As promised, here is a link to all the reflections submitted so far on the parish, the archdiocese, and the Universal Church in preparation for the 2023 Synod.

There will be two opportunities to attend a zoom meeting for those who have responded. The primary focus will be on what we have heard about the parish. Where are we doing well? What is lacking or can be improved?

One will be on Tuesday 22 Feb. from 6:30 to 8:00. The other will be on Monday 28 Feb. from 6:30 to 8:00.

*** If you haven’t yet responded, there is still time. You can

click here to share your reflections.

The zoom invitations will go out in mid-February.

As ever,

Editor's Note: Next weekend the Gospel reading is Luke 6:17-26 where Jesus gives what is called The Sermon on the Plain (Mathew’s Gospel presents The Sermon on the Mount.) Many scholars believe that they were two different occasions due to differing focuses in the text.

By Jeremy Myers

M. C. Escher is my favorite artist because his drawings challenge the mind just by looking at them. He has pictures of a hand drawing another hand, which is drawing the first hand. He has drawings of castles and buildings which seem normal at first glance, but when you study them, become architectural impossibilities.

He has one drawing where soldiers are climbing up some stairs on the top of a building, but there is no top or bottom to the stairs. They just keep going round and round without ever getting higher. He has pictures of stairs that go every which way and at the same time, go nowhere.

Escher’s drawings always evoke a double-take. You look at them, and they seem okay, but then it begins to dawn on you that something is not right with the picture. Things are not as they seem. READ MORE

From The Environmental Justice Subcommittee

The Environmental Justice Subcommittee invites parishioners to participate in a pruning project of trees planted by Blue Water Baltimore, an environmental non-profit. The project will take place on February 19, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the median of the 1.2 mile stretch of US40, which was built in the 1970's through West Baltimore, now known as the Highway to Nowhere. When built, the highway separated a very vibrant neighborhood at the time. Blue Water Baltimore has planted nearly 500 trees in an .8 mile of the stretch. Planting trees has many benefits: An urban forest improves air quality by absorbing CO2 and protects human health, combats "heat islands", keeps communities cooler, supports native wildlife, reduces energy bills, increases property value and beautifies our communities.   No experience is necessary as you will be working with Individuals who are trained to prune trees and tools are provided. But dress warm as you are outside.  For more information and to sign up please go to this link: https://bluewaterbaltimore.org/event/2-19-22-weekend-tree-pruning-party/  When you sign up, please let me know at [email protected]

If you are able to, please consider making a donation. You can click here to access a donation form. This link also has a list of needed items. If you prefer to make a cash donation so that volunteers can purchase new items to respectfully furnish an apartment for a new American family, you can do that it one of two ways. 

We are accepting donations until February 28th. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].

Our newly formed Liturgy Committee will be providing a WORKSHOP for existing and new lectors and acolytes on Sunday, February 13th after the 10 am Mass.

We welcome additional lectors and acolytes to be of service in our communal worship. Whether adult, teenager or child, this ministry can bring more meaning to your worship experience.

Seamus Dockery, a former Jesuit and a theater instructor at Loyola University, is an excellent coach in how to proclaim the WORD from the ambo.

Each lector will receive a personal copy of the Lector’s Booklet, which will enable you to pray over the Word and practice proclaiming it well in advance. Father Jim will join me to provide training for anyone interested in serving as an acolyte.

If you plan to attend the workshop or would like more information, please contact Sue Cesar at [email protected] or 410-493-5908.

We invite young adults to join us on a Lenten journey through Pope Francis’s Fratelli Tutti as we explore the ways in which we are all one human family — and what that means for our daily lives. We will meet each Wednesday of Lent, March 9 - April 13, from 6:30-8:00pm, in person or virtual as COVID requires. Please sign up by Ash Wednesday, March 2 on this form, and contact Macy Early at [email protected] with any questions.

February 8 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

February 10 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

February 22 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

YEAR-END STATEMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS –  Faith Direct will be sending a summary of 2021 contributions to everyone who has donated to the church through that organization. If you need acknowledgement from the parish for any single contribution of $250 or more for tax purposes, please send an email to [email protected], or call the parish office, (410) 727-3828.

"Provocative piece for sure, which makes for good conversation," Tricco wrote in reference to "The Battle for [Our] Bodies," an opinion essay that a female student at the Catholic school in Aurora, Colorado, had written in favor of abortion rights.

In that email, a copy of which Lynch provided to NCR, Tricco twice thanked her and Nicole Arduini, the other faculty journalism adviser, for their work in publishing the latest issue of Elevate. Tricco also said he appreciated the student sharing her thoughts and added that he would reach out to her after the winter break to get her take on the Catholic approach to life issues and the school's mission. READ MORE

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.