The Church of St. Ignatius Loyola is a Laudato Si’ Action Platform Parish embodying the goals articulated by Pope Francis ten years ago in his landmark encyclical, Laudato Si’ – Praise Be – Care for Creation, Our Common Home. The encyclical is a compelling document founded in theological convictions that are grounded in scripture, Catholic Social Teaching, and previous papal documents. It speaks to Creation as a source of spirituality inspiring awe, gratitude, reverence, and of all right relationships. Moreover, it addresses how climate, environmental ecology, and related poverty are moral imperatives in addition to being scientific and societal ones.
The principles of Laudato Si’, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all God’s creation, were woven into the preamble of the 2015 Paris Agreement and presented by Pope Francis in his historic address to the UN General Assembly on 15th September 2015, urging world leaders to work for the common good, prioritize peace and justice, and uphold the dignity of every person. Pope Leo XIV continues the ever more urgent call of action. Pope Leo XIV inaugurated and celebrated a new formulary of the Roman Missal Mass designated as Care for Creation on July 9th, 2025. In his homily, Pope Leo called for ecological conversion, drawing from the legacy of Pope Francis and his encyclical. He reminded us that “We must pray for the conversion of many people, inside and outside the Church, who still do not recognize the urgency of caring for our common home.”
Our archdiocese has used this new Mass in its annual celebration of the Season of Creation and this 10th anniversary of Laudato Si’. On October 5th, all the Masses at St. Ignatius Loyola will also be using this new liturgy in celebrating the Season of Creation that concludes with the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Season of Creation will culminate with Blessing of the Animals after 11 am Mass.
Our paradigm of Church requires us to transform ourselves in reverencing God’s creation and contributing both individually and as a community for a sustainable future. Adding a faith and spiritually based dimension to the scientific and societal ones strengthens the understanding of what we owe God and one another in working toward a better and more just future for all. Our parish will continue to accomplish this by our adopting a parish-wide focus on the seven goals of Laudato Si’. Within the next several weeks, we will present a revised St. Ignatius Loyola Action Plan and offer future programs to embrace the vision of an integrated ecology.
Inspired by Pope Francis, the Laudato Si’ Movement has designed a roadmap of action by establishing seven goals for Catholic and other institutions and individuals, which we will use. The goals are as follows:
Response to the Cry of the Earth
- Response to the Cry of the Poor
- Ecological Economics
- Adoption of a Simple Lifestyle
- Ecological Education
- Ecological Spirituality
- Emphasis on Community Involvement and Participatory Action
In conclusion, it is the hope that our entire parish community of parishioners, together with their families and friends, will embrace the call of Pope Francis and now Pope Leo XIV to work together toward an integral ecology that is reflected in our personal lives and the lives of our parish activities and schools.
| Geraldine Rizzo and Nicholas Naccari, Laudato Si’/ Care of Creation Ministry
September 28, 2025 Essay: Meeting Christ in Prayer: My ExperienceI was deeply blessed to participate in the Meeting Christ in Prayer retreat this past spring. The thoughtful structure, inspiring facilitators, and supportive participants made the experience truly unforgettable. Each session was carefully designed, and the weekly exercises and assignments helped me stay disciplined and intentional in my prayer life. This structure encouraged me to carve out meaningful time for reflection and spiritual growth.
One of the most enriching aspects of the retreat was being introduced to various methods of prayer. I especially connected with Lectio Divina, which allowed me to engage more deeply with Scripture and feel a profound closeness to Christ. During these prayer exercises, I often felt the presence of God in a tangible way. It was like entering into a sacred dialogue with him.
Imaginative prayer was initially a challenge for me, but with time and practice, I was amazed at how vividly I could place myself within the Gospel scenes. When I engaged my senses of sight, sound, smell, and touch, the readings came to life and helped me experience Christ’s love in a new and intimate way. These prayer practices have become part of my spiritual routine, and I plan to continue using them.
Overall, Meeting Christ in Prayer has transformed not only my spiritual life but also my personal and professional life. I feel more grounded in hope and more intentional about placing God at the center of my life above work, responsibilities, and distractions. I continue to prioritize time for daily prayer, trusting in Christ more fully and seeking his guidance in all areas of my life.
