With a cease-fire in place in the Gaza war, there is a moral imperative for our government to exert maximum pressure on the Israeli government to surge humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.
The good news of a cease-fire is overshadowed by actions taken by the Israeli government to compromise the ability of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to operate in Gaza. UNRWA was established in 1949 to aid Palestinians displaced by the war that accompanied the founding of Israel in 1948. Since the start of the Gaza war, UNRWA employees have been overseeing aid deliveries, providing shelter and medical clinics, distributing food, and providing essential sanitation services. Israel claims that UNRWA employees took part in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and that UNRWA has facilitated the use of UNRWA sites as bases for operations by Hamas. A UN investigation found that nine employees were involved in the October 7th attack. They were fired. A lack of Israeli cooperation has hindered further investigations.
To fulfill its responsibilities, UNRWA has had to work with Hamas because it has governed Gaza since 2007. Note that the Israeli government facilitated support for Hamas after the first Trump administration ceased funding for UNRWA. The Israeli government negotiated an agreement with Qatar to provide direct financial assistance to Hamas to provide for the needs of the civilian population. This assistance was part of a larger calculation by the Israeli government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, to keep Hamas in power as it weakened the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. This allowed Netanyahu to insist that there was no reliable partner with whom he could negotiate a comprehensive settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While the Biden administration resumed aid to UNRWA, Congress barred further assistance from March 2024 through March 2025.
This past October, the Israeli government passed legislation that prevents UNRWA from operating in Israeli territory. Legislation also bars any Israeli government official from having contact with UNRWA, and strips all UNRWA workers of their diplomatic immunity. UNRWA officials are concerned about how they can facilitate the passage of aid into Gaza without contact with Israeli officials who control all access points. Protection of UNRWA workers is also a concern, if their movements in Gaza cannot be coordinated with the Israeli military.
While all these machinations occur, children are dying of cold and malnutrition in Gaza. In early January, the Washington Post reported that at least seven infants died in the cold from the end of December to the beginning of January. Conditions in Gaza are horrible with families having been displaced multiple times. Many are now living along the Gaza coast where their flimsy tents are subject to flooding from rains and the sea. U.S. medical personnel in Gaza have confirmed deaths of children from malnutrition and hypothermia. With limitations on the number of trucks able to enter Gaza, UN officials struggle to balance the desperate need for food with the equally desperate need for shelter materials. A rising death toll is all that can be guaranteed.
It has to be stated that Hamas bears principal responsibility for this disaster. Its attack on Israel was a wanton killing spree in which civilians were taken as hostages. Embedding its operations in civilian infrastructure made civilian casualties inevitable. Even now, Hamas is hampering relief efforts as it is involved in the misappropriation of some of the aid that is making its way into Gaza. Hamas has sacrificed its own people for its ideological goals.
Israel, however, is a western nation ostensibly committed to western norms and values. Our government has enabled Israel’s violation of those norms and values with our unwillingness to use the $17.9 billion in military aid that we have given Israel since the start of the war to influence its policies and actions. This makes all of us culpable for the catastrophe that is Gaza.
— Fr. Mark Hallinan, S.J., Associate Pastor
Essay: Clara’s GoodbyeA happy chapter in our lives began when Clara, the third mom we accompanied in the Migrant Accompaniment Program, welcomed us into her life.
The first day Anne Melanson and I met Clara, she was excited to be in NY and wanted to see the 9/11 museum. We were delighted with her enthusiasm and took her to the museum a week later. She navigated the subway system by herself and showed her love of country when she wrote “God Bless Venezuela” on an app in the museum. Here was a woman with curiosity, patriotism, and a sense of adventure!
The second day we were with Clara, we met her at the Little Shop of Kindness where we would find clothing for her family. She brought along Rey and his family, wanting to share the bounty with others in need. When we were ready to leave, Clara visited Maria, a woman she crossed the border with who was then in a NY shelter and part of our Accompaniment group. Maria was in isolation due to illness. They waved to each other from the window. Clara nourishes her friendships and visits the sick.
