Leadership and Authority
Carissimi:
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This week I offer you this quotation from Fr. Nouwen. I can’t help but think of Pope Francis, our own Archbishop, Fr. Watters and a host of Jesuits I have known after almost 50 years in the Society…
Mostly we think of people with great authority as higher up, far away, hard to reach. But spiritual authority comes from compassion and emerges from deep inner solidarity with those who are "subject" to authority. The one who is fully like us, who deeply understands our joys and pains or hopes and desires, and who is willing and able to walk with us, that is the one to whom we gladly give authority and whose "subjects" we are willing to be.
It is the compassionate authority that empowers, encourages, calls forth hidden gifts, and enables great things to happen. True spiritual authorities are located in the point of an upside-down triangle, supporting and holding into the light everyone they offer their leadership to.
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Article by Marshall Segal
God wants you to be great.
What would make your life feel great? Would it be a spouse or children or more children? Would it be a better job — more pay, better boss, more responsibility? Maybe it would be more time buried in your reading list or watching football on Sundays or shopping without a budget. All great, but are they great enough?
God refuses to define the greatness of your life in dollars or cents, family or friends or kids, promotions or raises, accomplishments or recognition or fun. He loves you too much, and there’s too much at stake. When Jesus said he came that you might have a full and abundant life (
John 10:10
), he wasn’t promising less debt, longer vacations, or more power in the company.
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His promise is real, and following him will satisfy us beyond our wildest imaginations, but it won’t look like so much other so-called greatness around us.
The greatest people in our little world — George Clooney, Ellen Degeneres, Tim Cook, Beyoncé, Tom Brady, etc. — are beloved by millions and yet most of them are missing the real meaning of their talent, their influence, their life. Even the greatest only taste the cheap hors d’oeuvres of life and greatness. Stars are insanely enjoyed, celebrated, even worshipped, sometimes for 10, 25, even 100 years.
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"I know what God makes possible..."
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- by Respect for Life ministry member - Brendan Cassidy
First off, our committee is at a unique geographic advantage for this event. Others traversed the nation; Frank Richardson and I caught the 9:30 AM train from Baltimore-Penn to Union Station. Not sure how much the government shutdown was part of the lack of congestion, but it was a smooth trip in and walking to the Mall.
After that, things got crowded. We had a small group of 2 dozen Baltimoreans to find and even with a strong landmark (Washington Monument) as the agreed meeting spot, it took a bit of time and coordinating. Also, phones run out of battery faster when hundreds of thousands of people are putting photos on social media in the same place and time. So, if you attend next year, bring a portable battery and don't expect it to last.
Anyway, once Frank and I finally got to our friends from the Basilica on Cathedral Street, we settled in to hear the speakers.
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Here's A Helpful Winter Tip!
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Video: How To Rescue Yourself After Falling In Ice
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Tuesday, February 12 - 6:30 PM
Iñigo Book Group
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Thursday, February 14 - 6:30 PM
Justice & Peace Committee Meeting
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Monday, February 18 (5:30 - 8 PM)
Fight for $15 Lobby Night in Annapolis
For complete information see box below
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Tuesday, February 19 - 6:45 PM
Women of the New Testament
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Thursday, February 21 - 6:30 PM
Interfaith/Ecumenical Committee Meeting
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Sunday, February 24 - 9:45 AM
Respect for Life
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Sunday, February 24 - 11:45 AM
Speaker: Dr. Mireille Twayigira
See box below for complete information
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Tuesday, February 26 - 5:30 PM
Bishop Madden Prayer Walk for Peace in the City
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Tuesday, February 26 - 7 PM
Embracing God's Gifts
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Next Monday: Join us for "Fight for $15" Lobby Night
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The Fight for $15: Join us for Lobby Night
On January 29, 2019, leaders from the Maryland Legislature announced their priorities for the 2019 legislative season, and the Fight for $15 was front and center. In a press release, the Senate President and House Speaker announced their goal of strengthening middle class families across Maryland in 2019 as they focus on policy changes for prescription drugs, health care, public safety, the environment, and raising the minimum wage. This push is centered around the idea of making the cost of living more affordable so middle class families in Maryland can prosper.
This is monumental for the Fight for $15 movement, which is a nationwide cause with the goal of making sure that every worker can be fairly compensated in order to provide basic necessities for themselves and their families. Specifically in Maryland, the Fight for $15 movement has been calling on the state legislature to stand up for the working people in our state and raise the minimum wage from $10.10 to $15 by 2023. According to the Baltimore Sun, supporters of the Fight for $15, including the Maryland NAACP, faith leaders, unions, and varying progressive groups, argue the higher wage is necessary to provide a basic standard of living. Minimum-wage jobs are no longer just for teenagers; families are increasingly relying on them. By raising this wage, over 700,000 households in Maryland would benefit and over 300,000 children would have at least one parent affected by this raise.
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SUNDAY FEBRUARY 24TH AT 11:45AM
Chapel of Grace
St Ignatius Catholic Community
740 N Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD
As a refugee forced to flee from conflict Dr. Mireille Twayigira’s story is one of survival and resilience.
Dr. Mireille Twayigira’s story is one of both survival and resilience. Mireille spent much of her early childhood in search of a home. After a tragic and difficult journey in which she lost her sister, mother, and grandmother, Mireille found hope through education. Mireille received an education through Jesuit Refugee Service at Dzaleka camp in Malawi, which led to a scholarship to medical school in China. Now Mireille, who says she was “meant to serve others,” uses her medical degree and her story to help others heal and maintain hope.
