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Home work:
Here's the link to Chapter 5 of Lumen Gentium. Consider this your homework assignment. Read it prayerfully and let me know what important parts of the text touched you profoundly. Respond to Fr. Brian.
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Our 31st Interfaith Prayer Celebration... | |
We wanted to present to you the 31st Annual New Year's Eve Interfaith Prayer Celebration. If you weren't able to make it, or you were there and want to catch it again...here you go. | |
Our Children’s Pageant at the 4 PM Mass on Christmas Eve, for many, is one of the liturgical highlights of the year. It is looked forward to by young and old alike. Our youngest parishioners don the traditional costumes of the manger story and partake in acting out, reading, and signing the story of Christ’s birth. Here are some images from this year’s celebration of the Nativity. | |
Editor's Note: Next Weekend's Gospel Reading is John 1:35-42 where the first disciples follow Jesus. | |
Wanting the Right Thing
(John 1:35-42)
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by Fr. John Bartunek, LC
“If, then, you seek to know what path to follow,
take Christ because he is the way.”
St. Thomas Aquinas
John 1:35-42: On the following day as John stood there again with two of his disciples, Jesus passed, and John stared hard at him and said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God.’ Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, ‘What do you want?’ They answered, ‘Rabbi,’ – which means Teacher – ’where do you live?’ ‘Come and see’ he replied; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him the rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour. One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Early next morning, Andrew met his brother and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ – which means the Christ – and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked hard at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas’ – meaning Rock.
Christ the Lord: In these few verses St John gives us three key titles of Christ, each of which should stir our hearts to gratitude, praise, and adoration.
First, John reemphasizes that Jesus is the “Lamb of God,” a title worth reflecting on again and again. The lamb appeared over and over in the Jewish scriptures and in their traditions. The central allusion, however, was to the Passover, when the Israelites sprinkled the blood of the Passover lamb on the lintels of their doors (cf. Exodus 12). READ MORE
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The Young Adult Ministry requests a pianist or guitarist for the 6 pm Mass. If interested please contact the Parish Office barbaradailey@st-ignatius.net or 410-727-3848.
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From the Housing, Hunger & Poverty Committee | |
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The St. Ignatius Justice & Peace Ministry is now participating with BUILD (Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development), a broad-based, non-partisan, interfaith, multiracial community power organization rooted in Baltimore’s neighborhoods and congregations. Below is the monumental action that Terry Cavanagh, Alistair Morrison and I recently witnessed in a gathered community meeting!
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On Monday, December 11th at 6:30pm at Greater Harvest Baptist Church (1617 W. Saratoga St), St. Ignatius Catholic Community Justice & Peace representatives joined more than 550 faith & community leaders from across Baltimore as we gathered to press forward on our work to end the crisis of vacant & abandoned homes in our city. BUILD, Mayor Scott and GBC shared updates and concrete next steps on the joint commitment as we work to secure the billions of dollars of investment needed to address this issue.
Photo below:
On December 11, 2023, BUILD, the City, and GBC celebrated signing an agreement that creates a framework to address Baltimore’s housing crisis once and for all!
|  | More than 550 leaders packed into Greater Harvest Baptist Church on a Monday night in December to show their support for the historic agreement between BUILD, Mayor Scott, and the Greater Baltimore Committee to end the legacy of redlining and invest $3B in our city’s neighborhoods that will more than pay for itself over time. | |
Thank you from the Respect Life Ministry | |
Thanks to the wonderful publicity we received from the E-zine, the bulletin notices, and Father Brian’s statements from the pulpit. We raised over $2,000 for the Advent Gift Card Drive. The gift cards that were donated have made a big difference in the lives of the mothers and children we serve. We appreciate your kind generosity! | |
From the Environmental Justice Ministry | |
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The Environmental Justice Committee offers for your reflection these passages from Pope Francis's Address to COP 28, Dubai, 2 Dec. 2023:
Reflection 13
I am with you because now more than ever, the future of us all depends on the present that we now choose. I am with you because the destruction of the environment is an offence against God, a sin that is not only personal but also structural, one that greatly endangers all human beings, especially the most vulnerable in our midst and threatens to unleash a conflict between generations. I am with you because climate change is “a global social issue and one intimately related to the dignity of human life” (Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum, 3). I am with you to raise the question which we must answer now: Are we working for a culture of life or a culture of death
It is up to this generation to heed the cry of peoples, the young and children, and to lay the foundations of a new multilateralism. . . . Let us emerge from the narrowness of self-interest and nationalism; these are approaches belonging to the past. Let us join in embracing an alternative vision: this will help to bring about an ecological conversion, for “there are no lasting changes without cultural changes” (Laudate Deum, 70). In this regard, I would assure you of the commitment and support of the Catholic Church.
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Tuesday, January 9
@ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm (via Zoom)
Reading and Discussion Group
Learn More
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Thursday, January 11
@ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Justice & Peace Ministry Meeting
Learn More
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Sunday, January 14
Following the 10 am Mass
The Ladies’ Ancient Order of Hibernians
The Ladies’ Ancient Order of Hibernians is a 127-year non-profit organization of Irish Catholic women interested in charitable works and social events. We practice Friendship, Unity, and Christian Charity. We are committed to our Catholic faith, our local communities, and to Irish history, culture, and traditions. LAOH has 11 divisions throughout the State of MD, gathering regularly for meals, and meetings, and supporting our parades and festivals. Any Catholic woman 18 years of age or older, Irish by birth, descent, or legal adoption is welcome to join. Learn more about us after the January 14 Mass at 10 am. Learn More
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Sunday, January 14
@ 11:15 am - 12:30 pm
Embracing God's Gifts
Learn More
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Sunday, January 21
@ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm (via Zoom)
Embracing God’s Gifts – Scripture Study
Learn More
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Tuesday, January 23
@ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm (via Zoom)
Women Who Stay
Learn More
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2023 Tax Donation Statements | |
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Please be aware that 2023 year-end donation statements for those who contribute by check, envelope, or asset management firms are available upon request by emailing Gregory Richards at GregRichards@st-ignatius.net. Those enrolled in online giving through Faith Direct can log on to their website to obtain one. Email Gregory Richards if you have any questions.
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Offerings & Prayers & Snapshots | |
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NUMBERS SNAPSHOT
Last weekends
attendance and collection
Learn More
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CONTRIBUTE
Learn the different ways you can
support the church financially
Contribute
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Six New Year’s Resolutions Inspired by the Synod | |
The Synod on Synodality has a lofty goal: bringing together the perspectives of Catholics from around the world to listen, pray, and discern a path forward for our church. But the lessons of the synod aren’t just for the institutional church; they can provide valuable insight about moving forward as Catholics. As many of us set resolutions for the new year, it may be wise to look to the synod for inspiration. America’s writers have a few suggestions. READ MORE | |
Review: Treating the spiritual life like an adventure | |
In his new book, Seeing With the Heart: A Guide to Navigating Life’s Adventures, Kevin O’Brien, S.J., thoughtfully crafts a true guide for living a life of compassion, meaning and depth. The book provides a reflective pause to holistically look at our lives, with all of their twists and turns of grace and challenge, and consider how we are living in relationship to ourselves, others and the divine. READ MORE | |
READER NOTIFICATION:
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.
- This e-zine was designed and compiled by John C. Odean
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