February 18, 2020
The Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries Week III
Carissimi:

Last weekend I popped into the pulpit at all the Masses to conduct the in-pew solicitation for the Annual Appeal.

How moving—and humbling —it is to watch so many of you filling out the form and making a gift as I intone, “Notice the box in the upper right corner.”

I’d much rather hole up in my office and try to figure out how to make what you already generously give go further.

I’ve been thinking this week of the implications of doing just that. It would be a lack of faith in you and in the Lord. It would say, “I’m embarrassed to ask for help; I’m not sure I’ll get any help; I’ll just make do with what I have and what I can control.”

I think most of us struggle with the temptation to think small, to try to go it alone—fear of failure, yes, but deeper, fear that the nurture you say you trust in isn’t really there.

Part of the grace in following the Lord is that you get invited and pulled into going out of yourself and being vulnerable enough to be used for something bigger and more noble.

I know this is true for me and I see our parish receiving and responding to this grace.

With gratitude and affection,
Reflections
By Bonnie Gray

I didn’t know that I was hiding. I’ve always been good at praying. Or so I thought.

My dad left when I was 7. I’ve always looked to God as my Father, my provider. What I didn’t realize is that God wants to be more than just my provider. 
God longs to be my soul’s confidante—deep where I feel lonely, where I struggle to receive and make space for me.

Loneliness is something I usually cover up by getting things done. It looks good because I’m well rewarded for checking boxes and being productive. Even in ministry.

But at the end of the day, even though I’ve accomplished a lot, I don’t feel like I’ve fully lived. Because what I really want, I didn’t make space for: to be known. I did not nurture my soul with God. READ MORE
Great Growth Opportunities and Fellowship During Lent
Lent 2020 will begin on Wednesday, February 26 and end on Thursday, April 9. This holy season is a special time to grow closer to Christ and to one another.

We invite you to join us each Wednesday in March for Lent: Wednesday Evenings of Reflection from 6 to 7:30 PM.

We will celebrate Mass at 6 PM in the Chapel of St. Peter Claver, then share a simple supper in Ignatian Hall with a brief reflection and discussion to provide spiritual nurture in Ignatian tradition. Mass will be presided over by Fr. Jim and Deacon Andrew.

The evening is co-sponsored by The Justice and Peace and The Hospitality Committees.

We have created a Lenten Portal which will take you to each Wednesday evenings' focus, readings, and questions that will be part of the each week's discussion. You will also be able to RSVP for each session which will allow us to plan for the necessary printed materials and the food for our simple suppers we will share together. Our hope is that this portal will allow you to prepare yourself before you arrive. If you don't get to the readings...come anyway! To enter the Wednesday Evenings of Reflection portal, click here .
Just 'cuz I liked it
Young Boy Was Singing “Hallelujah,” But Pay Attention When His Friends Join In
Editor's Note: Leonard Cohen wrote “Hallelujah” in 1984. The song wasn’t very popular at first, but slowly it gained popularity. When Jeff Buckley released his cover, it got even more famous. It has been covered by many people over time. Artists including Bob Dylan, John Cale, Willie Nelson, and Rufus Wainwright have already done fabulous covers. The version below however may be unlike anything you have heard before! It is sung by a group of little kids. These children are from the PS 22 in Graniteville, Staten Island, New York City — the largest elementary school in Staten Island. The chorus is composed of 60 –7 0 fifth graders.

The solo performance is given by a fourth grader named Elisha. He does a magnificent job in this. So why am I sharing it this week? I dunno — emotion just swelled up in me as I witnessed their passion and the beauty of the performance. So I thought I'd pass it on.
Director of Communications
Worship with Offerings, Liturgy, and Prayers for Others
POOR BOX 
This weekend's Poor Box support goes to support the
Ignatian Spirituality Project.
MASS MUSIC   
Attached is the listing for the music selections at next Sunday's 10:30 Mass.
DAILY EXAMEN
Reflections for your
spiritual growth.
Upcoming Events

Thursday, February 20 (6:30 PM)
Interfaith Committee
For complete information, click here .



Sunday, February 23 (6:45 AM)
Respect for Life
For complete information, click here .


Tuesday, February 25 (6:45 PM)
Women of the New Testament
For complete information, click here .
Growth Opportunities in the Area
From: Writers LIVE!

Tuesday, February 18
7:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Central Library, Wheeler Auditorium
400 Cathedral Street, Baltimore, MD 21201


Presented in partnership with OSI-Baltimore . Jerry Mitchell will be in conversation with Morgan State University professor E. R. Shipp.

