August 6, 2019
Carissimi:
This week we reflect on the 3rd Universal Apostolic Preference for the Society of Jesus over the next 10 years. The words are Fr. General’s. The italics are mine:

To accompany the young in the creation of a hope-filled future.

…Young people, most of whom are poor, face enormous challenges in our world today, including reduced job opportunities, economic instability, increased political violence, multiple forms of discrimination, progressive degradation of the environment, and other ills, all of which make it difficult for them to find meaning in their lives and to draw closer to God.

…Youth is the stage of human life when individuals make the fundamental decisions by which they insert themselves into society, seek to give meaning to their existence, and realize their dreams .

…Today, young people are the principal protagonists of an anthropological transformation that is coming to be through the digital culture of our time, opening humanity to a new historical epoch . We are living through a period of change from which will emerge a new humanity and a new way of structuring human life in its personal and social dimensions.

…To accompany young people demands of us authenticity of life, spiritual depth , and openness to sharing the life-mission that gives meaning to who we are and what we do.

… Accompanying young people puts us on the path of personal, communitarian, and institutional conversion .
Violence Again...
‌
We think that there are no more tears left,
that we can’t,
as a people,
possibly mourn this deeply, this often.

So we breathe and remember:
Jesus wept.

We are numb,
staggering with disbelief,
scared and wondering if shalom
still exists.

So we breathe and remember:
Jesus wept.

We try to make sense of hate,
try to trace the line
of white supremacy.

We see that though we’ve come so far,
it’s not so far that we’ve come.

So we breathe and remember:
Jesus wept.

We name those who have died
from unjust institutions
and the carrying on of hate.

We raise our fists and
beat our chests.

So we breathe and remember:
Jesus wept.

We hope to be brave,
but we are tired.
We hope for freedom,
but there are so many in shackles.

So we breathe and remember:
Jesus wept.

We fight with weapons of
peace and humility.
We fight with the power
of listening.

We breathe and remember:
Jesus wept.

And when tomorrow comes,
and the day is new,
we cannot deny reality.

We live our own belovedness,
and the belovedness of others.

So today, in all our places, we breathe and remember:
Jesus wept.
And so we breathe and weep with him.
‌
Dear Baltimore...
A Jesuit’s Love Letter to Baltimore
John J. Conley | August 02, 2019
Dear Baltimore,

When our current president began his reign on Pennsylvania Avenue, I promised that I would not spend my time engaged in exegesis on his early-morning tweets. How could one begin to refute this overflowing cauldron of ignorance, prejudice, obscenity, xenophobia, misogyny, narcissism, deceit, fantasy, invective, scapegoating, rage, threats, braggadocio and bottomless egomania? Doesn’t the critique of these rants only highlight and normalize the venom? How does one rebut a high-tech tantrum?

But the current occupant of the White House has now turned his rage on you, my adopted city. He asks why anyone would want to live here. (I do wonder why anyone would want to live in the  vermin-infested apartment buildings  in Baltimore owned by the president’s family.) I think it is time for a valentine for a troubled city I have come to love. READ MORE
Growth Opportunity
Loyola University’s Office of Mission Integration is happy to offer the Baltimore community the opportunity to pray the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola beginning this Fall.

Our approach will be one that Ignatius himself proposed for busy people – a way to make a prayerful and potentially transformative retreat in everyday life . Over the course of nine months of daily prayer with Scripture, journaling and regular conversation with a guide, one can experience the same graced movements and discoveries that a privileged few get to make in 30 days of secluded silence.

This long retreat is undeniably a commitment of time and resolve – one that may or may not be right for everyone or perhaps not right at this time. Fortunately Ignatius offers many other practical tools for spiritual growth that we can all enjoy. Loyola University will offer these as well – including weekend Ignatian retreats, 4-week Advent and Lenten retreats, evenings of prayer, spiritual reading groups and lectures.

If you’d like to learn more about the Spiritual Exercises and Ignatian spirituality – and how YOU might experience them, please join us!

For more information, contact :   LUMspiritualexercises@gmail.com
PREP Notice
PREP Registration is now!
Parish Religious Education Program, Grades K-8:
Registration for returning children was held in April. New children entering PREP should ideally be registered and paid for. Please preview our program and register online by visiting our PREP website here . 9:30 Sunday PREP classes begin September 15th, 2019. Email questions to Sherri  Currie@st-ignatius.net , or phone 410-719-7559 or 410-220-9141. Thank you. 