Many, many Sundays Clara and her family came to Mass at St. Ignatius. Clara became a beloved member of the parish, making friends at the Family Mass. She came to all our picnics and parties, ran the LGBT Scavenger Hunt, and danced at the Snow Ball. Her kids were in the Christmas Pageant and Care of Creation. They practiced English during our Sunday English Conversation Sessions. Clara, Antonella, and Dylan celebrated Easter and Christmas at my home. My grandson spoke Spanish when he played with the kids.
Once the kids started school, Clara cleaned houses during school hours. She earned her home health aide certification from a NYC agency and got a job caring for an elderly woman. Her client praised her to the agency. Her third job was food delivery. The hours fit well with the children’s school schedule.
At the end of January, after 18 months with us, Clara, Jose, Antonella, and Dylan are moving to Illinois to join Karina, another of our families. On their way, they’ll stop in Tennessee and visit with two other of our families—the Maria that Clara visited when she first got to New York. The St. Ignatius migrant community is spreading out and tied together by love.
Sunday we gave them a goodbye party. At the Family Mass, Fr. Hilbert asked the parish to join him in blessing them. Part of the prayer was “that you will find, in your new home, the warmth of community, the joy of new opportunities, new discoveries and new friends. May all the people you meet treat you with kindness, love and compassion, and may your path be easy, one that brings you satisfaction and blessing.” After Mass, we shared pizza and chocolate cake. A young girl took her bracelet off her arm, put it on Antonella’s arm, and while hugging her said: “This is so you’ll remember me.” I gave her a wool scarf for the same reason. We will keep in touch.
Clara gave Anne, Jim Skarzynski, and me gifts that included this treasured, handwritten prayer. She means it for the whole St. Ignatius Parish. It always brings tears to our eyes. “May God return to you in the best possible way all the gestures of support and all the attention you gave me without expecting anything in return.”
— Laura de Boisblanc
January 26, 2025 Essay: The Risk of HopeWhat’s the first thing you do when you wake up? For many of us—including myself more often than I would like to admit—I reach for my phone, squinting through bleary eyes to see what notifications have piled up overnight. (Once, when I was overseas and in a different time zone, I woke up to see more than one hundred missed text messages from family members. Fearful of some medical emergency, I was relieved to realize that I had just slept through a particularly exciting Buffalo Bills game that lit up the family “Bills Mafia” thread.)
But usually, I am not reaching for the phone out of concern that I’ve missed an emergency message. More often, I am just acting out of reflex, looking automatically for the “next thing.”
In “Spes Non Confundit” (“Hope Does Not Disappoint”), the document formally proclaiming the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis reflects on many aspects of hope, including patience. He points out that “in our fast-paced world, we are used to wanting everything now,” and highlights the internet as an example of “space and time yield[ing] to an ever-present ‘now’.”
When I reflexively reach for the phone, either in the morning or during a lull in the day, there is a feeling of a kind of immediacy: I need to know what’s happening right now. In my day-to-day work as editor in chief of America Media, I can feel that pressure from the other side: How fast can we get the story up so that people come to us to figure out what’s going on? Or consider the experience of seeing a breaking news headline and jumping into social media to see what others are saying about it. Yet by definition, since it’s just happened, no one will have anything informed to say about it that quickly.
This kind of immediacy, it turns out, is both illusion and distraction. What is really immediate are the time and space we occupy directly, and yet we often pay more attention to the virtual immediacy afforded us by technology. (Let me offer a caveat here that I do not want to make this into a Luddite screed. There are plenty of kinds of virtual immediacy, such as the ability to see a loved one’s face far away by video call, that deeply enrich our lives.)
Instead, I want to observe that patience, which Pope Francis describes as “both the daughter of hope and at the same time its firm foundation,” is among other things a form of attention.
Patience often involves being bored, and in order to be bored, we first have to not be distracted. It is no accident that prayer also starts with setting aside distractions. When I work with people in spiritual direction, sometimes they think that being bored in prayer means that something has gone wrong, that nothing is “happening.” But often enough, feeling bored can be a sign of beginning to pay attention to what is going on beneath the surface layer of distractions. It is the difference between standing on the subway platform waiting in frustration for the train that should have shown up ten minutes ago and intently watching a bird perched on the tree, waiting for it to take flight.