Equally powerful was the sense of community I experienced in Meeting Christ in Prayer. I felt truly seen, heard, and welcomed by both the facilitators and fellow participants. The love, acceptance, and encouragement I received filled me with immense hope, and I pray I can offer the same to others. I could not have asked for a more grace-filled group of people to share this journey with.
I am profoundly grateful for this retreat and wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone seeking a deeper connection with Christ through prayer and reflection. It is a beautiful way to encounter Christ in a personal and transformative way.
— Janet L.
September 21, 2025 Essay: The Abiding Love of God
This morning, I watched the sunrise from my window. It rose slowly, painting the skies a dull pinkish-gray before rising fully over the horizon and illuminating the homes and storefronts scattered across the hills and valleys below. The arresting view is a far cry from my typical mornings in New York City, where I usually can’t see the sunrise from my first-floor apartment windows, which are blocked in on all sides by other apartment buildings. Everything seems different here in Bethlehem, in the Holy Land—a far cry from home in so many ways, yet strikingly familiar in the most important way: in the deep and abiding presence of God’s love for all of us, even amidst considerable pain, suffering, and ongoing challenges. It is this fact that has provided the backdrop to my first visit to the Holy Land, and which has permeated all the wonderful conversations and interactions I’ve had here over the past week or so.
By the time you read this, I will have returned home and will be eagerly hoping to meet as many of you in person as possible. To start with, it has been nothing short of a joy and a blessing to have joined the St. Ignatius Loyola community at the beginning of the Summer as the new Pastoral Associate for Ignatian Spirituality and Faith Formation. The Summer provided a time for settling in, for deep reflection, and also for laying some foundations for our parish’s new sisterhood relationship with St. Catherine’s Parish of the Church of the Nativity. When I wrote this reflection from the birthplace of Jesus, my two feet were planted on the soil that the Holy Family trod on, and I was reminded (in a quite visceral way) of the depth of God’s love for us. God certainly didn’t need to enter the world in this way: in the form of a fragile child born in poverty, to parents already viewed as outcasts in many ways by their society, in a region fraught with discord and instability. No, God didn’t need to be with us in this way. However, God chose to give us Jesus because of a love so deep, so indescribably irrational, so magnanimous that it became Truth. God wanted to be with us so fully and truly that God entered humanity in this tiny, little place called Bethlehem.
“Though our Lord Jesus Christ was rich, he became poor, so that by his poverty, you might become rich.” — 2 Corinthians 8:9
As Christians, the Bethlehem of Jesus’ birth has always been part of our life stories, even if just in reference to the physical place we remember each year at Christmastime. But how wonderful it is that our parish community now gets to entangle our stories with the Bethlehem of today, to grow in faith alongside our brothers and sisters who still root themselves here, and to be able to more deeply entrench the birthplace of Christ within our own graced histories in a new & personal way.
In Ignatian Spirituality, reflecting on and sharing our “graced history” is not merely a flowery concept, but an important exercise in viewing our past and present experiences in light of God’s abundant love for us. As we recollect and examine the pivotal moments of our life, we are called to actively seek where God’s grace has been present through all the many instances of consolation and desolation. We are invited to sit in gratitude of how God lovingly accompanies us through every high and low, and how the Holy Spirit is constantly working to draw us more deeply into the fullness of our humanity.
As we get to know one another better, I am so looking forward to sharing our graced histories with each other and seeking to more fully uncover how God is working through all of us to build a stronger faith community at St. Ignatius. Let us seek one another out—as God continuously seeks us out—so that we might all grow in deeper love and continue to flourish through God’s grace that is so abundantly poured out. Mashallah!
+AMDG+
— Roxanne De La Torre, Pastoral Associate for Ignatian Spirituality and Faith Formation
September 14, 2025 Essay: New York or Nowhere!Perhaps you’ve seen these baseball hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and the like throughout the City? In fact, I don a NYON hat (with the Yankees logo on the side, for good measure) for my daily morning walks through our common backyard, Central Park (It was an Ordination gift from my sister who lives in Queens!). There’s something about this sentiment that captures my heart! Ironically, however, this is the first time I have had the opportunity to work in New York as a Jesuit! Already, this Church is a meaningful place for me. As you may know, I was ordained here, along with four of my classmates, on June 14th.
