May 22, 2018 Edition
I’m sharing the following from Fr. Nouwen because it’s something I struggle with and I suspect you do too.

As an introvert, I’m a good listener—until you disagree with me or criticize me. Then I don’t know what to say or I say the wrong thing. I need time to hear and welcome the feedback you give me and [I hope] to respond in a wise and caring way.

We don’t always succeed, but then community life depends on bearing one another’s burdens and allowing room for one another’s vulnerabilities. We’re in this together.

"To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements, or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, to welcome, to accept.
 
Listening is much more than allowing another to talk while waiting for a chance to respond. Listening is paying full attention to others and welcoming them into our very beings. The beauty of listening is that, those who are listened to start feeling accepted, start taking their words more seriously and discovering their own true selves. Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends, to get to know their inner selves more fully, and even to dare to be silent with you."
A Followup to Pentecost
Pope Francis celebrates Mass marking the feast of Pentecost in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican May 20. (Credit: Paul Haring/CNS.)
The Holy Spirit changes hearts, pope says on Pentecost
Cindy Wooden | May 20, 2018
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

ROME - "Christians should begin each day invoking the Holy Spirit, praying that the Spirit will lead them and the Church closer to God and closer to any person in need," Pope Francis said on Pentecost.

Celebrating Mass May 20 in St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope said the Bible, especially the Acts of the Apostles, makes it clear that the Holy Spirit brings a real power to change individuals and the Church.

“The Spirit frees hearts chained by fear,” the pope said in his homily. “To those content with half measures he inspires whole-hearted generosity. He opens hearts that are closed.”

“He impels the comfortable to go out and serve,” the pope continued. “He drives the self-satisfied to set out in new directions. He makes the lukewarm thrill to new dreams. That is what it means to change hearts.” READ MORE
Announcing: Bread for the World - Offering of Letters Campaign
Hunger Persists in Maryland
For Such a Time as This: It is 2018, and every news cycle presents a new tragedy. The country feels more divided than ever, unable to find compromise in the face of complex issues of injustice. It seems difficult to find a center, to hear a voice of reason, in such a swirl of apparent turmoil. But as Catholics, we are blessed to find grounding in the Gospels and a universal common good. In Matthew, we hear Jesus say: For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Matthew 25:35). In such a time as this, we return to our faith and the direction it offers us: feed the hungry.

And hungry there are many. In Baltimore City alone, 23% of the population is food insecure, meaning they do not have consistent access to enough food to live an active, healthy life. 33% of our city’s children are living in poverty, unable to learn and succeed to their fullest potential because they are hungry. In Maryland State, 1 in 8 people, which amounts to 750,000 people, are food insecure. This figure is reflected in the number of people who receive aid from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, in Fiscal Year 2016: a monthly average of 744,343 people received vital food benefits. A large number of hungry people in our community depend on this program, which is now under threat by the newly proposed 2018 Farm Bill.
The Farm Bill is a major piece of legislation that is passed every five years in Congress. It determines many things, including how much money is allocated to the SNAP program. The Farm Bill needs to be passed again this year, 2018, before the Fiscal Year ends on September 30. The current version of the Bill being debated in Congress contains major restrictions to the SNAP program that would severely limit the number of people that have access to this crucial assistance. Cities like Baltimore would be impacted, but more impacted would be rural areas such as Somerset County, Maryland, that already suffer high rates of poverty.

We have the power to prevent such threatening changes in the Farm Bill. Through Bread for the World’s 2018 Offering of Letters, which offers us the theme For Such a Time as This , we can ensure that the hungry among us have access to the resources they need to honor their full human dignity. For more information, please visit our Hunger and Poverty Subcommittee Page , and stay tuned for future e-zine articles presenting more information about the reality of hunger in our society and how you can participate in this important advocacy effort.
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! 


Upcoming Events and Meetings
Embracing God's Gifts
Tuesday, May 22, 7 PM
Click here for complete information

"Gaudete Et Exsultate" Study Group
Wednesday, May 23, 7:30 PM
Click here for complete information
Bishop Madden's Prayer Walk for Peace in the City
Thursday, May 24, 5:30 PM
Click here for complete information
Green Team
Thursday, May 24, 7 PM
Click here for complete information
Respect for Life
Sunday, May 27, 9:45 AM
Click here for complete information
"Gaudete et Exsultate" Study Group
Wednesday, May 30, 7:30 PM
Click here for complete information
"Gaudete et Exsultate" Study Group
Wednesday, June 6, 7:30 PM
Click here for complete information

Film Showing: "Juno"
Friday, June 8, 7:30 PM
Click here for complete information

Bread for the Word Offering of Letters
Sunday, June 10 - After all Masses
Click here for complete information
Upcoming in the Area
Let's join our friends and collaborators in God's Care!
St. Vincent De Paul Church

hosts

Jonestown 
Neighborhood Clean-Up 

Saturday, June 16, 9 AM to 12 PM 
Meet in St. Vincent’s Parking Lot 
120 N Front St. 21202 (Fayette & President Sts.)


