Click on video above: 'The Thought' - May 9, 2022 | |
Editor's Note: As we celebrate the Fifth Sunday of Easter next weekend, the gospel reading will be John 13: 13-35 which culminates with Jesus saying: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). Read the Gospel Reflection below. | |
What’s New about the “New” Commandment? | |
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By: Sam Storms
John 13:34-35
You may not be familiar with the name Tertullian. I don’t of anyone who has named their child after him. Tertullian lived and ministered in the early years of the third century a.d. He was one of the greatest of the early church fathers and was actually the first man to use the word “Trinity” to describe the nature of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He lived and wrote at a time when opposition to Christianity and the Church was intensifying. Although Tertullian was an apologist, which is to say he devoted himself to defining and defending the Christian faith against its critics, he was quick to point out that it wasn’t any particular theological or philosophical argument that would ultimately persuade pagans of the truth about Jesus. Rather it was the seemingly inexplicable love that Christians had one for another that initially baffled and finally captivated non-Christians. In one memorable statement, Tertullian said this:
“It is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. ‘See,’ they say, “[see] how they love one another, . . . How they are ready even to die for one another!’ No tragedy causes trouble in our brotherhood, [and] the family possessions, which generally destroy brotherhood among you, create fraternal bonds among us. One in mind and soul, we do not hesitate to share our earthly goods with one another. All things are common among us [except] our wives. (Apology 39). READ MORE
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"Building A Bridge" Documentary featuring St. Ignatius Catholic Community - Baltimore | |
Click on video above to view trailer for: "Building a Bridge". | |
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Dear Fr. Jim:
The peace of Christ!
Just wanted to let you (and your parishioners) know that your parish is prominently featured in a new documentary called "Building a Bridge," about LGBTQ ministry, now available on video on demand (Amazon, iTunes, YouTube etc), soon to be streaming on AMC+ and then on Sundance TV. We filmed at your parish a year or two ago, and it's a wonderful testimony to all the great work you do.
Peace,
James Martin, S.J.
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‘Outreach’ website hopes to inspire online L.G.B.T. community for Catholics | |
Click on video above to view: "Welcome to Outreach". | |
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James Martin, S.J., has been serving the marginalized ever since he joined the Society of Jesus. He has worked with street gangs, the sick and dying, refugees in East Africa and prison inmates and people experiencing homelessness.
“So the L.G.B.T. work just sort of made sense,” Father Martin, editor at large for America, said in a recent interview. “One of the universal apostolic preferences of the Jesuits now is walking with the excluded…. Jesus went to the margins. That’s where this community is right now in the church. They’re the most marginalized group in the church bar none.” READ MORE
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What "Jesuit" is all about... | |
Jesuit 101: Finding Our Way through Ignatian Discernment | |
In life we constantly make choices, both big and small. Smaller choices might include how to recreate or what movie we will see. Bigger choices include buying a house, whether or not to get married, and with whom, or whether or not to enter religious life and if so, which religious order. As we make choices, we often take a moment to step back and think of the pros and cons before making the decision, especially when it comes to long-term consequences. However, it is important to recognize that God also has an opinion in those decisions we make, which is rooted in God’s love for us. It is the act of discerning God’s will in our lives that is fundamental for every Christian and a skill we are encouraged to develop. READ MORE
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From the Environmental Justice Subcommittee | |
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Native Plant Sale
Hosted by the Justice & Peace Committee’s Environmental Justice Subcommittee
The Environmental Justice Subcommittee is hosting a native plant sale on May 21 after the 5:00 PM Mass and May 22 after the 10:00 AM Mass. Tables will be set up in the Narthex on May 21 and in the Reeves Gallery on May 22. There will be a variety of plants available and information about native plants. CASH SALES ONLY.
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Why purchase native plants? It is an easy, economical step for caring for our environment. Planting native is an environmental responsibility that affects the world around us. By planting native we maintain the biodiversity of an area. Our native wildlife, especially birds, butterflies, pollinators, and other organisms have evolved with the plants here. If the plants are not present, much of the wildlife is unable to survive. Conserving and reintroducing our native plants can help us recapture our regional character, with plants that are naturally adapted to the local environment. These plants are often more disease resistant than non-natives. They are attractive landscaping that provides food and shelter for wildlife. Native plants protect our natural resources by requiring fewer chemicals, less water and lower maintenance.[1] And if that is not enough, native plants are just beautiful.
[1] Home and Garden Mimeo HG#120 3/2005.
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Hearts, Eyes and Prayers toward Ukraine
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A Mark Chagall for another time in history | |
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“La famille Ukrainienne”
When you think of the work of the Russian-French painter Marc Chagall, the first thing that probably comes to mind are his dreamlike or biblical themes or his stained glass windows which bathe some of the world’s church buildings in such a truly wonderful light.
They are pictures that love color. Some powerful, others delicate. For the most part they seem to come from another world where imagination holds sway and gravity plays no role. Dancing or free-floating figures like this white dressed flower-adorned woman against a heavenly light blue background are familiar to anybody who has ever been interested in painting.
But there are also quite different pictures. The other day I recalled one of these images. It’s been a very long time since first I saw it but it moved me so much at first sight that I have never forgotten it.
In my first encounter with this painting the strong effect it had on my thoughts and feelings was enough for me. Only yesterday it unexpectedly resurfaced in my memory. I began to look for it in the internet. And when I finally found it and read its title, I couldn’t and wouldn’t leave it at the mere effect it had on me as I had once done but began to research the possible background to its creation. Because I found out that Chagall had painted this picture sometime between 1940 and 1943 and had given it the title “La famille Ukrainienne”. READ MORE
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Genocide in Ukraine, and the risk for more atrocities
Genocide expert Jeff Benvenuto of Gratz College shares with producer Gina Christian how Russian atrocities in Ukraine are genocidal — and how the difficulties of prosecution, along with indifference from bystander nations, make genocide a universal risk.
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POOR BOX
This week's collection: "Loves & Fishes"
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HOW TO GIVE
How to contribute to
St. Ignatius.
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PRAYER LIST
Pray for those who are sick
and on our Prayer List.
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Women religious blaze new trails in roles of authority at the Vatican | |
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by Christopher White
ROME — When Pope Francis met more than 850 religious sisters attending the International Union of Superiors General plenary meeting in Rome in 2019, the pope insisted that the chair for the body's then-president, Sr. Carmen Sammut, be seated right next to him.
At the time, both Sammut, a Missionary Sister of Our Lady of Africa, and those in the room were touched by the pope's deeply symbolic gesture to level the playing field.
Now, as delegates from around the globe prepare to travel again to Rome for this year's May 2-6 plenary, a wave of new appointments of sisters inside the Vatican has made it clear that Francis is backing that symbolism up with substantive changes and making room for more women religious to have a permanent seat at the table.
"Change takes time," said Sr. Patricia Murray, executive secretary of the International Union of Superiors General, which represents 600,000 sisters from around the globe.
READ MORE
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What Would the End of Roe v. Wade Mean? Christian Leaders Respond
By Mitchell Atencio
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On the evening of May 2, Politico reported on a leaked draft of a Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson which, if it became official, would overturn Roe v. Wade and end federal protections of abortion rights.
The draft, which was confirmed as authentic on May 3 by Chief Justice John Roberts, is not an official decision. Roberts wrote that the document “does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.” He also announced an investigation into the source of the leak.
The drafted opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito and he was joined by four justices — Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — according to Politico. In the opinion, Alito writes that “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.” READ MORE
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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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