One Saturday morning, a few years back, Dominic, our youngest, asked to borrow my cell phone so that he could play a game on it.  A short while later, I asked Dominic for my phone back because I needed to place a call.

Reflection Questions for the Homily: 1) What has been my reaction when someone does me wrong or harm ?

This week, the San Francisco Chronicle’s, Sporting Green newsletter, ran a story about the coach of the Golden State Warriors. It began, “Steve Kerr is arguably African Americans’ biggest ally among white NBA head coaches, but that hasn’t stopped him from reaching an unsettling realization

Any time I write about finances, it’s clear that the only way to begin is with gratitude. Today is no exception. Last week I stood at Mass before you virtually and asked for your support of the Archdiocesan Annual Appeal, a collection that each of the 90+ parishes throughout the Archdiocese of San Francisco makes annually to support the ministries of the large local Church.

Just last week, San Francisco County clarified its directives for indoor religious services. Their months-long use of the term “public services” led us to believe that we were prohibited from indoor Sunday Masses, but that private baptisms, weddings and funerals with a maximum of 12 socially-distanced and masked people, including any ministers, were permissible.

Last weekend we heard the story of Jesus’ invitation to his disciples to minister to the 5000+, who were hungry, feeding them from their five loaves and two fishes. It’s the same call that you and I have as disciples of the same Lord, feeding those in our time who are hungry. As I said in my homily that day, there are times when, as much as we want to respond generously, we fear that who we are or what we have is not enough.

I write you on the feast day of our founder, St. Ignatius Loyola, whose charism continues to be a vibrant path for millions of faithful on their journey into a deeper relationship with Jesus. His spirituality is practical, often communicated in shorthand: “Finding God in All Things” (The Author of Creation continues reveals him/herself in every aspect of creation; we have but to notice.)

St. Ignatius Parish is recruiting for the position of Building Manager and Church Sacristan.  This is a full-time (40 hours/week or more), non-exempt job.  The Building Manager/Sacristan of St. Ignatius Church oversees the overall maintenance and operations of the church building and is responsible for all of the details necessary for the liturgical celebrations and events that are held there.

As we begin to look toward and plan for the year that lies ahead, I want to thank you once more for your generosity to the ministries of St. Ignatius Parish in the year just ended. Despite the unprecedented circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able to maintain most of our programing (even expanding some!) and create brand new ways of ministering to our faith community.

Unfortunately, this weekend we bid farewell to Fr. Travis. He will move on next week, taking time for retreat, a visit to his family in Oregon, and a bit of vacation before heading east to begin his Executive MBA program at Georgetown University.

It seems that our parish is bound for lots of transition these months! I am very sad to share with you that Gary Price, our Director of Parish Operations, is moving on. He will take up the equivalent position at his home parish, St. Dominic. St. Dom’s gain is our very big loss.

Members of the Loyola House Jesuit Community have issued a statement regarding racial injustice. Link to the letter here.

The City & County of San Francisco today released their updated 'Phase 2B' in their plan for reopening. Per the order, religious gatherings are limited to outdoor services only with a maximum of 12 persons. Indoor services continue to be limited to livestream with only those required for the service in attendance, up to 10 persons.

St. Ignatius Parish has developed our plan for reopening for worship by following directives from the City & County of San Francisco, the State, and the Archdiocese to design the best approach for our community; you can find their resources and instructions here on our website.

In our Penitential Act last Sunday, in light of the widespread calls for racial justice that were (and still are) blanketing our nation, we acknowledged that such change will not come in an authentic and lasting way until we experience an individual and collective conversion of heart.

I will confess to no little angst as I have struggled to find words to address the events convulsing our country. My anxiety was compounded on Wednesday when I received two emails, one immediately after the other, the first accusing the Church and theJesuits for not saying enough and the second accusing us of saying too much.

Perhaps one of the graces of COVID-19 has been and will be an invitation for the human community to reach deep within our collective soul to discover anew what truly binds us together.

In honor of Laudato si' Week (May 16 to May 24, 2020 and the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis's encyclical, the Archdiocese of San Francisco produced a short video on the theme of caring for creation.

Public Speaking Rule #2: when there’s an elephant in the room, address it. (Rule #1, of course, is know your audience. But as you might imagine, that’s difficult to do these days.) 

Each morning I make my way to our church; check each shrine to make sure a candle is lit, stopping to pray at one or two of them; find a pew in a section of the church I’ve not sat in for a while; and pray for you, especially those whose faces I usually see in that section.