PREP Confirmation Ages and Groupings:
Our PREP program prepares children for the sacrament of Confirmation in a 2-year program, combining two grades. This September will be year 1 of the preparation. For more information, please pick up the green flyer in the Narthex. Thank you.  
To support families with Pre-K age children ( particularly at the Radio Mass) we have created a Mass Time Library. It is located to the right in the narthex. As a community we welcome families and appreciate the effort put into family attendance. The energy your young ones bring enrich us all. Please return the books at the end of service. Any questions or suggestions contact Barbara Lazzati,  bglazzati@verizon.net .
Worship with Offerings, Liturgy and Prayers for Others
POOR BOX 
This weekend's Poor Box support goes to support
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 in Christ.

Upcoming Events
Tuesday, August 13 - 6:30 PM
St. Ignatius Reading & Discussion Group
Click here for complete information.

Tuesday, August 20 - 6:45 PM
Women of the New Testament
Click here for complete information.





Thursday, August 22 - 6:00 PM
Movie Showing & Discussion: Stonewall Uprising
Click here for complete information.



Thursday, August 22 - 6:45 PM
Interfaith & Ecumenical Committee
Click here for complete information.
In the Media
Shoes are seen piled in the rear of Ned Peppers Bar Aug. 4 after a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio. A least nine people were killed and more than two dozen injured Aug. 4 in a shooting at a popular nightclub district of downtown Dayton. (CNS/Reuters/Carlos Sanchez)


Gilroy, El Paso, Dayton, and the Normalization of Violence

by Thomas Reese

As a bad Catholic, I need to make a confession. I no longer pay attention to mass shootings.

If I see a headline in the newspaper or online, I skip over to another story. If it comes up on my NPR podcast, I touch the arrow that advances me to the next story. If it is on CNN, I switch to the Hallmark channel.

I feel guilty, but I simply cannot take it anymore. I am sick of the violence and our country's inability to do anything about it. I see no point in listening to the same story over and over again.

News stories about mass shootings always follow the same 10-point template: 1) initial confusion about what happened; 2) onsite interviews with those who escaped the scene; 3) talking heads speculate about the motive of the gunman; 4) a press conference by police chief and mayor; 5) calls for greater gun control from Democrats; 6) calls for thoughts and prayers from Republicans; 7) a Trump tweet; 8) more speculation on motive of gunman; 9) coverage of funerals; 10) interviews with victims' families.

Nothing changes, except people buy more guns. READ MORE
In wake of El Paso shooting, Obama calls on country to reject words ‘of any of our leaders’ that feed fear and hatred
Michelle and I grieve with all the families in El Paso and Dayton who endured these latest mass shootings. Even if details are still emerging, there are a few things we already know to be true.

First, no other nation on Earth comes close to experiencing the frequency of mass shootings that we see in the United States. No other developed nation tolerates the levels of gun violence that we do. Every time this happens, we’re told that tougher gun laws won’t stop all murders; that they won’t stop every deranged individual from getting a weapon and shooting innocent people in public places. But the evidence shows that they can stop some killings. They can save some families from heartbreak. We are not helpless here. And until all of us stand up and insist on holding public officials accountable for changing our gun laws, these tragedies will keep happening.

Second, while the motivations behind these shootings may not yet be fully known, there are indications that the El Paso shooting follows a dangerous trend: troubled individuals who embrace racist ideologies and see themselves obligated to act violently to preserve white supremacy. Like the followers of ISIS and other foreign terrorist organizations, these individuals may act alone, but they’ve been radicalized by white nationalist websites that proliferate on the internet. That means that both law enforcement agencies and internet platforms need to come up with better strategies to reduce the influence of these hate groups.

But just as important, all of us have to send a clarion call and behave with the values of tolerance and diversity that should be the hallmark of our democracy. We should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments; leaders who demonize those who don’t look like us, or suggest that other people, including immigrants, threaten our way of life, or refer to other people as sub-human, or imply that America belongs to just one certain type of people. Such language isn’t new – it’s been at the root of most human tragedy throughout history, here in America and around the world. It is at the root of slavery and Jim Crow, the Holocaust, the genocide in Rwanda and ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. It has no place in our politics and our public life. And it’s time for the overwhelming majority of Americans of goodwill, of every race and faith and political party, to say as much – clearly and unequivocally.