August 17, 2020
Click on video above: Pastor's Corner - August 17, 2020


created by Eric Clayton
Welcome to our digital retreat!
The goal of this retreat is to provide you or your faith community with a
structured series of modules to prayerfully reflect on where
God might be working in your life, and to invite you to
consider how God might be asking you to respond.
This particular retreat invites you to contemplate how God -- and the stories of God's people -- can and should be represented in the symbols and images with which we surround ourselves and our sacred spaces. Most importantly, this retreat will challenge you to reflect on how those symbols and images translate to concrete action for justice in your everyday life. Fr. James Casciotti, SJ, pastor of St. Ignatius Church in Baltimore, Maryland, guides us through some of the images found in his parish -- and the kind of community these images inspire.

Perhaps this retreat will be an opportunity for you to reflect on the stories you tell, the stories you are a part of. Perhaps it will challenge your faith community to seek out those who are excluded from those stories. Ultimately, it should help you to see how God's great story of humanity is inclusive of each and every one of us.
Justice & Peace
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) & St. Ignatius Catholic Community
Partnering with CRS during the COVID-19 Global Emergency

The St. Ignatius Catholic Community is a long-time supporter of Catholic Relief Services in their efforts to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas.

For the past three years, St. Ignatius has partnered with Catholic Relief Services and the Baltimore Orioles to provide 75,000 packaged meals to women and children in Burkina Faso. Last year, we were able to meet our $1,500 goal. READ MORE
Update on the The Health and Economic Recovery
Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act
Justice & Peace Committee: Economic Justice Subcommittee
Source: Service Employees International Union

Dear Parishioners,

Do you have family & friends in other states? WE NEED YOU!

The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which passed the House of Representatives on May 15th with bipartisan support, includes provisions that would help Maryland avoid additional layoffs and devastating cuts to services. Both Senator Van Hollen & Senator Cardin are in support of the HEROES Act, but we have an obligation to encourage others in our communities to work for justice. Please pass this information on to your friends and family in other states! READ MORE
IFTJ REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
Will you join us?

From October 19th to 26th, virtually join thousands of passionate individuals from across the country and beyond to learn, reflect, pray, connect, and advocate in the context of social justice and solidarity at the 2020 Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice. For more information, click here.
Spiritual Growth Opportunity
Interested in Ignatian Spirituality?

Loyola University Maryland Office of Mission Integration will hold a September 10, 2020,
6 PM ZOOM conference on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. If you are interested in learning more about the full Exercises in Everyday Life (which run from September through April) please contact Sue Cesare (sue-cesare@dexterco.com, 410-493-5908), and she will send you an Invitation to the Zoom Conference.

For more information, contact: sue-cesare@dexterco.com.
My Experience of the Spiritual Exercises
by Kathleen Wegner
I heartily recommend praying the Exercises.  

Praying these exercises, I can honestly say, changed my life…both my internal life and my prayer life.  

The word Graces are used to talk of the benefits the exercises give…Gifts from God, When I look back, there were too many to put on paper! But the largest one was love. READ MORE
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, August 18
7 PM - ZOOM
Resource and Update on Mail-in Ballots
Editor's Note: Parishioner Anne Haddad has been providing us with the information about mail-in voting, which is extremely helpful in this time when incorrect information is being fed about its lack of safety and potential for voter fraud. She gives us more information this week, for which we are grateful.
Hi, again.

A lot of you have expressed that you're worried about putting your ballot into the USPS considering the incompetent and/or diabolical newly appointed head of the postal service. 

The good news is you can drop off your ballot in a secure Maryland State Election Board location if you prefer, but it has to be in the city or county where you are registered. 

Here is the info about turning in your "mail-in" ballot. BTW. "Mail-In" is now the term that replaces the word "Absentee" for ballots. We don't call it absentee anymore, per Maryland General Assembly law passed in May 2020. So it's mail-in, even if you don't put it in the mail. 


You must mail or hand deliver your voted ballot. You cannot submit your voted ballot online, return it by email or fax.

2020 Presidential General Election
Use the envelope provided with your ballot. You can:
  • Hand deliver your ballot. You must deliver it to your local board of elections by 8 pm on election day, or you may take it to an early voting center or a polling place by the time the polls close.
  • Mail your ballot. If you mail your voted ballot, make sure that the envelope is postmarked on or before general election day (November 3, 2020). Your voted ballot must be received by your local board of elections by 10 am on November 13, 2020.

If you have specific questions, please contact your local board of elections or the State Board of Elections.

It isn't all that easy to navigate the Maryland Board of Elections application for a mail-in ballot, so based on my just finishing the process, here are some things I realized:

  1. Use a computer instead of a phone, if you can.
  2. Have your driver's license available, because you have to provide info from it. It will feel like you are registering to vote as well as applying for a mail-in ballot. They ask a lot of information and you have to fill out data fields in a VERY specific way, especially for your street name. Weird and quirky, but just read the instructions carefully.
  3. You will have a choice of having it mailed or having it emailed so you can print it. 
  4. Once you are done applying, you'll get a confirmation page. I saved it as a pdf to my computer. Or you can print it. It says how soon you will hear.

Once Again...below is how you request a Mail-in Ballot
Election officials across the United States are preparing for a surge of mail-in ballots this fall, as fears about voting in-person on Nov. 3 continue amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
But there are also fears about the mail-in voting process. Some are concerned, for example, that a crush of ballots dropped in the mail could result in delays in getting them to election offices and votes not being counted.

  • Several popular posts on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter suggest people should allow “at least 14 days roundtrip” to ensure they can request, fill-out and send back their ballots on time.
  • @USPS says you should give mail in ballots at least 14 days roundtrip. No guarantees. So if you plan to vote by mail, election day isn’t November 3rd. It’s October 20th or sooner.

We advise that you vote as early as you possibly can, and if you plan to vote by mail you should request your ballot now. Below is the link to the Maryland State Board of Elections form to request a mail-in ballot for the November election. You have to request one. It will not be sent to you by default (as it was for the primary in April).
Worship, Offerings, and Prayer
HOW TO GIVE  
How to contribute when we are not during this COVID-19 season.
PRAYER LIST
A list of those who have been added to our weekly prayer list.