass. 
 
PERSECUTED CHRISTIAN REPORT
Weekly updates on Christian persecution around the globe. Keep a prayerful watch on what is happening with your
brothers and sisters! 

Pastoral Council Elections Notification
Dear Parishioners,

The process for electing new Pastoral Council members requires voting to be held over two consecutive weekends, allowing registered parishioners to use paper or electronic ballots. Unfortunately, paper ballots were not available for the first weekend of the scheduled voting this year.  To ensure full conformity with the election process, we are rescheduling the Pastoral Council election for the  weekends of January 6 th - 7 th  and 13 th -14 th .   We are sorry for any inconvenience that this rescheduling may cause to parishioners and to the Pastoral Council candidates.   Please remember to cast your ballot, by paper or electronically, on the weekends of  January 6 th -7 th  or January 13 th -14 th .     

You will receive the electronic ballot on the morning of January 6th with bios on each candidate and voting instructions. For those who choose to vote with a paper ballot, they will be available at all Masses on both weekends.
In the Media
2017 Alters the Landscape of the US Church

by Michael Sean Winters

Looking back at 2017 in the life of the Catholic Church in the United States, we can discern how the reforms introduced by Pope Francis are beginning to alter the ecclesial landscape in this country. There is still a way to go, to be sure, but the trajectory is much clearer as 2017 comes to an end than it was at the beginning of the year.

The first event was the appointment of   Bishop Roy Campbell  as an auxiliary bishop of Washington, D.C., in March. The appointment of an African-American auxiliary in the nation's capital came less than six months after Bishop Martin Holley, the previous auxiliary, was installed as the bishop of Memphis, Tennessee, in October 2016. READ MORE
by  Paul McMullen

Archbishop William E. Lori and Mayor Catherine Pugh were among those pausing to pray for peace and console the families of victims as the deadliest year in the history of Baltimore City neared an end.

The archbishop was among the faith leaders joining a Dec. 28 vigil called for by Pugh. It was held the day after the city reported its homicide count for 2017 at 343 victims. That surpasses the total recorded this year in New York City, which has more than 13 times the population.

At nearly 56 murders per 100,000 people, it’s Baltimore’s deadliest year per capita. READ MORE
Mince Pies Amid Persecution

Thomas Hodgson had trouble sleeping on Christmas Eve in 1599. He was a man of Catholic sympathies, well-connected in recusant circles and teaching children in the household of Elizabeth Vaux. For all that, he had continued to conform to the Protestant religious settlement of late Tudor England.

“On the very night of Christmas,” as the Jesuit missionary priest John Gerard reported, Hodgson had listened to the Catholic liturgy echoing through the halls...
Top Five Under-Appreciated Vatican Stories of 2017

ROME - For New Years’ past, I offered an annual list of the most under-covered Vatican stories of the previous twelve months because, in the late St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI years, the media wasn’t really paying regular attention to the papacy, and plenty of important stuff would slip through the cracks.
In the Pope Francis era, all that has changed. Whatever challenges his papacy may have had in 2017, fading out of the global media spotlight certainly wasn’t among them.
“Here I Am, Lord”:
The little-known story
behind a Catholic hit

"I the Lord of sea and sky…”

So begins one of the most popular—and most divisive—pieces of modern liturgical music.

Dan Schutte’s “Here I Am, Lord,” consistently   scores   highly in surveys of Catholics’ and Christians’ favorite hymns. An informal Twitter  survey  of America readers’ opinions on the song brought a variety of responses, all of them strong.