December 3, 2019
The Scandal of the Particular         

Carissimi:
In this quotation Fr. Richard Rohr is commenting on the worldview of St. Francis, as well as that of Pope Francis:

"Because Francis was not an intellectual, he did not begin with universal philosophies and ideas and abstractions. He began with the specific, the particular, the concrete: this person, this squirrel. 

I believe love is always by its very nature particular. “Just this!” When you start with the specific, you have a beautiful doorway to the universal. On the other hand, when you start with universal theories, it makes it very hard to ever get back to respect for the particular.

In fact, you tend to find a reason to see that the particular is never good enough. It is always flawed and imperfect. There is inevitably a reason why this particular person or thing cannot be included, because it is seen to be abnormal, poor, broken, leprous, sinful, or unorthodox.

Look at our Christian history: it seems to have been a nonstop search for who is unworthy and who does not belong. What a horrible waste of energy."

I’m thinking about Catholics who are so sure they are defending all that is sacred by labeling, condemning, and excluding categories of people and their actions without bothering to love them, to know them, and to walk with them in their particularity. May this never be so among us.
Advent Has Begun - "Hope"
PAINTING ADVENT VIDEOS : A Painting For Each Week of Advent.

Surrounded by shadow we wait for the light. In darkness our hope flickers dim, our cry echoes out in the stillness of night, "Will you come, will you come, once again?"

Come O Come Emmanuel…
Advent Tells Us It’s Okay to Hope

by Terrance Klein

In my experience, a typical Walmart has 15 or more checkout stands. At any given moment, only one and a half are staffed by personnel. We do not know why this is so. It is the Walmart Way. Walmart owns rural America; we do not question the Walmart Way.

Many of us lately have been trained to wait in much smaller lines, where we scan our own purchased items. I have learned to enjoy this. It suits me better than passively watching someone else do the same. There is a sense of accomplishment! A former bishop once said that he received the deepest satisfaction from polishing his shoes. It gave him a small, but needed, sense of accomplishment in a profession where finality is illusive.

Indeed I only chafe if a machine malfunctions and no assistance can be summoned. Or when a mother lets her 4-year-old do the scanning because the little fumbler finds it fun. No judgment. If I had a 4-year-old, I am sure I would be looking for diversions as well.

Survey is ready for you!!!
Fill Out Survey Now!

We've shared why we are asking you to take this Member Engagement Survey: to help us identify areas of strength in our parish, and areas where we can improve; to guide the direction of the parish; and to determine how to best implement the gifts and talents of the people who are a part of our parish.

Now what we need is YOU! Anyone who considers themselves a part of the parish and has reached the age of 18 is now able to share his or her opinions about some of the key aspects of our parish life together.

Important notes:
  • This survey is administered and tabulated by Gallup, an independent research company.
  • Your individual responses are anonymous. 
  • The Pastoral Council will receive the aggregated results and use them to start a dialogue about how we can more effectively accomplish our mission.
 
Thank you, in advance, for your willingness to take part in this Member Engagement Survey
Tonight!
Our Holiday Giving Opportunity
Pick Up Your Gift Tags This Weekend

Our parish continues its tradition of supporting those in need during the holiday times. We have expanded the organizations we support, in addition to the ones we have supported for many years. We thought we would share a quick overview of how your generosity will be shared.
 
  • My Sister’s Place: Supports homeless and impoverished women and their children in Baltimore City Services. An organization we continue to support through gift cards for food and other needs.

  • Loaves and Fishes: Continuing our long tradition, we provide hats, gloves, undergarments, etc. to our street guests.

  • Respect for Life: One of the key areas of focus for this ministry is to support expectant mothers referred by the Gabriel Project (our "Angel Moms") with a full complement of moral, faith, and other supports (transportation, clothes, supplies, etc.) so that they can bring their children into the world. We are presently supporting three Angel Moms, one of whom is expecting twins.