Allow me, first, to offer a few words of introduction as we get to know each other. I grew up in Wappingers Falls, New York, a 90-minute Metro-North ride up the Hudson River. My parents—who I am sure you will see often this year!—are originally from the Bronx. Many weekends, holidays, and summer days growing up were spent in that great borough, not to mention frequent trips to Yankee Stadium! So, for me, the Bronx is like a second home, a place where I was always surrounded by family and food.
My first run-in with the Society of Jesus was at the North American Martyrs Shrine in Auriesville, New York, on a 5th-grade field trip. However, it wasn’t until college at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore that I actually met Jesuits! It was there, and especially in my work in Campus Ministry, that the idea of being a Jesuit priest started to take root. I had already thought about the priesthood, mostly thanks to the wonderful parish priests I knew in Wappingers Falls, but meeting and interacting with the Jesuits set my heart on fire in a new way. So, after much discernment and many conversations with friends and mentors, I decided to enter the Novitiate after graduation.
As I’m sure many of you know, Jesuit formation is a long and winding path! As I often say, we’re slow learners! My 11 years of formation took me all over the country—from starting the journey in the Northeast in our Novitiate in Syracuse, New York to three years of philosophy studies in the Midwest at St. Louis University, followed by three years of teaching sophomore math in the Southeast at Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School, and finally, to three years on the West Coast studying theology at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California and serving as a deacon in a parish in Orinda, California.
So, while I am filled with excitement to be back in New York, my formation has taught me how God is truly present in all places. Which reminds me of the counsel of St. Ignatius Loyola. In a letter concerning the formation of young Jesuits, he writes, “They should practice the seeking of God’s presence in all things, in their conversations, their walks, in all that they see, taste, hear, understand, in all their actions, since His Divine Majesty is truly in all things by His presence, power, and essence.”
Indeed, God is truly and powerfully present in all places—if only we have eyes of faith and hearts of hope to recognize and feel God’s presence, power, and essence! So, perhaps the tagline ought to be New York and Everywhere! Indeed, I am excited for our year together and all the ways we will find God in this place.
Already, I’m deeply grateful for your support and prayers in these first months as a priest! I look forward to getting to know you, so please introduce yourself to me often! And, even more, please keep praying for me!
Godspeed,
Fr. Jonathan Pennacchia, S.J.
Pastoral Year Priest
7 September 2025
Dear Parishioners,
The unofficial end of summer brings with it the return of parishioners who have been away for the summer months. Welcome home! To those who enjoyed staycations, brace yourselves for the return of more traffic in the City. To those who join us remotely on Sunday for our 11:00 AM Solemn Mass, your numbers increased each week. To everyone, Welcome back!
Allow me to give you a brief account of the last few months. We welcomed two members to the Parish Staff. Father Jonathan Pennacchia, S.J. joins us for one year. Father Pennacchia, along with four other Jesuits, was ordained here at St. Ignatius on June 14th. While he is with us, he will be one of the full-time priests of the parish. Ms. Roxanne De La Torre joins us as a pastoral associate whose responsibilities include Ignatian Spirituality and faith formation. Ms. De La Torre will also be our primary liaison with St. Catherine’s Church, our sister parish in Bethlehem. Father Pennacchia and Ms. De La Torre will introduce themselves in their own words in the parish bulletins of 14 September (Fr. Pennacchia) and 21 September (Ms. De La Torre).
There was a buzz of activity at the parish throughout the summer. Our facilities crew kept busy with seasonal maintenance routines and minor repairs. The sacristans kept the church in good working order. Technicians made needed adjustments to the church’s sound system. Several of the church’s air conditioning units failed on several occasions and required significant repairs. While all the ministries of the parish were active during the summer, I am especially grateful to our Ministers of Hospitality, Lectors, and Eucharistic Ministers for their commitment and service every weekend throughout the summer. Finally, the parish priests continued to labor tirelessly in the vineyard, but also enjoyed time away for their vacations or annual retreats.
Today we resume our full weekend schedule of Masses. The 12:10 PM daily Mass returned on 2 SEPT. Our outdoor coffee hour begins today after the 11:00 AM Masses. Enjoy one another’s company or meet someone new over a cup of coffee and a cookie. On 21 SEPT, we will have our annual Ministries Fair in McKinnon Hall. It will be an opportunity to reacquaint yourselves with the array of ministries at the parish. Please sign up for at least one of them and join the more than 850 parishioners who are actively involved with these ministries.