Opportunity For Growth
A Day of Prayer at Wernersville, Pa. with the Jesuits of the St. Isaac Jogues Community
We invite you to experience
Everyone's Way of the Cross

Come reflect on the meaning of suffering and sacrifice
through our Day of Prayer.

Date: June 12, 2018
Cost: $75 per person

Bus leaves at 7:30 AM from the Jesuit offices at 8600 LaSalle Road in Towson and will return by 5:30 pm. (Or you can meet us at the Jesuit Spiritual Center in Wernersville at 9:30 AM for the welcoming.)

Click here  for a full schedule of the day.

Click here  for a reflection on the Stations of the Cross.
(All participants will receive the booklet Everyone's Way of the Cross)

Click here  for a list of Jesuits at the Wernersville cemetery.

Space is limited so please RSVP early to Betty Shenk at
or 1-800-838-7436
Help Wanted - Will Train
Radio Mass Engineer Needed


Radio Mass is the oldest continuous ministry of our St. Ignatius Parish. We are now in our eighth decade of broadcasting the Liturgy of the Mass live at 9 AM each Sunday morning. 

We need a dedicated person for our control room who will perform the necessary functions of providing the audio signal to the host radio station, presently WCBM in Pikesville. Our primary need is a DEDICATED  person who will eventually be capable of functioning independently. Working with the present engineer will provide the hands-on skills required. However, to become the go-to person, you will have to learn some of the operational theory of the equipment. User manuals are available; the present engineer will provide guidance and answer questions. This is a part-time Sunday morning position. For more information, please c ontact us at 410-539-7812.
Is this something you can help with?
A Parishioner in Need of Work


A parishioner with two young children to support is looking for full or part-time work in child care, elder care, housecleaning, or as a home helper - all areas in which she is experienced and highly capable - between the hours of 7 AM and 3 PM during the week. The location needs to be accessible by public transportation. For more information, please email me at  jimcasciotti@st-ignatius.net .
In the Media
Well, When You Put it That Way...
The US has had 57 times as many school shootings as the other major industrialized nations combined

School shootings are a reality in America,  an average of one a week just this year alone

But how does the US compare with other countries in the world?
That's difficult to ascertain because very little research exists to quantify that. 

For the purposes of this analysis, we followed the criteria below - 
The scope: First, we looked at the G7 countries -- the countries with the largest advanced economies in the world. 

The time period: From January 1, 2009 to May 21, 2018.

The definition: The parameters we followed in this count are - 
  • Shooting must involve at least one person being shot (not including the shooter)
  • Shooting must occur on school grounds
  • We included gang violence, fights and domestic violence (but our count is NOT limited to those categories)
  • We included grades K through college/university level as well as vocational schools
  • We included accidental discharge of a firearm as long as the first two parameters are met

Who was the Jesuit priest mentioned during the Royal Wedding sermon?
 Dressed in traditional Anglican vestments and preaching in the Gothic beauty of St. George’s chapel at Windsor Castle, Bishop Michael Bruce Curry delivered a sermon for the wedding of England’s Prince Harry and Meghan Markle that was surprisingly nontraditional.

Bishop Curry—who is the first African-American presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, which is in  shaky communion  with the Anglican Church—already made news by being the first American to preach at a royal wedding. Yet Catholics tuning in to the royal wedding were also surprised and delighted to hear Bishop Murray talk about another groundbreaking figure, Jesuit philosopher and paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

In Case You Missed Bishop Michael Curry’s Impassioned Sermon at the Royal Wedding...

In case you missed it, there was quite a to-do across the pond this weekend, a little thing called the Royal Wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The ceremony was lovely and lavish and full of fanfare. Lots of people wore fantastic hats.

That wasn’t the centerpiece of the ceremony, though. Obviously, the nuptials between Harry and Meghan (we can be casual about it) were key, but Right Reverend Michael Curry’s sermon on love and unity and salvation was a powerful reminder of why this is all happening in the first place. CLICK ON VIDEO ABOVE