Rice Bowls For Lent

Rice Bowls For Lent

Rice Bowls For Lent

Prayer. Almsgiving. Fasting. We have Rice Bowls from Catholic Relief Services for you. Filling a Rice Bowl can connect all three elements of our Lenten Journey. They are available as you enter for Mass. If you don’t find them easily, a Greeter can help you!

As a global Church, we can can take our own small steps this Lent that add up to reach more than 190 million people around the world with lifesaving support.

If you’re collecting change to put in your Rice Bowl, thank you!! You may also donate online through a virtual Rice Bowl.

May our shared Lenten Journey be fruitful for our spiritual growth and for our world.

With Gratitude

With Gratitude

With Gratitude

The burst pipe at St. Pius at the end of 4:30 Mass on Feb 4th was a source of gratitude:

That no one was hurt, everyone remained calm at Mass. We were able to finish Mass.

That a group of very generous and knowledgeable parishioners immediately stepped forward to address the problem.

The water was shut off quite quickly and the immediate clean-up took about an hour, with many hands at work.

We were able to have a plumber on scene at 7:45 AM Sunday – this at a time when every plumber around was in emergency demand.

The 9:30 Sunday morning Mass was not affected.

That all of this occurred at precisely that time – when we were there to respond, not during the night. If that had been the case there would have been major damage.

So much gratitude.

In case of surprises at your home, do you know where:

The main water shut-off is?

The main electrical panel is located?

And, if you have it, the shut-off on your gas line?

Fr. Paul Sullivan, SJ

Charity and Justice During Lent 2023

Charity and Justice During Lent 2023

Charity and Justice During Lent 2023

“If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation, and malicious speech; if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then light shall arise for you in the darkness and the gloom shall become for you like midday.” Is 58:10.

Removing oppression and sharing bread with the hungry continues to raise the themes of charity and justice introduced in last week’s readings that called us to hunger and thirst for righteousness. The notion of sharing bread with the hungry points to the function of charity. We witness those around us who do not have enough – food, clothing, or shelter. Those with the resources can choose to share from their surplus – by making a donation or sharing the resources needed (e.g. cans of soup or dry goods to the food pantry).

In just about three weeks, we begin the season of Lent. Almsgiving (charity) is one of the three pillars of lenten practice – with prayer and fasting being the other two. Clearing out one’s pantry and donating surplus food to the food pantry; or clearing out one’s closet and donating unused clothing to the St. Vincent de Paul Society are wonderful ways to observe Lent through almsgiving. Likewise, making a financial donation to a favorite charity is a great example of almsgiving during the Lenten season. The practice of charitable giving – “bestowing bread on the hungry” – is a source of light in the world as it provides an example of loving service and as a witness to the worth and dignity of all human beings. Likewise, those who volunteer their time or have taken a job administering these charities help to keep the light shining in a way that calls others to a loving response.

Charity does not address the theme of justice. “Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the ‘virtue of religion.’ Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good” (The Catechism of the Catholic Church #1807). The accompanying graphic on this page (from @restoringracialjustice) helps illustrate the differences between equality, equity, and justice.

A justice approach will begin to explore ways to distribute support so that all get what they need. It also begins to examine the underlying structures that block access to resources. For all of us at times, the questions and issues this orientation raises can feel overwhelming. They certainly feel beyond what one can do as part of a Lenten practice. While we might not be able to solve issues of inequality in our society as a part of our Lenten practice – we can begin to explore what our faith has to say about these inequalities and how Catholic Social teaching might allow us to do our part in beginning to address these issues.

With this goal in mind, we’ll be presenting a special game time on Saturday March 4 – 10 AM – Noon.
– During this time, we’ll have a brief introduction to Catholic Social Teaching.
– We’ll play a game called Inequality – opoly – a game that allows us to experience inequality through the taking on of an assumed identity that will determine the likelihood that you will participate in or avoid certain events in the game based on the role of the dice.
– We’ll conclude the morning by seeking to apply the social justice teaching to our experience of inequality.

If your lenten practices include things like learning more about the Catholic faith; responding more to those in need; or connecting with others – this morning may help to put these practices into action. RSVP to ourladyofhope@portlanddiocese.org

Fr. Brian Conley, SJ

Donation Drive for Hope House

Donation Drive for Hope House

Donation Drive for Hope House

Once again this year, we are having a donation drive for household items that will help to ease the way for asylum seekers served by Hope Acts here in Portland. If you’re able to help, simply bring an item or two with you to Mass the weekend of February 11 & 12. The items most needed include:

  • Gift Cards for Gas or Groceries
  • Paper Products
  • Cleansers and Detergents
  • Unscented Bar Soap
  • Sponges and Mops
  • Diapers

Thank you for living the Gospel message by helping our new neighbors.