On Monday, January 27th, I will talk about “The Risk of Hope.” One element of that risk is paying attention: turning our minds and hearts to something outside ourselves and beyond our immediate control, and waiting for what happens next. In this year when we’re called to be pilgrims of hope, let’s set out to meet God on the way and rejoice in what he waits to offer us.
— Fr. Sam Sawyer, S.J., Editor in Chief, America Media
January 19, 2025 Essay: For the Year of Hope, Reverence God in the Wonder of CreationLiving out our parish mission statement’s call to “Reverence God in the Wonder of Creation” is an invitation to experience joy, enrichment, and awe. It is a welcoming to understand God’s revelation of Himself in creation. Even before the universe began 13.7 billion years ago, Psalm 90:1-2 says, “Lord, you have been our refuge through all generations. Before the mountains were born, the earth and the world brought forth, from eternity to eternity you are God.”
We are enriched in appreciating this wondrous long story marked from the beginning of the universe, in experiencing creation’s intricate and interconnected beauty and in realizing our part as caretakers in creation’s evolving presence in our common home on earth. In our being intimately connected to God’s gift of the Earth, as collaborators we are entrusted to protect the earth’s resources for the Common Good of all species and the betterment of future generations.
God calls us to be good stewards of our Earth. God’s appeal for our stewardship is fundamental to our Faith—encouraging conservation, restoration, preservation—and in refocusing ourselves to take the necessary steps and heed the call to seek the greater Common Good.
The Parish’s Festival Mass on January 26th at 11 AM is a celebration of Solemn Mass and Wallace Hall Family Mass coming together as an entire parish community. First, it is to fully appreciate the grace of faith and the gifts of our parish ministries and community as a blessing and revelation of God’s timeless presence with us. Additionally, it is an opportunity as we celebrate the gifts and graces of our parish community to recognize ourselves as a Laudato Si’ Parish and to respond and act as good stewards of our common home.
Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ encyclical was first published in 2015. Its tenth anniversary this year in 2025 will be celebrated and its importance further advanced throughout the world by the Church’s worldwide Laudato Si’ Movement. In his wisdom and scholarship, Pope Francis cited scripture, as well as built upon the words of his predecessors, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, who also embraced and extolled the care of creation. Pope Francis’ words continue as a call of action while there is still hope.
While the Laudato Si’ Movement may have found somewhat less traction among United States Catholics than elsewhere in the world, there are many dioceses and parishes in our country, such as our own here at St. Ignatius Loyola, that have adopted a Laudato Si’ Action Platform to bring its message to life. An important aim of our parish’s recently initiated Creation Care Ministry will be to implement and further the goals of our parish’s Laudato Si’ Platform. Two of those goals from that Platform that are envisioned for this year are: 1. Responding to the Cry of The Poor and Vulnerable and 2.
Addressing the Economic Practices of Conservation and Sustainability.
Everyone, and all in the parish are joyfully encouraged to come together as an entire community to further the message of Laudato Si’ (Praise Be – the Care of our Common Home) as an expression of our love for God, for God’s earth and for the whole human family. May we, together as parishioners of St. Ignatius Loyola, in this year of hope, move forward together to live with Christ’s grace, active in the world.
— Nicholas Naccari, PhD & Geraldine Rizzo
Laudato Si’ Care of Creation Ministry
In May 2018, Pope Francis met briefly with a delegation of representatives of Dharmic religions as part of a conference at the Vatican. Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs attended since their faiths all had roots in India. In November 2018, he urged Christians to foster a “culture of tenderness”, ahead of the Sikh holiday honoring the birth of its founder, Sri Guru Nanak Prakash Diwas.
I knew none of this when I went to India for the first time in 2019. My husband, Kevin, and I were part of a delegation with the International Conference for the Financial Women’s Association. We learned about the economic, business, and political drivers of the country, and in our “spare time”, we learned more about India’s incredibly diverse culture. Not surprisingly for the chair of the Ignatian Interfaith Ministry, we chose to take a tour of various houses of worship in Mumbai—everything from a Catholic Church—named St. Ignatius, no less!—to Hindu and Jain temples, Muslim memorials, and even a synagogue.