  • Loyola Early Learning Center: We will be purchasing books and needful items for the beautiful children of the school.

What to Do:
Please take an ornament from the tree in the narthex or from the gallery table and remember those who are less fortunate when you are doing your Christmas shopping. This year, none of the gifts should be wrapped. Please return all your gifts by Sunday, December 15 and place them under the tree. If you cannot make it to Mass, please feel free to drop them off at the Parish Office, 110 E. Madison Street.
 
If you have any questions, please contact Brandie D’Orazio at   bdorazio@gmail.com , 410.916.7819. Or Dan D’Orazio at  dgdorazio@gmail.com , 410.960.3741. 
 
We appreciate the amazing support you continue to provide.
Worship with Offerings, Liturgy and Prayers for Others
POOR BOX 
This weekend's Poor Box support goes to help our
Ignatian Spirituality Project.
MASS MUSIC   
Attached is the listing for the music selections at next Sunday's 10:30 Mass.
THE DAILY EXAMEN
Spiritual and Faith opportunities to deepen
your relationship with Christ.
This Weekend
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, December 3 - 7 PM
Advent Prayer Service
See box above for complete information.


Saturday, December 7 - 9 AM
Saturday Retreat in Ignatian Spirituality
For complete information, click here .

Sunday, December 8 - 2:30 PM
Baltimore Mandolin Concert
For complete information see box above.


Thursday, December 12 - 6:30 PM
Justice & Peace Committee
For complete information, click here .

Wednesday, December 18 - 7:30 PM
Advent Penance Prayer Service
For complete information, click here .
Sunday, December 22 - 9:45 AM
Respect for Life
For complete information, click here .
Tuesday, December 24
Christmas Eve Mass Schedule
For complete information, click here .
Wednesday, December 25
Christmass Day Mass Schedule
For complete information, click here .
Tuesday, December 31
27th Annual New Year's Eve Interfaith Prayer Service
For complete information, click here .

Wednesday, January 1 - 9 AM
Mary, Mother of God Mass
For complete information, click here .
In the Media
Thomas Doyle is seen in an August 2018 photo. (AP Photo/PA Wire/Niall Carson)

Thomas Doyle traces the disintegration of clerical/hierarchical culture

Nov. 27, 2019

by Tom Roberts

I have thought recently that one way to understand the revived interest in the priest sexual abuse scandal, post- Theodore McCarrick  and the  Pennsylvania grand jury report  of little more than a year ago, is in the context of the Kübler-Ross stages of grief. You know: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.

I think certain of us in the Catholic community have gone through several of those cycles, depending on when we were introduced to the crisis, how deeply we were involved in it, and whether it involved anyone we knew either as victim or perpetrator. No doubt the cycles will go on.

But in one peculiar and important sense, regarding the hierarchical culture at the heart of the scandal, perhaps we can now say with some certainty that significant portions of the community have arrived at acceptance of the death of the clerical/hierarchical culture.
Why Gratitude Is a Spiritual Discipline
How expressing thanks opens us up to God's grace.

It’s almost unbelievable that Jesus heals 10 lepers in Luke 17 simultaneously. Without fanfare, He simply commands the motley crew, “Go, show yourselves to the priest.” They exit stage-left and their skin is restored.

Jesus certainly missed an opportunity there to make a big, impressive scene. The Lord was never concerned with aggrandizement. What was unbelievable to Him, however, was the lack of thankfulness from the former lepers. Only one makes a U-turn to thank Him for His tremendous miracle. READ MORE
I reached out to every U.S. diocese. Here's the list of those implementing the 2018 pastoral letter on racism.

On the final day of the U.S. bishops’ fall meeting, Bishop Shelton J. Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux, La., the chairman of the bishops’  Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism , provided an update about the work that body has been doing since the publication of “ Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love ” in November 2018. “Open Wide Our Hearts” was the first pastoral letter on racism issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in almost 40 years.