Searching for a way to reflect more deeply during Lent? Lent arrives soon with Ash Wednesday on March 5. Does it inspire thoughts about fasting or memories of giving up chocolate? This year you might want to consider another choice as you keep the season. Lectio Divina is a prayer practice which in a small group setting includes meditation on Scripture and sharing responses. In my childhood Lent was a time of penance and being told to quit fighting with my sister.

As you know, the Preservation & Promise Campaign is behind us, and it was an over-the-top success. Through the generosity of 791 households and foundations, we raised more than $27.4 million! (It’s important to note that about $800,000 of that total are earnings on the pledge payments. The members of our Finance Committee carefully invested those monies until we needed to pay our construction bills. Remarkable!) The lion’s share of the donations was for the restoration of St. Ignatius Church, which is now complete. In addition, nearly $1.7 million was pledged for the Social Ministries Endowment, the earnings of which will help pay the salary for a part-time Coordinator of Social Ministries. (We’re just a couple of weeks away from posting the job description.) I am very proud of what we accomplished, and I hope that you are, too. (Note: The donor wall to recognize those who participated in the campaign is in progress. We will have a celebration after its installation and formally end the campaign.)

This year, Ramadan is being celebrated within the Islamic community beginning the evening of Friday, February 28 and lasting until March 29. Join us in wishing our Muslim friends a “Ramadan Mubarak”, meaning “have a blessed and generous Ramadan.” On behalf of the Anti-Racism Committee, parishioner Rick Fain offers this description so we may better understand the faith of our Muslim neighbors in San Francisco and around the world.

My husband and I joined St. Ignatius Parish in 2003, drawn by the Jesuit approach and community. Throughout this time, we were able to create a spiritual foundation through the significant rites and sacraments tied to building our family, from marriage preparation to the baptism, first communion, and confirmation for each of our four daughters. As much as I felt part of the church community, it wasn’t until Covid hit that I realized how deep our connections with St. Ignatius ran. Not being able to gather in person and discuss spiritual life regularly felt like a huge loss. Ironically, right as we began to celebrate mass in person safely, our whole family contracted Covid and we were not able to participate in the first Christmas pageant. It was another blow, underlining the highlight of our faith: sharing and living God’s message with others.

Need a little help at home, or know a parishioner who does? We’re re-booting the Neighbor to Neighbor ministry at St. Ignatius, and although the “official” re-boot will be at Masses on the weekend of March 8/9, we are reaching out now to parishioners who can use a helping hand from time to time. This ministry is available for only St. Ignatius parishioners, who will be helped by other parishioners.

Pope Francis this week wrote an open letter to the Bishops in the United States directly addressing, in Pope Francis’s words, “the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations.” You may find the letter here.

Three Mercy & Justice ministries — Solidarity with Immigrants, Laudato Si' Circle, and the Anti-Racism Committee — are working together through a new collaboration committee, SOLAR. The committee is excited to announce a special project that will highlight St. Ignatius as a beacon on a hill through the strength of our union as a holy community. We're creating a parish cookbook that will embody our shared values of inclusivity, creation care, and solidarity. This cookbook will showcase our diverse cultural backgrounds, honor our family traditions, and reflect on the deeper connections between food, faith, and social justice.

Having raised three children in the St. Ignatius Parish, I feel profoundly grateful for the blessings this community has given our family—faith, friendship, and a true sense of belonging. St. Ignatius has been a part of our lives for so many years, shaping not only my children’s upbringing but also my own spiritual journey. We have had the opportunity to celebrate First Holy Communions and Confirmations. We have experienced sadness, joy, and hope with and for our community within the walls of our treasured St. Ignatius.

For family counseling referrals, St. Ignatius Parish recommends a confidential consultation with a Licenced Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT)

The theme for Black History Month this year is Labor, which provides a valuable lens to consider the contributions of Black labor to our country, and our community. The month starts with Freedom Day, February 1, which was designated in 1948 to commemorate the signing of the 13th Amendment in 1865. This landmark legislation abolished slavery, except as punishment for a crime, marking a pivotal moment in the journey toward freedom and equality.

Sixty years ago, Vatican II spoke about Catholics in the pews in language that was groundbreaking and exciting. The image of “the People of God,” for example, sought to replace our self-understanding as a passive, receptive people with one that gives agency and responsibility to the everyday Catholic. Lumen Gentium, one of the four primary documents, speaks of the “common priesthood of the faithful,” conferred on all of the baptized. In following years, the Society of Jesus developed these themes in its own documents, recognizing the gifts given by the Spirit to the Church through our lay partners in mission and their essential role in the effectiveness of our ministries.

Lunar New Year is celebrated by billions of people in East Asia and beyond. We asked Saint Ignatius parishioner Vanita Louie to share how her family celebrates the holiday, also known as Chinese New Year.

Welcome Patrick Hagen! Patrick comes to us most recently from the San Francisco Opera Chorus, where he was a resident member. We are excited that he is already directing an integral part of liturgy on Sundays, the wonderful music, and working with our choir and the other musicians who aid us in worship. Learn about Patrick in this short interview—and when you see him be sure to ask about joining the choir or the importance of a strong vocal presence from the assembly during service! He also works as a voice instructor, so you might ask him about that as well.

We are thrilled to welcome you and your young athletes back for another season of girls' basketball at St. Ignatius Parish! It’s wonderful to see familiar faces returning as we continue to grow and strengthen our program for players in grades 3rd through 8th.

Last Sunday, I met with Cesar and Daniella and the parishioners with whom we have been accompanying them since their legal arrival in the United States two years ago. Many of you know them: they regularly attend the 10 am Mass and post-Mass hospitality with their two daughters, whose baptisms we celebrated on a Baptism Sunday a year and a half ago. The family is awaiting its asylum hearing. Meanwhile, both Cesar and Dani are employed, paying their way, and have enrolled their daughters in school at the Holy Family Day Home.

Older, Wiser, Livelier Seniors (OWLS) is a thriving ministry as seniors (50+) gather to enjoy each other’s company and participate in a variety of activities that reflect the interests of senior members of our parish. The group meets once a month, on the second Friday of the month, but during the Lenten Series we'll meet once a week for a book discussion.

Martin Luther King Jr. is best known for his work advocating for civil rights. As the chair of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, King delivered his powerful speech, “I Have a Dream,” standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC on August 28, 1963. In that speech, King recounted the long history of racial oppression borne by Blacks and called on each of us to hold ourselves and this country accountable, asking us “not to return to business as usual”. Hear the full speech below and learn more about some of the events planned to acknowledge Martin Luther King and his work.

During a recent conversation with my son, I admitted out loud that I have a hard time getting into the Christmas Spirit this year. He seemed a little surprised by my admission. As a family, we’ve celebrated Christmas, and were very faithful to the Catholic customs in doing so. Our family always had an advent wreath. We went Christmas caroling. Our holiday decorations always included a creche. We sang at Christmas Masses. So my admission about struggling with the Christmas spirit caught my son off guard. So, he asked me, “Do you have a story that really represents Christmas for you?”

This Christmas, our parish family will once again be supporting Epiphany Center, a local non-profit which provides holistic, client-centered care to a diverse population of families who are the most vulnerable in our society. Bring your wrapped "Gifts from the Magi" to the 4:00 pm Family Mass on Christmas Eve!

St. Peter Canisius, SJ, Priest and Doctor of the Church, (May 8, 1521 – December 21, 1597) is celebrated December 21. Learn about an important aspect of this Jesuit's faith and historic legacy, his veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary and contribution to the Hail Mary, in the latest Faith in Focus article!