February 6, 2018 Edition
Click above for video on "The Archbishop's Annual Appeal"
Carissimi,

The Archbishop’s Annual Appeal is underway this week with the in in-pew solicitation. I rely on your patience and generosity! 

This campaign and the other fund-raising we do is about being Catholic . We are part of a Church “spread throughout the world.” 

We start with family, but we are always calling one another to expand the bonds of family to our parish, to our city, to all the poor, the vulnerable, the oppressed. It doesn’t matter if they are Catholic. They are in the family because we are Catholic.

Last year we raised just over $125,000 and received back $51,000. Last year 259 of our 900 households made some donation. 

This number needs to be higher. Being with u s means showing up to be part of the worshiping and serving community, having a prayer life, and supporting us financially.

  • The Annual Appeal helps struggling parishes in east and west Baltimore provide religious education and youth ministry. 

  • A large portion funds programs of Catholic Charities serving the poor and vulnerable of all races and religions. Funds also assist low-income families so they can send their children to Catholic schools.

  • The parish’s share supports lectures, movie nights, Reeves Gallery, the Hospitality Committee, the parish picnic, publications we give out during the year, religious formation for our kids, the Justice and Peace Committee, New Year’s Eve, the Green Team, and ministry to young adults and young families.

This weekend, we have the opportunity to make a single contribution or sign a pledge over eight months. 

Just as my job is to call out the best in you, your constant partnership and generosity is a support and a very helpful challenge for me. You bring out the best in me. Just sayin’. 

God bless.
How to Prepare for Lent
With Lent beginning next week on Ash Wednesday, we thought it would be helpful to provide a couple of prompts to prepare ourselves for the Lenten season. Below is a video by Fr. Mike Smith at Ascension Videos as well as an article from the Ignatian Spirituality website. Hope they are helpful!
Video: How To Prepare for Lent by Fr. Mike Smith
How to Prepare for Lent

by Vinita Hampton Wright

How do you  prepare for Lent ? How have you prepared in the past? What are your ideas about what should happen during Lent?

We have the traditional Catholic practices of praying, fasting, and almsgiving. So, we pray more than usual, or we pray with different emphases. We eat smaller or fewer meals or give up a favorite food or drink group. We give more of our resources or give them specifically to special works of mercy during Lent.

Prayer, fasting, and charitable giving continue to be quite good practices during Lent or at any time.

But, you might think, how do I prepare myself for this season? What needs to happen within so that I can practice with more integrity and intention whatever I’m doing on the outside? READ MORE
Lenten Grown Opportunity
Then your light shall  break forth  like the dawn. [Isaiah 58:8 ]
 
Fr. Casciotti -  How will our light “break forth” this Lent to restore and repair our world?
 
This Lent, the Ignatian Solidarity Network is facilitating an online reflection series entitled  "Break Forth: A Lenten Call to Solidarity."  From Ash Wednesday until Easter Monday, we will offer a daily reflection exploring a response to injustice through the lens of daily readings and Ignatian spirituality.

Uniting voices engaged in work for  immigration advocacy, racial equality, criminal justice reform, alleviation of poverty, and environmental justice , we consider how the words of Isaiah call us to act with justice—to let our light “break forth like the dawn” by being the best versions of ourselves— working together to build a world in which the dignity of all people is upheld.

Lenten series contributors include:
  • José Cabrera, Xavier University student, DACA recipient, and immigration activist
  • Karen Clifton, Executive Director, Catholic Mobilizing Network
  • Cecilia González-Andrieu, professor of theology, Loyola Marymount University
  • Fr. James Martin, SJ, author and Editor-at-Large, America Magazine
  • Patricia McGuire, President, Trinity Washington University
  • Sr. Norma Pimentel, MJ, Executive Director, Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley
  • Maria Stephan, Senior Advisor, U.S. Institute of Peace

Individuals can subscribe to receive the daily reflections via e-mail  here . They will also be shared via social media on  Facebook  and  Twitter . 
Upcoming Events and Meetings

Justice & Peace Committee
Thursday, February 8, 6:30 PM
Click here for complete information.

Mardi Gras Potluck
Sunday, February 11, 7 PM
Click here for complete information.

Ash Wednesday Masses
Wednesday, February 14
Click here for Mass schedule.
Green Team Meeting
Thursday, February 15, 7PM
Click here for Mass schedule.

Women of the New Testament
Tuesday, February 20, 6:45 PM
Click here for complete information.
Lenten Evening of Reflections
Wednesdays (February 21, March 7 and 14) - 6 PM
Click here for complete information.