What a joy it is to be together again! Welcome home!
Sincerely in the Lord,
Fr. Yesalonia
September 7th Essay: The Lost Innocence of SummerAmong her inspirational quotes, motivational speaker, best-selling author, and journalist Regina Brett wrote, “Summer is the annual permission slip to be lazy. To do nothing and have it count for something. To lie in the grass and count the stars. To sit on a branch and study the clouds.” How many of us took advantage of that permission slip this summer or in recent years? Or have we relegated the counting of stars and the study of clouds to the domain of children? There is value in doing nothing, both for children and, most especially, for adults. Yet we allow our insecurities and external circumstances to rob us of what is vital to our physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being. When we fail to take a firm grasp of that permission slip, the innocence of summer is lost, and with it our ability to see the beauty of the world around us, even amidst the horrors that assault our senses on an almost daily basis and confound our understanding.
My summer vacation this year was unlike any other I have had, and it was not because of the cold weather at the beach in the middle of August. I have always looked forward to my summer vacation as a chance to visit friends and catch up on news of our lives (and the latest gossip), to walk along the seashore and watch the clouds floating in the sky, and to sit on the porch at night and do nothing more than listen to the crickets and count the stars. Sadly, it was not to be like that this year. There was a sinister mist of foreboding on the horizon that obscured the clouds and vanquished the stars.
Invariably, the pleasantries that were exchanged upon first greeting friends were followed by words of dread, exasperated expressions of bewilderment, and contained anger. The topic of those conversations shared a common thread: What is happening in our country? It is no longer recognizable to us and to those who look at us from afar. The unanswered question was always the same: How did we get here so quickly? There is no simple answer that explains the reasoning (if it can be called that) why so many revered institutions have abdicated their responsibility to safeguard what we have valued from the very founding of our country. Jim Jones had Kool-Aid. What pernicious elixir is being offered now?
If we were to focus our attention on darkness, we would never see the light. If we were to continue down that path in our conversations we would be drinking an elixir of fear. Failing to study the clouds and count the stars would rob the summer of its innocence. We would lose sight of the goodness that surrounds us and gives us hope for the future.
In the midst of their exile in a foreign land, the prophet Jeremiah delivered to the Israelites a message from God, “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you…plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope….When you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me…and I will change your lot.” (Jer 29:11-14a). To a divided Christian community in Philippi, St Paul wrote, “…whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen from me. Then the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil 4:8-9).
We are exiles in our own land, living in a nation divided by deep chasms of suspicion and enmity. History is being rewritten, and a dystopia fashioned. The signs are all around us, but if we limit our vision to those signs we will be deaf to the words of both Jeremiah and St. Paul and blind to the path that will lead us to a future of hope. Our spirits will be buoyed when we place our trust in God and do nothing more than study the clouds and count the stars. The love that God has for us will be revealed in the simple act of being alone with God and gazing at the sky. By “doing nothing” we will be strengthened in our resolve to live our lives with honor, integrity, and truthfulness, and the future will appear bright. It is a matter of faith and courage for us to firmly grasp the proffered permission slip of God and retrieve the innocence of summer. When we do that, our nation will begin to heal and our hope for the future will be restored.
As we begin a new cycle in the life of the parish, may we find ways as a community to join in joyful purpose to study the clouds and count the stars in ways that will redound to the greater glory of God and the salvation of all!
— Dennis J. Yesalonia, S.J., Pastor
ISJ Essay: Due Process DeniedOver the past two years, parishioners attending the Sunday Mass in Wallace Hall have welcomed with open arms the families who have been part of our Migrant Accompaniment Program. With both Moms and Dads working, many have now been able to move into their own homes, enroll their children in permanent schools, and begin a new life in their communities. You may recognize Antonella. She helped her school win the Softball Championship this Spring.
Sadly, as we see every day in news reports, families like this are being targeted and face uncertainty for simply complying with the law to attend required court hearings. In this PBS interview on August 4th, Fr. Brian Strassburger, S.J., discusses how the court system is now being used to deny due process to many. Many from our parish have met Fr. Brian. He invited our parishioners in 2022 to “come and see” what was happening at the border—and that visit led to the development of our own Migrant Accompaniment Program.
