News - February 2024

I have been a parishioner at St. Ignatius Church for 8 years along with my wife and two children. Our family was introduced to St. Ignatius after realizing our previous parish did not offer continued Catholic Faith Formation for our children. Further growing our children’s faith and continuing ours as a family was important for us. In searching for a new parish, a good friend suggested St. Ignatius.

I have lived in San Francisco for 26 years (a transplant from the east coast) and have been a parishioner at St Ignatius for almost as long. We joined the parish under Father Gagan and experienced the seamless transition to Father Greg when our oldest son was preparing for confirmation. My children were altar servers, I’ve been a Eucharistic Minister, and my sons were part of the first parish CYO basketball teams, winning the championship in their inaugural year. I’ve helped with coffee hour, bingo, parish picnics, Easter egg hunts, among other events, volunteering whenever there was downtime in our family schedule between school, sports, and other events. While I enjoyed all these activities, I didn’t feel fully engaged, or that I was doing enough. I wasn’t participating as fully as I could or should. I had plenty of volunteer activities I enjoyed through school and other community organizations but wanted to invest more time and attention to my faith and to building connections within this wonderful community. While the opportunities were there, I wasn’t sure exactly how or where to jump in.

As many of you already know, our dear friend and colleague, Sr. Theresa Moser, R.S.C.J., went home to God last Friday, February 9. She suffered a debilitating stroke and broken hip at the end of last November. Determined to return to San Francisco and St. Ignatius parish, she worked hard at the various types of rehab since. But early in the morning last Friday, while being helped back to bed, Sr. Theresa paused and said to the aide, “I think I’m going.” Thus she went, in the faithful and peaceful way she lived her life.

“How will you and your family observe Lent this year?” It’s a question we recently posed at our quarterly leadership meeting. Focusing on the three pillars of Lent (prayer, fasting, and almsgiving), here are some ways members of your Faith Formation Commission plan to observe Lent. Information on how you can participate in some or all of these events can be found on the Lent page on our parish website, or via the links in the article below.

Serving the Mercy and Justice Commission gives me a different perspective as a parishioner at St. Ignatius parish. I’ve acquired a better understanding of how Mercy & Justice interrelates with the other committees and their ministries, admiration for all the parishioners who devote their time and effort to the committees, and confidence that my participation and presence is of value to the group. 

The word “Lent” comes from an Old English word for spring, from which we also get the word “length,” which refers to the lengthening of daylight during this season. Originally created for the preparation of those converting to Christianity, the season later became associated with Jesus’ 40 days in the desert. Yet, as conversions decreased and infant baptism became more the norm, Lent took on a penitential and preparatory quality for all Christians on their way to Easter. Just as the earth was being renewed by the coming of spring, so Christians were invited to renew themselves—to slough off the old and put on the grace promised in the Resurrection. The Church called all to increased fasting, to greater almsgiving, and to deeper prayer, all so that we might come to the new life promised in the resurrec

As we approach the solemn season of Lent, we invite you to join us in a transformative journey of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving and, most importantly, hearing the cry of the poor. This Lent, we are called not only to deepen our connection with God but also to heed the calls of those in need around us and the cries of our fragile planet.

In the early part of last year, two Cardinals published a series of questions challenging the orthodoxy and appropriateness of some of Pope Francis’ writings and actions. Perhaps the most controversial of these Dubia (as they are known) concerned the blessing of persons in same-sex unions, which the Cardinals claimed was contrary to “revealed doctrine.” In his response, Francis noted that while the Church continues to understand marriage as an “exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman,” such an understanding does not exclude the possibility that people in same-sex relationships might be blessed by the Church. Responding to the Cardinals, Francis said, “in our dealings with people, we must not lose pastoral charity, which should permeate all our decisions and attitudes. The defense of objective truth is not the only expression of this charity; it also includes kindness, patience, understanding, tenderness, and encouragement. Therefore, we cannot become judges who only deny, reject, and exclude.” Thus, the Pope noted that, while the Church might not be able to sanction or ritually solemnize same-sex unions, the blessing of those in such unions—as an act of tenderness and encouragement—sits well within the pastoral tradition of the Church and the practice of Jesus.

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.