However, it wasn’t until we went to New Delhi that I was truly moved. Our delegation went to Bangla Sahib Gurudwara Delhi, one of the holiest places of worship for Sikhs. Thousands visit the Gurudwara (temple) each day and it represents the Sikh teaching of simplicity, service, and respect for all beings.
What I experienced made a huge impact. From our first steps into the temple with our heads covered and barefoot walking through cleansing water, we were reminded of being humble and equal with our fellow visitors.
While the Gurudwara was as ornate as a Hindu temple and had an inner worship area covered in gold, no statues or idols were adorning its dazzling interior, in keeping with the monotheism of the Sikh faith. In the center, there was a platform with a sacred scripture and musical chanting. Both men and women were permitted to pray, and both were required to dress modestly. Some of the prayers were translated into English on video screens and I was moved by the words: “The Destroyer of Sorrow is Thy Name, O Lord, the Destroyer of Sorrow is Thy Name.” That, and its monotheism made me realize we had more in common than I realized.
Next, we moved to an immense open kitchen and we learned that service—Seva—is part of all Sikh temples. Performing Seva refers to the act of volunteering or giving back without any expectations of reward, and it plays an important role for Sikhs. Seva activities include serving food and helping with washing up, and visitors are encouraged to join in with these tasks. We all sat down and rolled out Indian flat bread, as we watched people stir huge caldrons of daal (lentils) and vegetable curry. Why do they do this? To serve anyone who wants a simple but healthy meal, “cooked in God’s name”.
Anyone can come in for a meal and all must sit on the floor as equals. There is a huge water basin outside the temple, which reminded me of the reflecting pool in Washington DC. There, anyone can ritually purify themselves as part of religious observance.
I was astonished to learn that the temple and kitchen are open 24/7 and every day the kitchen cooks and serves 1,760 pounds of curry, daal and chapattis (flat breads made out of 3,750 pounds of wheat flour), and 880 pounds of rice. The kitchen feeds over 35,000 people each day and about 100,000 people on special occasions or Sikh festivals! Can you imagine? We left awed and inspired.
I hope you can join us at the Ignatian Interfaith Ministry on Monday, January 13th at 7 PM in Wallace Hall as Harmeet Kamboj, Senior State Policy Manager, Sikh Coalition to learn more about this little understood faith tradition. Doors will open at 6:30 PM. Please register at [email protected].
January 5, 2025 Essay: We Need Rational Minds Not Irrational FearsIn July 2021, Adewale Ogunyemi, a husband and father of two daughters, was working as a contract cleaner in a food production facility outside of Chicago. Responding to his screams, fellow workers found Adewale tangled in a machine. His right arm had been pulled through the conveyor and wrapped around his head. His chest was crushed. The fire department extricated him from the machine, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
On January 22, 2024, Elmer De Leon Perez was working as a welder at the Thoma-Sea shipyard in Houma, Louisiana helping to build a sophisticated ship for the United States that would do vital oceanographic research. Working at the bottom of a 12-foot ballast tank, using a welding tool that can burn as hot as 20,000 degrees, Elmer died from asphyxiation and fluid in his lungs. He left behind his partner with whom he had a two-year-old child.
What did Adewale and Elmer have in common? They were both undocumented workers doing work essential to our economy. The New York Times investigated staffing agencies that provided contract workers to factories, warehouses, and distribution centers. Temporary workers supplied by these staffing agencies were found to have an injury rate 67% higher than their permanently hired counterparts. The Times found that at least 50 workplace deaths since 2017 involved staffing agencies.
Elmer’s case is particularly notable. A recent Wall Street Journal column, “Worker Shortage Risks U.S. Security,” reported that the United States lacks the skilled workers necessary to build the ships that the U.S. Navy requires. In the past three years, China has built 47% of all the world’s ships, and the U.S. just 0.1%. In sheer numbers, the Chinese navy now has more ships than the United States. Elmer was working for a staffing agency that classified him as an independent contractor. As an independent contractor, both the shipbuilder and the staffing agency denied compensation claims filed on behalf of his partner and child.