This denial of due process is not just happening in Texas; it is happening right here in New York City. In just the past week, the daughter of an Episcopal priest was stopped while leaving the immigration court and locked in detention. Only through protests at the Courthouse by New Yorkers and a large contingent of clergy was the young woman eventually released. This demonstrated the power of religious leaders when taking a public stance.
Our parish is committed to supporting efforts to help our migrant sisters and brothers. On September 14, in our Parish House, we will participate in a program sponsored by The Center for Migration Services/Fordham University to discuss the programs we have supported over the past three years. Please join us.
For more information, email Laura de Boisblanc at [email protected].
— Anne Melanson
June 29, 2025 Essay: Sweet Land of LibertyOn the evening of November 9, 1938 in Germany, a group of thugs wearing brown and black shirts and stoking the flames of fear and suspicion, shattered the windows of businesses owned by Jews, delighted in creating a bonfire of their books and sacred scripture, and rounded up Jewish women, children, and men and “deported” them.
On Thursday, June 12th, 2025, at a news conference in Los Angeles where a representative of the current administration was spewing forth words of fear and intimidation, a United Sates Senator, who dared to voice a different opinion, was forcefully brought to his knees and arrested by men wearing brown and black shirts. The administration official continued her remarks without skipping a beat. It was as though no one was there but those who hung on her every word.
In the afternoon of the same day as the LA news conference, I attended the graduation ceremony of our grammar school children. By tradition, the ceremony begins with the singing of My Country, tis of Thee. For the first time in my life, I was unable to sing that song. Mindful of what has recently been happening in our country, I could not in good conscience voice the words Sweet land of liberty, nor the words From ev’ry mountainside, let freedom ring. Sadly, those words have become hollow and meaningless. We are no longer the Land of the noble free. We are being rounded up either to submit to abject and inflammatory rhetoric or be brought to our knees by modern-day zealots wearing shirts of every color of the rainbow. Sweet land of liberty?
In the early morning of Saturday, June 14th, 2025, in Minnesota, two elected officials and the spouse of one of them were shot because of their political affiliation. One of those officials and her husband died. Later that afternoon, on a day that otherwise would have been a celebration of our nation’s military, propaganda and ego were paraded through the streets of the nation’s capital, passing by a sparsely populated reviewing stand and even sparser crowds. Sweet land of liberty?
To those who would criticize this essay, claiming it is about politics, it is not. It is about morality, decency, and values that have been the foundation stones of this great country for generations. To remain silent in the face of what is happening in our country is to condone the abduction of children from schools and hospitals, the obliteration of the meaning of the rule of law, the denial of basic human needs to the most vulnerable in our society, and the elimination of God from our vocabulary. Sweet land of liberty?
In one week’s time, we will celebrate the birth of our nation. Most of us are familiar with the beginning sentences of the Declaration of Independence. Let us remind ourselves of the last sentence of the text, And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. It is now our responsibility to carry on what has been entrusted to us by our forefathers – a free and independent nation, a sweet land of liberty, the land of the noble free.
Perhaps the final verse of My Country, tis of Thee will guide us in our efforts to faithfully live the democratic principles heralded in each town square every 4th of July. Those words are, Protect us by thy might, Great God, our King, a sentiment that is engraved in the currency of the United States, IN GOD WE TRUST. As women and men of faith, we cannot stand idly by when official actions attempt to erase these words from our consciences. Our “sacred honor” is now being tested.
May God grant us, as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, the grace and strength of conviction to proclaim in our time God’s kingdom of peace, justice, compassion, and mercy!
— Dennis J. Yesalonia, S.J., Pastor
ISJ Essay: Interfaith Prayer Service for Asylum SeekersLast week, St. Ignatius Loyola Social Justice Ministry held an Interfaith Prayer Service in the church with St. Francis of Assisi, Park Avenue Synagogue, St. Mark’s on the Bowery, and Peace Island Institute.
Our Pastor, Rev. Dennis Yesalonia, S.J. welcomed everyone to our Interfaith Migrant Prayer Service and Bobby Reuter, Associate Director of Music played beautiful, improvised piano interludes between each speaker, and Wendy Baker was the cantor for the opening and closing hymns. The following are snippets of each reflection given by the speakers.