Join Jesuit Refugee Service/USA and St. Ignatius Catholic Community in Baltimore to hear Mireille’s inspiring story and what can be done to ensure more refugee children receive an education and an opportunity for a hopeful future.
* A part of the Full of Hope Tour
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Worship with Offerings, Liturgy and Prayers for Others
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POOR BOX
This week's Poor Box support goes to help
The Ignatian
Spirituality Project
.
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MASS MUSIC
Attached is the listing for the music selections at next Sunday's 10:30 Mass.
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PRAYERS OF PETITION
Attached are the Prayers of
Petition for this week.
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Anthony Ray Hinton’s memoir of his wrongful imprisonment for 30 years for three murders he did not commit is a riveting account of the multiple outrages of the criminal justice system of Alabama. But that isn’t what makes this a genuine spiritual experience: that comes from the nearly biblical capacity of the author to endure, to forgive, and finally to triumph. He has one message for everyone who will listen:
“Our system is broken, and it’s time to put a
stop to the death penalty. As my good friend
Bryan Stevenson says, the moral arc of the
universe bends toward justice — but justice needs help.”
Discussions through the book:
"The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row"
Facilitated by Fr. Joseph Michini, S.J.
Sundays, 2–3:30 p.m.
February 17, 24, March 3, 10
Ignatius House – Loyola University
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This week we hear the story of a couple who is helping
transform survivor lives through the study of God's Word.
~~~~~~~~~~
The world can be unbelievably dark. I did not know much about sex trafficking where so many are abused day by day. When I learned about it, I can remember thinking the human trafficking crisis is so devastating; the pictures and statistics are staggering and confirmed the craziness and darkness of this world. I began to grow in awareness by attending seminars and volunteering with organizations that are committed to fighting for the freedom and restoration of those who have been sexually exploited.
True freedom and transformation comes from Christ, and my desire has always been to ensure that whatever organization I had the opportunity to partner with in anti-trafficking efforts would be rooted in Christ.
About two years ago, there was a request for a couple to lead Bible study at The Samaritan Women and my wife and I were ecstatic about the opportunity. We knew this would be an opportunity to share our love for Christ, study His Word with the women of TSW, and be a part of God's transformation process.
After three semesters at TSW, it has been such a tremendous blessing to study the scriptures with the women and see the spiritual fruit that has come about during their time of rest and transformation. By volunteering at TSW, not only do we help residents with their spiritual walk, but we also see God at work transforming women who have been subjected to the dark world. God uses The Samaritan Women to rescue and restore the hope of Him in these women's lives and our own. What a privilege to be a part of the everlasting work of God and see firsthand how God moves. The world's craziness and darkness doesn't stand a chance. ~Rick and Jamie Harris
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The Return of Daniel Berrigan’s ‘The Trial of the Catonsville Nine’
Rob Weinert-Kendt
February 08, 2019
On May 17, 1968, nine Catholic activists, including two priests, staged a potent bit of political theater outside a Knights of Columbus Hall in Catonsville, Maryland. Using homemade napalm concocted from gasoline and soap, they burned 378 draft files they had taken from a small office the Selective Service had leased in that building—documents that presumably would have sent that number of young American men to fight in the increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam.
The use of napalm was hardly incidental, as the compound’s use by U.S. forces in Vietnam was infamous not only for burning villages but for sticking to human flesh. The group’s eloquent spokesman, Daniel Berrigan, S.J., memorably summed up the meaning of the gesture: “Our apologies, good friends, for the fracture of good order, the burning of paper instead of children.”
"On May 17, 1968, nine Catholic activists,
including two priests, staged a potent bit
of political theater outside a Knights of
Columbus Hall in Catonsville, MD."
A few years later, after a trial had found all nine guilty and most had served a few years in prison
(
Mary Moylan
remained on the run until 1978), Berrigan turned the ordeal into a play, “The Trial of the Catonsville Nine,” staged first in Los Angeles and later turned into a film. A stirring, often poetic piece of protest art, it is being brought to vivid new life in an Off-Broadway revival by the New York City company the
Transport Group
.
Where previous productions staged it as a more or less straightforward courtroom drama, the director Jack Cummings III has reimagined it as a kind of found text, recited and enacted by three Asian American actors.
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Everywhere I turn someone is talking about personality tests, and more and more they are talking about the Enneagram. Our culture craves self-knowledge. Tell me my spirit animal or Hogwarts house, and you know I’ll share my results on Facebook.
I find it both surprising and ironic that the Enneagram has so quickly gained popularity in the culture while some evangelicals remain suspicious of the tool. After all, it is a system that robustly affirms our sin and brokenness. As Western Seminary professor Chuck DeGroat recently reminded skeptical conservative Christians, “The Enneagram has people of all stripes talking about besetting sin patterns. Can you imagine that? It takes sin far more seriously than any contemporary psychological tool, perhaps so seriously that it’s shattering behavioral sin paradigms that give people a false sense of control.”
Recently, a prominent Evangelical leader condemned the Enneagram as “an approach to spirituality that is alien to, and often at odds with, the language and contours of Scripture.” But as Howard Baker, professor of Christian formation at Denver Seminary, stated, “Some evangelicals are wary, skeptical, or critical of the Enneagram based on one author’s interpretation or use of it. That would be like discarding the Bible after reading one ultra-liberal commentary on it.”
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READER NOTIFICATION:
"Parish: the thought" is a publication of St. Ignatius Catholic Community, Baltimore. Each edition contains articles and news feeds that are included for awareness of current topics in our world today. The positions expressed by outside authors and news feeds are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of St. Ignatius Catholic Community or its staff.
- This e-zine was compiled by John C. Odean
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