From the Editor:

Greetings on a sunny afternoon.

Fr. Brian was indisposed this week so we were unable to video our weekly chat of ‘The Thought.’ The buck got passed back to me and here I am taking my pulse on how I am feeling in our world at the moment.

The Middle East Conflict, the War in Europe, Politics, and the Archdiocese 

The Middle East: Big and Scary. I've come to understand that it's OK to be heartbroken for more than one group of people at the same time.

Europe: I grieve for many of my pastoral friends in Ukraine. Most have lost family members on the frontline as their country is under siege. Cities that I love and spent a great deal of time in have been bombed and rubbled. The United States remains divided whether to aid Ukraine and end the Russian invasion. I believe this will eventually expand into an interregional conflict. This is a future that, for me personally, is hard to imagine.

U.S.: When I witness our country divided and heading to the November elections, what will it look like when one party is victorious and the other is defeated? Will they see each other as enemies? Vitriol has replaced civility. It is an insecure and unpleasant pot of stew on so many fronts.

Archdiocese: Of course, we've been shocked, outraged, and disappointed over the reports of priest abuse within the Catholic Church, and the years it took to deal with it forthrightly. Now, news news of urban parishes closing or merging brings more disappointment. We live in a time of uncertainty and change for sure.

My need for peace and assurance is great right now. I have recently found myself looking for something to calm my spirit and heal my heart – something of "hope in the midst of tough times." I found a video I shared with you during the hard days of COVID in 2020. It is a teaching by a friend from my pastoral days in Los Angeles, Philip Wagner. It’s about the old hymn “It Is Well With My Soul.” It

helped me "in my soul" once again. I hope it helps you too.

Director of Media and Communication

To view 'The Thought' on "It Is Well With My Soul" click on video above

Two wonderful renditions of "It Is Well With My Soul"...

Gospel Reflection

Editor's Note: Next weekend's Gospel reading will be John 15: 1-8 where Jesus tells us how to be fruitful by his measure and provision. - JCO

Bearing Fruit in the True Vine (John 15:1-8)

by Saul Ciresi 

One of many areas in which I possess near-total incompetence is gardening. I am not a gardener. But I can mow the lawn, pick berries, and maybe even keep a cactus alive for a bit. After I bought my first house in Windsor, it was time to cut the grass for the first time. I decided that the flowerbed was not worth the effort, so I mowed it right over and left to be grass. My wife thinks I’m a terrible person. Thankfully, the picture of the Vine in our Gospel reading isn’t an instruction manual for gardening. The image of the Vine takes us out to wine country. Think of Niagara-on-the-Lake with its rolling vineyards lush with grapevines. Fruitful branches thick with grapes growing on an old, gnarled vine with roots that reach deep into the ground. Jesus is that true Vine, the only Vine planted by God. You believers are one of the branches. This is a metaphor, a story that describes the nature of our relationship with Jesus.

Looking for Fruit

The big point of the passage is fruitfulness. What God, the gardener, wants to cultivate is fruit. He wants to see you bear fruit. Fruit-bearing is not something that the branches do because they tried hard. The fruit develops because the Vine is true and the gardener good. Fruit comes because the branch is connected to the Vine. Sap comes from the Vine to the branch making it fruitful.  READ MORE

Welcome New Pastoral Council Members!

St. Ignatius warmly welcomes and thanks the four new pastoral council members who join the pastoral council: Cato Clemens, Dennis Hanratty, Jon Mayer, and Heather Nolan. At the April 28 10 AM Mass we will introduce them and ask God’s blessing on their work. We thank the members who have completed their service: Ted Engelke, Chris Daffin, Christina Johnson deGraft, and Brendan O’Kane, who will move to Macon, GA to assume leadership as president at De Sales Academy. We thank all these members for their dedication over the past years.

Next Sunday...

We are celebrating Fr. Bill Watters, S.J. and his induction into the Baltimore Sun's Business and Civic Hall of Fame. After the 10AM Mass next Sunday (April 28th) we will have cake and refreshments in Ignatian Hall.

Baseball Fun With Us

And now for some St. Ignatius Springtime Fun!

Our Parish has reserved 125 tickets for the Orioles/Blue Jays game on May 14th. Game time is 6:05 PM. Our seats are iust out in left field (section 85) and are covered if necessary. Tickets are $16.00 per seat. Last year we had close to 100 people join us...it was a great time...and how about those Orioles this year?

Please click the button below to find out how to purchase your tickets. Tickets must be purchased by April 28th.

Would love to spend an evening with you, your family, and your friends!

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, April 24

@7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Pastoral Council Meeting

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Thursday, April 25

@6:30pm - 8:30 pm

Interfaith Committee Meeting

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Tuesday, April 30

@6:30pm - 8:30 pm

Interfaith Committee Meeting

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Tuesday, April 30

@6:30pm - 8:30 pm

Seek the City to Come Event

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Tuesday, April 30

@7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Young Adults: Discussions on Draft

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Questions? Please contact Sam Jennings at samjennings@gmail.com

Wednesday, May 1

@ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Environmental Justice Committee Meeting

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Friday, May 3

@ 8:00 am - 11:00 am

First Friday Adoration and Benediction 

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Growth Opportunity

On Monday, April 29, at 4 PM EST all are invited to Discerning Diakonia, a focused synodal encounter about the renewal of the permanent diaconate for the Church’s social mission and the possibility of ordaining women as deacons. This event, which will include a listening presence from voting Synod delegates, features special guests including Deacon Geert de Cubber, the Synod’s only Roman Catholic permanent deacon, and esteemed scholar on the diaconate Deacon William Ditewig. We will gather virtually to hear from ministry leaders from the United States and Canada whose stories, experiences and examples give us living witness for what is needed and what could be possible for our Church in this third millennium.

From the Archdiocese

Join us for a free Mental Wellness Retreat

Dear Friends in Christ,

I extend a warm invitation to you to join a special event May 15 to mark the observance of the feast day of St. Dymphna and Mental Health Awareness Month. The Archdiocese of Baltimore and Seeds of Hope ministry will host a retreat for mental wellness.

All are welcome, especially those who have lived with mental health challenges, as well as their loved ones. We also want to reach individuals searching for healing after the loss of a loved one to suicide. I also enthusiastically extend our invitation to anyone in our parish and school communities who volunteers – or wants to volunteer – in a mental health ministry.

The retreat will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.. Wednesday, May 15, at the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, the one-time home of the first American-born saint. The cost for attendees is generously covered by the Seeds of Hope program; space is limited. READ MORE

Seek The City to Come – SAVE THE DATES

The Archdiocese of Baltimore will hold 2 Open Sessions: Thursday, April 25 and Tuesday, April 30 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. to present draft models of the parish sites in Baltimore City and to solicit feedback. Sessions are open to the public.

Locations are yet to be determined. Announcement will be made available shortly. Check Seek the City to Come website for more information. 

Offerings & Prayers

POOR BOX

This month's collection: 

Families affected by the Key Bridge Disaster.

PRAYER LIST

Pray for those who are sick

and on our Prayer List.

Click here for Prayer Listt

NUMBERS SNAPSHOT

Last weekends 

attendance and collection 

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CONTRIBUTE

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support the church financially.

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A Final Thought...

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