St. Ignatius Concert Artists
Wednesday February 21, 7:30 PM
For complete information see box below
Young Family Ministry: "Coffee & Conversation at R House"
Saturday, February 24, 10 AM
Click here for complete information.
Respect for Life Meeting
Sunday, February 25, 9:45 AM
Click here for complete information.
Mark Your Calendar
St. Elizabeth Resident Council Presents 

SAINT IGNATIUS CONCERT ARTISTS
On Harp, Violins, & Piano

Wednesday, February 21, 2018 - 7:30 PM

Performing: Debussy, Bach, Cole Porter,Fritz Kreisler, Vivaldi,
Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Scriabin   , and Victor Young

Performers: Julia Martin Frazier, Nick Currie, Carter Richardson, Tim Murphy

Mercy Auditorium at Stella Maris
2300 Dulaney Valley Rd. 21093

All Welcome. Refreshments. $2.00 Donation
It's Time to Register for the 5K
Run (or Walk) in the Park for Others

Register now for Runners for Others: An Ignatian 5K. The 3.1-mile race and 1-mile family walk kick off at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 7, in Patterson Park. Click here to register through Charm City Run, or paste www.MDSJ.org/Ignatian5K i nto your browser.

As an extra incentive, all who come to the registration table after the March 11 Sunday Masses will get a free Ignatian 5K T-shirt (while they last) if they show registration confirmation or register on the spot.

The family-friendly race allows strollers and leashed dogs; children 10 and younger register for free. All parishioners are welcome to come join the fun and support the runners. To volunteer with the race, send your name and contact information to anne.haddad1@gmail.com .
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 the
Ignatian Spirituality Project.

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! 

From the Parish Office
You Are Not Forgotten

If you or someone you know are unable to get to Mass and would like a pastoral visit with or without Communion, please call the parish office, 410 727 3838, and make arrangements with Deacon Weber for such a visit. God does not want anyone to feel left out of the His community, especially if they cannot physically join in every week. Peace.
Helping with Lenten Meals

On several Wednesdays during Lent there will be a combination of Mass and a simple supper in Ignatian Hall with a brief teaching by Fr. A.J Rizzo, S.J. to provide spiritual nurture in the Ignatian tradition. If you are able to bring a Lenten soup, salad or bread, please contact Diane White at  dwhite718@comcast.net  OR Rose Ann D'Alesandro at  rdalesandro@jesuits.org . Your contribution to the Lenten "lite supper" will be greatly appreciated.
In the Media
Lay students receiving a pastoral theology certificate in Spanish line up before Mass and a graduation ceremony in January 2016 at Holy Spirit Church in Atlanta. (CNS/Georgia Bulletin/Thomas Spink)

Let Laity Lead Parishes, Priests' Resolution Urges US Bishops

by  Peter Feuerherd | Jan 25, 2018


Priests are graying, fewer in number, with little relief in sight.

That reality was the impetus for a  resolution  endorsed by the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests, calling upon Catholic bishops in the United States to enlist the aid of lay pastoral workers to administer parishes.

Passed by the association at its convention in Atlanta last June, the resolution calls upon the church to allow "well prepared pastoral ministers who, working

collaboratively with canonical pastors, can know, guide and accompany the faithful on their journey of faith via parish communities." READ MORE
Seminary Student and Future Pastor Nick Foles Named Super Bowl MVP

Last night, Nick Foles led his underdog Philadelphia Eagles to a victory over the New England Patriots, throwing for nearly 400 yards. He was named Super Bowl MVP.

But his personal story is even more incredible than his on-the-field performance. Two years ago, he contemplated retiring and walking away from the game. He was cut from the St. Louis Rams on the TV show Hard Knocks in a painful moment that  ended up going viral .

However, as he  explained  in  t his video  for the YouVersion Bible app:

"I kept reading Scripture, I kept praying, I kept asking God—and so many of us ask God for signs, we ask God, ‘Hey, please just put it on the wall, like, I want to know,’ but that’s not how it works. He’s not always going to do that. He was shaping me. He was bringing me down to my knees … At that moment, through that prayer, He said, ‘Hey, just take a step of faith. You’re either going to stop playing the game of football and you’re going to go onto a different area of your life and I’m going to be with you, I’m going to be the most important thing in your life, or you’re going to step back into football and you’re going to continue to play and I’m going to be with you every step of the way and you’re going to play to glorify me." READ MORE