Jean Santopatre opened the service with these remarks: “Many of our ministries here at St. Ignatius are engaged in the corporal works of Mercy: Feed the hungry, Give drink to the thirsty, Clothe the naked, Shelter the homeless, Visit those in prison, Comfort the sick and Bury the dead. Collectively, as communities of faith, we are called to practice the corporal works of Mercy.
We are mindful of the unjust actions that target people who seek refuge from the danger they faced from their government or because of climate change in their homelands.
Recently, Rev. William J Barber II posed this moral message to our nation: ‘From Moses to Jesus, the Bible tells us that those who fought for justice—those who spoke truth to power, those who refused to accept that injustice and inequality had to exist and that there was no better way—always found themselves hated, hounded, and heaped upon with false accusations simply because they believed in the necessity of speaking and working for the cause of righteousness and building a more just community.
This lack of majority support is why the just must live by faith and must know exactly who we are.’
All of us gathered here tonight are members of a faith community and together our collective faith in God compels us to act with justice and mercy. We heed the call to accompany those in need, to look and not turn away, because we know who we are.”
Fr. Julian from St. Francis of Assisi shared a story about a Jewish man praying at the wailing wall for peace who felt like he was just talking to a wall. Fr. Julian reflected: “Faith can unify us as a community of believers to go out and serve with love, compassion, and empathy. Together, we can harness this synergy to weave a tapestry of hope, justice, and peace in our beautiful common home.”
When our efforts to work for peace and justice feel like talking to the wall because no one seems to listen, don’t be silenced. Our voices must not be stifled.
When our work to protect the rights of our migrant sisters and brothers feels like talking to the wall because we’re being dismissed, don’t be intimidated. If we allow fear to overcome us, then those who seek to silence us have already won.
When our efforts to end racism feel like talking to the wall because there seems to be no hope in sight, don’t give up. The minute we quit, evil triumphs.”
Rabbi Shayna Golkow Zauzmer reflected on the Talmud writings. “There’s an argument in the Talmud, Judaism’s central post-Biblical text, about how the Bible teaches us not to oppress the stranger living among us, the migrant. The argument is whether the Bible gives us this warning 36 times or 46 times! Whichever side of the debate you come down on, it is absolutely indisputable that our shared Biblical text tells us loud and clear that we must not mistreat the migrant living among us.
As Jews, we learn about our own Biblical history as slaves in Egypt, our more recent history as oppressed people in so many different societies and countries, and our current reality knowing all too well how it feels to encounter antisemitism. And it is precisely because of those experiences that we are commanded not to oppress the strangers and the migrants among us.
It’s very powerful that it is our shared religious text that teaches us over and over again – 36 or 46 times! – how we must treat migrants. It makes me proud to be a person of faith, and I am proud to be with you this evening to join our voices in prayer for the migrants who share this beautiful city with us.”
Dolores Troy Quinn shared the story about the Valverde-Bermeo family, which reflects the corporal work of mercy: bury the dead.
“I would like to focus on one family, the Valverde-Bermeo family. Their journey really exemplifies the courage and resilience we have come to know with the families we have accompanied these past few years and the power we have as a parish to effect change and improve people’s lives.
Geronimo Valverde, a migrant from Ecuador, made the arduous trip from Ecuador to NYC last year thanks to the assistance of the Jesuit Relief Services. Unfortunately, Geronimo spent the last few months of his life fighting valiantly against the cancer that ultimately took his life. Geronimo would have had a tragic end buried in Potter’s Field, but thanks to the coordinated and generous outreach of several St. Ignatius ministries, Geronimo instead had a dignified burial.
First, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul sprang into action. Geronimo’s remains were taken to Redden’s Funeral Home where his cremains were then given to Geronimo’s daughter Britney. St. Vincent de Paul members, Pattie Hughes and Liz Martucci, were able to arrange for this service free of charge.
My husband Terry and his siblings offered a place in the grave of their parents, James and Kathleen Quinn, in Calvary Cemetery, Queens. James and Kathleen were themselves immigrants from Ireland. Through the generosity of the Social Justice Ministry and funds raised by generous parishioners, we were able to open the grave and Geronimo was laid to rest with Terry’s parents.”
A beautiful funeral Mass was said by Michael Hilbert, S. J. in Spanish and members of Ignatian Social Justice Ministry were lectors, Eucharistic Ministers and led the mourners in song with Amazing Grace. “In his death, Geronimo Valverde has also taught us another important lesson – that whether we are from a small farm in Ireland, the mountains of Ecuador, or an apartment on the Upper East Side, we all share a common humanity.”