Millions of persons in this country begin this new year living in fear. President-elect Trump has made mass deportations of undocumented persons in the United States a central priority. Thomas Homan, appointed to serve as point person for all matters pertaining to border security, has been ubiquitous in the media, relentlessly stressing the need to secure the borders and begin mass arrests and deportations of persons without legal status. There are also expressions of support for revoking the temporary legal status granted by the Biden administration to different nationalities for different reasons.
The hysteria surrounding immigration in this country right now obscures a truth that has been known since at least the administration of George W. Bush (2001-2009). We need comprehensive immigration reform that will make our borders more secure, bring undocumented workers out of the shadows, and provide a means by which workers can enter the United States to work in response to specific needs that cannot be met by American workers. When you look at the broad principles put forward by the Bush administration in their efforts at such reform, they are not remarkably dissimilar from those put forward by the Center for American Progress, a progressive policy institute. The devil is in the details, but rational persons, using the wealth of data now available to us concerning the importance of migrant flows to the United States economy and how those flows can be managed and regulated so as to protect American workers, should be able to create a system that is well-administered, equitable, and in our nation’s interest. Rather than cheering on those who want to pursue a policy of mass arrests and deportations that will be a shock to our nation’s economy, we should be calling for leaders to step forward and to work for that comprehensive reform of our immigration laws and policies that we need.
— Fr. Mark Hallinan, S.J., Associate Pastor
December 22, 2024 Essay: Christ Comes UninvitedDuring the war in Vietnam (1965–1973) that witnessed the deaths of countless Vietnamese and 58,220 American soldiers, Thomas Merton penned a hauntingly evocative poem, No Room at the Inn, about hope for a broken world. It is a poem that seems appropriately fitting as we navigate toward an uncertain future amidst the raging tides of division, partisanship, global conflicts, and fear. There is a lesson to be learned today from what Merton wrote sixty years ago.
Into this world, this demented inn
in which there is absolutely no room for him at all,
Christ comes uninvited.
But because he cannot be at home in it,
because he is out of place in it,
and yet he must be in it,
His place is with the others for whom
there is no room.
His place is with those who do not belong,
who are rejected by power, because
they are regarded as weak,
those who are discredited,
who are denied status of persons,
who are tortured, bombed and exterminated.
With those for whom there is no room,
Christ is present in this world.
Merton provides us with another point of entry into the Christmas story. For him, it is not a romanticized recounting of a time long ago, it is a drama that continues to unfold to this day. Merton invites his readers to take a close look at the world within the context of the Christmas narrative. It is as relevant an exercise for us today as it was at the height of the war in Vietnam.
The sobering reality of our generation is that there is no room in the inn for far too many people. The innkeepers of today’s world—the powerful, the greedy, elected officials and misguided governments, swindlers, cheats and fraudsters—acting out of petty self-interest and blind to the needs of others, have locked the doors to scores upon scores of people who seek shelter, who are forced to live in the dark shadow of fear, and who are denied the opportunity to live with dignity. The ironic tragedy to this is that by locking the doors to let no one in, they have confined themselves to a fantasy world, an equally broken world with a façade of wealth, power, and status, where the story of Christmas holds no meaning.
It was into a cold and broken world that Christ came uninvited because, as Merton wrote, “he must be in it.” That moment in time is captured beautifully in the carol, O Holy Night, with the words, A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. That hope becomes a reality each day for all who unlock their doors to allow Jesus to reside in their hearts. Only then will Jesus be recognized in the faces of those who knock at the door seeking refuge from the buffeting winds of an indifferent world. On that day, a new morn will break through the darkness, and the “uninvited” Christ will illumine the path to a brilliant future, bathed in hope for all.
As disciples of Jesus Christ and parishioners of the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, we are called to be heralds of hope. Let our prayer be that we welcome Jesus into our hearts, so that through us his radiant light may be a beacon of hope for a weary world. May our joy at his birth renew our fervor to be faithful to our mission to walk together with those in need and to be a source of solace for those who are burdened. By our testimony of faith, people will come to know that Christ, born on Christmas Day, is truly present in the world.