Reminding Ourselves What We’ve Learned

Reminding Ourselves What We’ve Learned

Reminding Ourselves What We’ve Learned

Serving others with Compassion, Kinship, and Tenderness

We heard about a talk that Fr. Gregory Boyle, SJ gave at St. Ignatius Loyola Parish in New York City earlier this week and it reminded us of Fr. Greg’s talk at Cheverus last May, as part of The Ignatian Year celebration. We remembered that throughout his books and his remarks, Fr. Greg stands firmly and reminds us that there is no “us and them”. There is only us. It’s good to remember and reflect on this truth.

So much of what he shared resonated. Many of the parishioners who attended have read Fr. Greg’s third book, The Whole Language, as a way to go a bit deeper into the idea of clearly centering ourselves on the kind of “oneness” to which Jesus calls us. The kind of oneness that draws us to go to the places where people are excluded – the margins, as it were – not to change people, but to erase the margins that separate us. As Fr. Greg says, “Standing with Jesus in the lowly place, that’s where the joy is.”

“Systems are changed by people. People are changed when they are cherished: He put into words what was in my heart,” wrote one parishioner. As founder of Homeboy Industries, the largest gang rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world, this has been his life’s work. Ultimately cherishing people who have been traumatized, believing that traumatized people learn about being traumatized – cherished people learn how to cherish others. He shows that we can learn from people what they need to heal.

Distinction Between Exhaustion and Burn-out
Fr. Greg draws a distinction between exhaustion and burn-out as working for others vs. being self-focused. When we burn out, we have made the work about us, rather than other people and God. When it’s all about God and others, we can go on and on, exhausted perhaps, but not burnt-out. As one parishioner relayed, “I took comfort in his distinction between exhaustion and burn out. The first is bone-tired depletion from working for others, the latter has its focus on oneself! Easier to recover from exhaustion and to get back to work.”  Another says it this way, “I guess what made me reflect is that no matter what kind of work you do in life, if one engages in that work as ‘huh’ and ‘wonder’ versus self-absorbed tasks to complete, it is that much more life fulfilling. Meaning, when I go about my work as ‘it’s all about me’ then I will get burnt-out. But, if I make it all about you I can go on and on.”

Compassion, Kinship and Tenderness: Some questions to for personal reflection

Fr. Boyle describes a call to go to the margins and by going to the margins – we create an inclusive society that is potentially transformative – where on the margins have you felt called to respond? How did you respond?

How was this movement transformative for you? If the move to the margins was not transformative, does Fr. G’s writing/speaking give you any new insight?

How do we translate Fr. G’s compassion, sense of kinship, and tenderness to Portland, Maine?

If you’re moved to action, we invite you to consider serving others through a ministry that calls to you. Perhaps the Welcoming Ministry? Social Justice and Peace Commission? Bereavement? Home Visitors? We’d love it!

Apostolic Planning – Guided by the Holy Spirit

Apostolic Planning – Guided by the Holy Spirit

Apostolic Planning – Guided by the Holy Spirit

There are four working fields, or Universal Apostolic Preferences, to which the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) will pay special attention and in which they will invest a significant portion of their various resources over the next few years. They are: Showing the Way to God, Walking with the Excluded, Journeying with Youth, and Caring for our Common Home. They provide context for planning and actions undertaken by Jesuits around the globe.

On September 24, 2022, members of the parish and parish staff joined with representatives from St. Brigid’s School, Cheverus High School, the Ignatian Volunteer Corps (IVC), and the Ignatian Spirituality Partnership of Maine (all pictured here) to participate in the United States East (UEA) Province of the Society of Jesus’ Apostolic Planning Process. In preparation for this day, each member of this group had spent hours prayerfully considering material provided by the province throughout the summer. The goal of the day was “to provide Fr. Joseph O’Keefe, S.J., Provincial of the UEA province and his staff in deploying human, physical, and financial resources for the greater praise and service of God and to live out the four Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Global Society of Jesus more fully.”

Thirteen similar gatherings in English and four in Spanish were held throughout the UEA, which stretches from Maine to Georgia and as far west as Scranton PA. Also, Jesuit Communities throughout the Province all gathered for three similar sessions throughout the fall. The summaries of these meetings have been provided to province staff members who will formulate an apostolic plan to help guide the UEA through the next decade. You can learn more about the how the USA East Province will grow in the coming years through this video on their website.

Much gratitude to all involved!

Fr. Brian Conley, SJ

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