Selim Kilik from Peace Islands Institute expressed these words from his Muslim faith: “For migrants and asylum seekers, who face immense difficulties, our help becomes an act of profound spiritual significance.
Consider the historical precedent set by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) himself.
When his early followers faced severe persecution in Mecca, they sought refuge elsewhere.
The Prophet, in an act of profound foresight and compassion, advised them to migrate to (modern-day Ethiopia), a Christian kingdom ruled by King (Najashi).
He described King Najashi as a “just king” in whose land no one was wronged. This historical event is a powerful example of interfaith solidarity and the imperative to offer protection to those fleeing oppression, regardless of their faith.
The Prophet understood that justice and compassion go beyond religious boundaries, and he sought refuge for his people in a place where these values were upheld. In conclusion, the importance of helping the less fortunate, including migrants, asylum seekers, and those seeking protection, is not merely a social obligation but a profound spiritual imperative deeply rooted in our traditions.”
Rev. Anne Marie Witchger, Priest-in-Charge at St. Mark’s in-the-Bowery, remarked: We’ve heard harrowing stories of the journeys people have made to get to this country. Unlike my grandmother who came directly by boat, migrants arriving in the United States today have often crossed many borders–by plane, by boat, by car, and on foot. By the time they get to New York, they are broke, exhausted, confused–and depending on what they’ve experienced, traumatized by violence or near-death experiences.
At our church, St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, we run a Welcome Center which serves about one hundred new New Yorkers each week, mostly from West Africa. We’re kind of a scrappy program. We don’t have much funding. We depend on the incredible gifts and energy of our amazing and deeply devoted volunteers–some of whom are here tonight. We offer food, haircuts, clothing, English tutoring, health resources, legal support, mentorship, and one-on-one services as needed.
But the most important thing we do is we try to create an environment where people can relax and be themselves. We don’t ask for any personal information; we don’t have any requirements to participate. We encourage people to sit and stay; to talk, to laugh, to play games, to share their stories. We set out prayer mats so folks can pray when they need to. We try to convey that we care–that St. Mark’s is a safe place where everyone is welcome and where we strive to understand each other–with the same spirit of a God who believes in and understands all people.
As the climate in our country grows increasingly hostile, inhumane, and unjust we know who we are called to be–we know how we are called to be. We are committed to remaining a place of safety and care for all people; we are committed to expanding our welcome; and we are committed to preserving the dignity of our neighbors because all children–all people–deserve to know that they belong.”
The final reflection was offered by Rev. Zack Nyein from St. Bartholomew’s on Park Avenue.
“Indeed, I owe my faith largely to my dad. Although he was nominally Buddhist, he felt it was important for me to have a spiritual community and growing up in small town Tennessee I often joke that the closest thing to Buddhism there was the relatively free-spirited Episcopal Church. It was in that tradition that I learned about a Jesus of compassion, welcome, reconciliation and breaking down walls and barriers — one who has been in so many ways hijacked by those who would have such a distorted gospel of Christ as to suggest that empathy is a sin. It has been said the greatest act of identity theft of our time has been committed against Jesus Christ. As a Christian, I am committed to reclaiming Jesus — to taking him back for the sake of love, liberation, and life.
Today I stand in solidarity with all immigrants and refugees of goodwill echoing Episcopal Bishop Marianne Budde’s call for mercy and compassion towards all our neighbors — documented and undocumented, of every age race and gender, nation, station and orientation. I wish to close with a new version of the classic hymn Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus that I wrote as an offering, a prayer and a charge to my fellow Christians and all friends of Jesus of every faith and none.
Stand up, stand up for Jesus
From hate reclaim his name
Stand up, Stand up for Jesus
God’s kingdom now proclaim
With mercy ever flowing,
His movement leads the way—
In liberating action,
We serve and hope and pray.
Stand up, stand up for Justice
All you who wear the cross
Stand up, stand up for Justice
For all the least and lost.
Still countless crucifixions
Stain earth with grief and pain;
The Lamb who bore our violence
Now calls us to love’s reign.