May our celebration of Christmas this year be filled with the radiant light of hope!
— Dennis J. Yesalonia, S.J., Pastor
December 29, 2024 Essay: One Family in GodIf our celebration of the Feast of the Holy Family is to have any relevance for us, we have to consider the hardships faced by the family of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. We must also remember that we are all one family in God with responsibility for all of our brothers and sisters in God.
As Jesus sought to break forth from his mother’s womb, his parents found themselves repeatedly rebuffed by innkeepers who either did not have room for them or would not make room for them. Think of the desperation that Mary and Joseph must have felt as Mary’s condition grew more critical. As you think of them, think of those families who came to our border, having fled economic destitution, political unrest, or persecution for who they were or what they believed. They, too, were desperate, so desperate that some snaked their way through razor wire strung to prevent their passage. As Mary and Joseph had to accept less-than-ideal conditions in which to bring forth their child, these migrants have had to accept less-than-ideal conditions in which to try and create a new life for themselves and their families.
Mary and Joseph did not have long to celebrate the joy of bringing a son into this world. Word soon reached them of a slaughter of innocents being unleashed with the aim of killing their child. In terror, they fled south to Egypt to seek safe shelter—a forced migration requiring them to live as aliens in a foreign land. How many parents in Gaza have had little, if any, time to celebrate the birth of their child? How many of them have witnessed that tiny life snuffed out through disease, starvation, or bombings, unable, as they are, to seek and find safe shelter? How many parents in the conflict zones of Africa have also seen young lives lost through disease, starvation, and violence, as they were unable to seek, or find, safe shelter? Surely, the cries of these families must echo in the ears of a God who knew firsthand what it was like to face the situations these families faced. It must pain God to see how their suffering leaves so many unmoved, particularly those who profess to love the God whom they do not see even as they are indifferent to the suffering of the God whom they do see.
Consider what it was like for Mary and Joseph to experience the loss of their twelve-year-old son after their celebration of the Passover in Jerusalem. Once more, a sense of desperation must have gripped Mary and Joseph as they sought to find him. Finding him in the temple, Mary made it clear that Jesus had caused her, and Joseph, great anxiety. Even so, they most likely felt an overwhelming sense of relief that Jesus was safe and unharmed. How many parents in our inner cities have done the best they could to keep their children safe from harm, only to lose them to the streets, never to know the relief Mary and Joseph experienced in finding their child unharmed? How many Palestinian children have been swept up in raids in the West Bank leaving behind anxious families who have suffered cruel periods of separation that have left them uncertain as to the safety of their children? Surely, God hears their cries and how it pains God, again, to see the indifference of other members of God’s family to the plight of their brothers and sisters.
Our Feast of the Holy Family invites us to consider the one family to which all of us belong—the one family in God in which we are equal in dignity to each other and in which we are all really responsible for each other. Are we living as a holy family evidencing the care for each other that God expects of us?
— Rev. Mark C. Hallinan, S.J., Associate Pastor
December 15, 2024 Essay: Our Animal CompanionsSince St. Francis created a nativity scene for Christmas in 1223 that included a live ox and donkey, our tradition has prominently featured animals surrounding the Christ child in the creche. The inclusion of non-human creatures reminds us that God chose to become incarnate among creatures, giving both them and us an elevated dignity. Living in the Bronx, I do not have an ox and donkey to include in my scene, but I did surrender to the demands of my wife Jessica and sons (Matthew and Michael) that we get a dog. After six years of living with a 12-pound Norfolk terrier named Benny, I admit that this little creature has taught me much about joy and tenderness, aging and limits, and above all, being human. Our relationship with animal companions has the potential to convey spiritual wisdom that can guide us toward living more deeply in the image of Jesus.
Tradition tells us that St. Francis preached to birds and tamed a dangerous wolf. In doing so he treated animals as more than objects. To Francis, they were subjects worthy of a relationship. Pope Francis’ teaching on environmental ethics has echoed his namesake’s example: “In our time, the Church does not simply state that other creatures are completely subordinated to the good of human beings, as if they have no worth in themselves and can be treated as we wish.” (Laudato Si’) Preparing our creches this Advent can be an invitation to offer a contemplative, loving gaze to our animal friends, to see their worth as carriers of God’s mysterious presence, and to learn from them.
