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My Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
I'd like to first say a few words about Advent.
We have entered into our Advent Season in preparation for our grand celebration of Christmas. On that feast day we focus on Christ's first coming when he was born of Mary in humility and simplicity at Bethlehem.
In entering into Advent we also are focusing on Christ's second coming at the end of time. Precisely when the event will happen we know neither the day nor the hour.
Thus in this Advent Season as we prepare ourselves for both Christ's first and second coming, we listen to God's word in scripture that challenges us "to wake up," to "throw off the works of darkness," "to put on the armor of light, "to listen to God's instruction," "to walk in the light of the Lord" and "to put on the Lord Jesus Christ."
For all of us Advent, therefore, calls us to be more prayerful, more reflective, more attentive to God's presence in our lives. This season invites us:
- To Pray more
- To light each night a candle at our dinner table as we offer the simple prayer of "Come, Lord Jesus, Come!"
- To celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession/Advent Penance Service at Corpus Christi Church on Wednesday, December 11 at 7:30 PM)
- To procure a gift for the poor (Angel Tree/Jesse Tree/Advent Solidarity with Loaves and Fishes)
- To invite our family members and friends to come with us to the Advent Sunday Masses and our Christmas Masses, too.
Make this Advent Season 2013 a special time of grace and blessing for you and your family and friends.
Secondly, this past Sunday's bulletin carried a reprint ("Letter From Rome") by Robert Mickens, a correspondent for the London Tablet. Mickens is among the most respected journalists covering Vatican affairs. His American counterpart is John Allen who also covers news from the Vatican and is equally respected as Mickens. Allen has written a fine reflection on Pope Francis' recent Apostolic Exhortation, "The Joy of the Gospel" (Evangelii Gaudium). Click here to read Allen's response.
Finally, and I think particularly fitting for the Advent and Christmas Season is the call to worldwide prayer and action against hunger. Pope Francis is launching a "One Human Family, Food For All" campaign on Tuesday, December 10. To learn more about it click here. He seems to follow Jesus' teaching about how we should care for the poor
(Matthew 25:31-46), and not by simply saying what everyone else should do. Pope Francis follows in the footsteps of Jesus, and leads by example. Read from today's news feeds:
Francis is reminding us that when we touch the hand of the poor, we are touching Jesus. And so, as we see the example of Jesus, and the example of the head of our Church...the question arises: "How then shall we live?"
Gratefully, In Christ,
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The Second Week of Advent
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This Week's Advent Scriptures
This is one of Aesop's best known fables: A Wolf meets a Lamb straying from the flock. The Wolf decides not to pounce on the Lamb right away but first to give the Lamb a reason why he, the Wolf, should eat him. So he says to the Lamb: "Hi, it was you who insulted me last year."
"Actually," replies the Lamb in a mournful voice, "I was not born then."
"But you feed in my pasture," says the Wolf.
"No, sir," replies the Lamb, "I have not yet tasted the grass."
"Besides," says the Wolf, "You drink at my well."
"No," exclaims the Lamb, "I never yet drank water, for as yet my mother's milk is both food and drink to me."
At that the Wolf seized him and ate him, saying, "Well! I won't stay without supper, even if you refute every one of my accusations."
(continue by clicking here)
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Video - Advent Week 2 - PEACE |
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In the News
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Is the Pope Getting the Catholics Ready for an Economic Revolution? (Maybe He Read Marx)
A specter is haunting the Vatican.
In 1992, the Catholic Church officially apologized for persecuting 17th-century astronomer Galileo, who dared to assert that the Earth revolved around the sun. In 2008, the Vatican even considered putting up a statue of him.
Could a certain 19th-century atheist philosopher be next?
It is true that in 2009, a Vatican newspaper article put a positive spin on one Karl Marx. The author, German historian Georg Sans, praised Marx for his criticism of the alienation and injustice faced by working people in a world where the privileged few own the capital. Sans suggested that Marx's view was relevant today: "We have to ask ourselves, with Marx, whether the forms of alienation of which he spoke have their origin in the capitalist system...." Indeed. - click here to continue reading
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Events During the Week
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Pastoral Council Meeting
- Wednesday, December 4
The Pastoral Council will meet Wednesday evening at 7:30 PM in the Parish Office.
Public Response Forums re: Vatican Questionnaire
- Saturday and Sunday, December 7 and 8
Because we think it is important - after each weekend Mass on December 7th & 8th, we are going to hold a forum to allow all parishioners to speak publicly about his/her responses to the Vatican's Survey (Extraordinary Synod on the Family 2014). At each forum there will be a facilitator and a recorder to conduct an oral survey. The results of those gatherings will be sent to the Archdiocese to be included in its report to the Vatican. As we care about your thoughts and voice, all are invited to come.
Young Adults Casserole Making Event For My Sister's Place
- Saturday, December 7
The Young Adult Ministry will be having a casserole-making activity in Ignatian Hall on December 7, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. We will be making casseroles for My Sister's Place, an organization that provides 3 meals a day and access to services such as case management, education, and job training to women in Baltimore City. We will be making various recipes and will need help with purchase of ingredients and making the actual casseroles. Young Adults (aged 18-40, but we don't discriminate if you're older!) who are either single or married (bring a friend!) are welcome to join us as we make these dishes for a wonderful organization. Please contact Duarte Aguiar at DuarteAguiar@st-ignatius.net or by contacting the parish office to let him know if you would like to help out.
Young Adults
(18-40, married or single)
Potluck/Meeting
- Sunday, December 8
Please join us at the reception in Ignatian Hall after the 6:00 p.m. Mass to share some ideas for our Young Adult ministry here at St. Ignatius. We want to serve the needs of our Young Adults and provide opportunities for them to grow in their faith while living out the Ignatian Mission of being Men and Women for Others. Come and join other young parishioners while helping to grow our Young Adult Ministry!
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 It's that time of year again for Angel Tree - the program where parishioners and friends purchase Christmas gifts for children whose parents are incarcerated - and Jesse Tree - where people buy warm gloves, hats, socks and scarves as Christmas gifts for our homeless brothers and sisters who are served by our Loaves & Fishes ministry, as well as grocery gift certificates for the women served by My Sister's Place. The Tree is in the narthex, and there is a smaller one on the gallery table. For more specifics, click here.
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Advent Solidarity With Loaves & Fishes
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Beginning on Sunday, December 8th, there will be cards available on the food table at the after-Mass receptions in Ignatian Hall that indicate an item needed for Loaves and Fishes. These items include scarves, gloves, hats, socks, and monetary donations for the Loaves and Fishes Ministry which provides so much for our city's homeless people. As you consider the tasty snacks available after Mass, please consider helping those who are not so fortunate. There are also cards on the table in the Gallery for those who do not attend a reception after Mass.
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e-zine compiled by John. C. Odean
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