Stand up, stand up for mercy,
Towards all humanity
Stand up, stand up for mercy,
In solidarity
With immigrants and strangers
— and foreigners in our midst
Remember, our dear Jesus
Was once denied, dismissed.
Stand up, stand up for kindness,
Compassion, peace, and joy
Stand up, stand up for kindness,
The Spirit’s gifts deploy.
From those who would misuse it
His name we will retrieve
The loving name of Jesus
In whom true saints believe.”
Each speaker offered a powerful story that lingered with the beautiful music accompaniment. The thread of the corporal works of mercy by the power of the Holy Spirit were woven into each reflection, as each of us did not know the content of each reflection.
As Rev. Mark Hallinan, S.J. closed with his prayer, silence was palpable:
“O God most holy,
pour forth your mercy and compassion
on all who are present in our country seeking
refuge; seeking hope for a better future for
themselves and for those whom they love.
Too many of your sons and daughters now
live in fear – fear that the lives they have
created here will be taken from them,
fear that their loved ones will be imprisoned,
fear that their children will be separated from them,
fear that they will be returned to places where their
safety and their future are at risk.
Give them strength, O God, and let us be for them
your consoling presence.
Have mercy on us, O God, for the fear of your
children has been visited upon them by a government
acting in our name.
May our shame at what is being done in
our name move us, by your grace, to be fearless
advocates for all migrants, refugees, and asylum
seekers. Give us the wisdom to serve them well.
As we go forth into this night, let your light, O God,
shine forth through us to cast out the darkness that
overshadows too many of your precious sons and daughters.
In your most holy and precious name, we pray, Amen.”
— Jean Santopatre, Pastoral Associate
June 22, 2025 Essay: Food For The Work to Which We Are Called
Celebrating the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, we remember that this gift of inestimable value was given to us as food to strengthen us for the work to which we are called as his disciples.
At the last meal Jesus shared with his disciples, all the gospels, except for the gospel of John, portrayed Jesus as offering bread to them that he declared to be his body, and wine that he declared to be his blood. In that moment, they could not have understood what it was that Jesus was offering them. Despite the best efforts of Jesus to prepare them for his imminent suffering and death, the disciples were unable to grasp what Jesus was saying to them. This is why they failed Jesus so miserably at the time of his arrest. They panicked in the face of Jesus’ arrest by armed agents of the Jewish leadership. It was only after his resurrection from the dead that the disciples could begin to comprehend what it was that Jesus left them in his final meal with them.
Through the lens of Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples could see that Jesus had offered the sacrifice of his body and blood on the cross to liberate us from our slavery to sin so as to live in the freedom of God’s sons and daughters. His sacrifice was the result of human sinfulness, but offered in complete freedom by Jesus in conformity to the will of God for him. Having been faithful to the Father even unto death, God raised Jesus from the dead. His victory destroyed the power of sin and death once and for all. In his resurrection, life and love are now, and forever will be, victorious. Recalling their last supper with Jesus, the disciples understood that when they gathered again to remember Jesus, to remember his life and teaching, he would be present to them once more in that gathering, and in a very powerful way in the bread they would break together and in the cup they would share. In the bread that was broken and in the cup that was shared, Jesus was giving them the perpetual food of his body and blood so that they could properly remember him. And the only proper remembrance of Jesus was to make Jesus present in the world through the witness of their lives. In this way, their gathering in remembrance of Jesus would not be a static event, but a dynamic event. It would propel them outward to give courageous witness in the world to all that Jesus lived and taught.
When we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, it is not a private prayer. It is the communal prayer of the Body of Christ of which all the baptized are members. Jesus is present in all who are gathered. He is present in the Word that is proclaimed because Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. He is present in the priest who presides over our gathering and acts in the person of Jesus Christ to unite our prayer in Christ. Jesus then becomes present, through the power of God’s Spirit, in the bread and wine that are offered by all who are gathered to remember him. Fed by Jesus, we are sent forth to be Jesus in the world.
On this day when there are often Eucharistic processions, we should remember that after every celebration of the Eucharist there is a procession in the world. That procession is us! We leave the Church to reveal Jesus, not as a host enshrined in a monstrance, but as a living presence within us who becomes manifest to others by the way we incarnate in our lives his all-inclusive love and mercy, his abiding compassion for all who are in need or suffering.
— Fr. Mark Hallinan, S.J., Associate Pastor