News - March 2025

April is Arab-American Heritage Month—a time to celebrate the rich history, culture, and contributions of Arab Americans to our society. From scientists such as Nobel Prize winner Elias J. Corey, to business leaders such as Steve Jobs, and to writers as diverse as Kahlil Gibran, Edward Said, and Raymond Khoury, Arab Americans have woven their talents into the fabric of our nation. Arab communities in the US are incredibly diverse, with roots in over 20 countries, including Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, and Morocco. They also bring a variety of faith traditions—Christian (Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant), Muslim, and others—all of which add to the beauty of our shared human story.

Holy Week Schedule: Palm Sunday April 13: Saturday 5 pm Vigil Mass: Sunday: 8 am, 10 am (with Solemn Procession), 5 pm, 7 pm USF Student Mass

In the past many weeks, visitors and guests whom I’ve met have commented on how much is going on in our parish. They have been touched by your welcome, and they are inspired by all the ministry opportunities they see in the bulletin. It’s good to have some outside perspective! Of course, a welcoming and vibrant faith community is possible only when parishioners generously share the various talents that God gave them. And there are so many of you! I’d like here to acknowledge some of those groups of people and the ministries that they provide.

Once again we enter into the great season of Lent. It’s that season in our liturgical life when our hearts and minds prayerfully review in a special way God’s goodness to us and our often inadequate and sometimes sinful response.

My name is Dan Sullivan, and I have been a member of the Mercy & Justice Commission the past two years and a member of St. Ignatius parish for a little over five years. When I decided to move back to the Bay Area in 2019, the first thing I decided was that no matter where I ended up living (turned out to be Santa Rosa), St. Ignatius would be my parish. I deeply believe that Catholic social teaching around corporal works of mercy must be a core component of a Catholic community, rather than some ancillary or optional part. As Archbishop Gomez of Los Angeles (then President of the USCCB) put it, without this core component it is “pseudo-religion.” I was engaged with Ignatian spirituality, and knew that Saint Ignatius would be a welcoming home for me.

Did you know that the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco played an influential role in the life of the American journalist, Catholic social activist, and founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, Dorothy Day? Dorothy Day was born on November 8, 1897, in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, a sportswriter, took a position with the San Francisco Chronicle and the family moved to Oakland, California. In the aftermath of the earthquake, nine-year-old Dorothy witnessed the outpouring of support and self-sacrifice by the community. Young Dorothy drew a lesson about individual action and the Christian community, two guiding principles that would inform her entire life.