In Race Against Time, Jerry Mitchell takes readers on the twisting, pulse-racing road that led to the reopening of four of the most infamous killings from the days of the civil rights movement, decades after the fact. His work played a central role in bringing killers to justice for the assassination of Medgar Evers, the firebombing of Vernon Dahmer, the 16th Street Church bombing in Birmingham, and the Mississippi Burning case. Mitchell reveals how he unearthed secret documents, found long-lost suspects and witnesses, building up evidence strong enough to take on the Klan. He takes us into every harrowing scene along the way, as when Mitchell goes into the lion’s den, meeting one-on-one with the very murderers he is seeking to catch. His efforts have put four leading Klansmen behind bars, years after they thought they had gotten away with murder.

Jerry Mitchell has been a reporter in Mississippi since 1986. A winner of more than 30 national awards, Mitchell is the founder of the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting. The nonprofit is continuing his work of exposing injustices and raising up a new generation of investigative reporters.

The Ivy Bookshop will have copies of the book for sale at a book signing following the program.

Free, no registration required. Seating is first come, first served. Please note that marking interest does not reserve a seat. 

Writers LIVE programs are supported in part by a bequest from The Miss Howard Hubbard Adult Programming Fund. 

Reopening activities are made possible in part by a generous gift from Sandra R. Berman.
Note from the St. Ignatius Respect for Life Committee: The Maryland March For Life is scheduled for Monday, February 24, in Annapolis. For ride sharing, contact Frank Richardson at 443-326-5833 or  franktaiyo2@gmail.com .  
From MARYLAND MARCH FOR LIFE: Join us in Annapolis as we march for #EqualRightsforEveryBody !

Meet at St. Mary's campus (109 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, MD 21401).

Schedule:
4:30 Youth Rally (pizza provided)
5:15 Non-Denominational Worship Service & Catholic Mass
6:15 Assemble in St. Mary's parking lot for March
6:30 March through Annapolis (There is a shuttle available for those unable to walk.)
7:00 Rally & keynote speaker near Lawyer's Mall
8:00 Free Chick-fil-A dinner

Last year we had an amazing turnout; maybe one of our largest marches ever! Let's make it even bigger this year so that our legislators know that there is a pro-life voice in Maryland!

Get more information at www.mdmarchforlife.com.

March Mini-Course

The ICJS mini-courses for our 2019-2020 program year include a three-part series focused on the particularities and histories of each of the sides of the Abrahamic dialogue triangle -- Muslim-Christian (September), Jewish-Christian (November), and Jewish-Muslim (March). Our third course, on Jewish-Muslim conversations in the past and present will meet on:

March 17th
March 24th
March 31st

Each course will be offered in separate morning (10am to noon) and evening (7pm to 9pm) sessions and will cost $30 for three sessions.


Co-taught by Ben Sax (Jewish Scholar) and Halla Attallah (Visiting Muslim Scholar)
In this course we will study how contemporary conversations between Jews and Muslims are informed by their interpretations of past historical moments and relations between these communities. From Medieval encounters to minority religious experiences in America and elsewhere, Jews and Muslims have lived, thought, and debated together for centuries.
In the Media
Franciscan friars and their supporters hold signs aloft outside of the security barrier where U.S. President Donald Trump spoke at the March for Life in Washington Jan. 24. The messages read, "I am 100% Pro-Life," "Care for the Unborn," "Protect the Earth" and "Seek Justice for the Poor." (CNS/Courtesy of Lonnie Ellis)

A way out of the US bishops' tight ideological and partisan corner


by Tom Roberts

After all the campaigning and debating and town halls have ended, Catholics who head for the voting booth will have to choose a candidate. They'll have to select a person who embodies all manner of positions and competencies, as well as flaws. They will not be voting for a single issue.

"Yet comparatively little attention has been paid in Catholic moral theology to the moral nature and structure of the act of voting for specific candidates," said San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy in a talk delivered Feb. 6 at the Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture at the University of San Diego. READ MORE
Pope Francis attends a meeting with indigenous people of the Amazon region in the Coliseo Regional Madre de Dios, Puerto Maldonado, Peru, Jan. 19, 2018. (Photo by EPA/LUCA ZENNARO/MaxPPP)

Deciding not to decide… for now
Why the pope has not ruled on married priests or women deacons


By Robert Mickens

In his new apostolic exhortation on the Church in the Amazonian region, Pope Francis has refused a request by bishops at last October's Synod assembly to formally approve the ordination of married priests and women deacons.

In Querida Amazonia (Beloved Amazon) the pope pretty much ignores these two issues all together.

And this, of course, has provoked predictable responses throughout the variegated world of Roman Catholicism. READ MORE