Among the highlights of Jessica’s day is coming through the apartment door, when Benny jumps into her arms. Could there be any clearer expression of spontaneous joy, of celebrating life, of pure friendship? To watch this daily ritual is to receive a lesson in the value of playfulness, of living in the present moment, of the healing solace of companionship. Living with a dog has also mirrored back to me my limitations as a creature and the need we all have for self-care. Benny always stretches his little body before he moves, seeks out the solitude of a hiding place when he doesn’t feel well or simply wants to be alone, and takes a nap when he needs rest. And as he ages (at six, he’s now “middle-aged”), he paces himself, whether on a walk or playing with puppies. Observing him reminds me that our culture conditions us to ignore or to override the needs of the body, always to our detriment. The wisdom of a dog can bring me “back to earth,” back to humility, back to my humanity.
Among the greatest lessons our animal friends teach us is total attention to the master’s presence. I notice that Benny quietly follows us wherever we go in the apartment, Jessica especially. She has his complete attention; it is a relationship of total connection. If she is in the bathroom, he is outside the door. If she is taking a nap, he is beside the bed. If she is preparing a meal, he is in the kitchen. If I attended to God’s presence with a mere 10% of what this dog gives my wife, I’d be a saint! As I watch them, I wonder what it would be like if I moved toward God with the same contemplative gaze Benny fixes on Jessica.
As these Advent days draw to a close and the nativity blooms, I invite you to reflect on the graces our animal companions convey to us: how they teach us about God’s providential care; how they remind us what it is to be a creature, to be human. By simply living, they perfectly fulfill the call of Psalm 148, “Praise the Lord…wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds! Let them praise the name of the Lord.”
— Brian Pinter, Pastoral Associate
Essay: Laudato Si’, Care for Creation… Naturally!Pope Francis, over the last several years, has globally called Catholics and all religions to recognize the effects of climate change on our Earth. Through his various encyclicals, he has reminded us that the Earth is God’s creation and our moral obligation as Catholics is to be responsible stewards of this earth, not to dominate it. The Pope’s Encyclical, Laudato Si’—which is Latin, meaning Praise Be to You—shares that caring for our common home, the Earth, is anchored in our faith, encouraging conservation, earth restoration, preservation, hope, and action.
At St. Ignatius Loyola, the new ministry Laudato Si’/Care for Creation, has been launched. We celebrated in October with a prayer service at the Church that expressed our gratitude to the Lord for our Earth. Over time the ministry will continue to develop programming and provide insights on this very salient topic for all of us at the parish. Our goal is to sharpen the lens on becoming good stewards of God’s Creation. One of the most important keys to understanding this encyclical is Pope Francis’ understanding of the interconnectedness of a healthy environment and a healthy society, and the relationship between care for creation and care for the poor.
It’s a complex topic and may seem daunting and overwhelming, yet Dr. Katharine Hayhoe’s book, Saving Us, helped us understand how to talk about these issues. To summarize, she explains how the carbon output adds an extra blanket to the earth thus disrupting nature: the sun, ocean, and land, while also affecting our basic needs, like air, water, food, and those who are most vulnerable, the poor. Dr. Hayhoe’s practical approach goes on to say that changing behavior is easier said than done and requires sincere thought and conscience, along with balancing the needs, lifestyles, and economies in the world. It’s about restoring the earth and its ecosystem and, at the same time knowing that our society and global economies, in order to function, rely heavily on resources and energy developed from the Industrial Revolution. Yet, with all this, she shares what Pope Francis also believes, that there is hope.
So how and where do we start? Easy… for some of us we need to become more aware of the issues and then talk about them to others in an amicable Christian way. In other words, becoming good stewards of God’s Creation and talking about it should come, shall we say… Naturally!
— Jean Santopatre, Pastoral Associate & Laudato Si’ Ministry
For more information, email Jean Santopatre at [email protected].