Celebrating a Global Ignatian Year
MAY 12, 2021
Dear Parishioners,
On May 20, 2021, we will begin celebrating an
Ignatian Year with our global Ignatian Family that will continue until St. Ignatius’s Feast Day next year on July 31, 2022.
On May 20, 1521, Ignatius was struck by a cannonball while he was defending a Spanish fortress under attack from the French. This month marks the 500th anniversary of that fateful day. That cannonball moment started a chain of events that led to his conversion and, ultimately, to the founding of the Jesuits. And, of course, without the Society of Jesus there would be no Jesuit parishes like STM, retreat houses like Demontreville, universities like Marquette or Creighton, colleges or high schools like Cristo Rey Minneapolis. Most of all, the Church would never have received the gift through Ignatius, and by the help of God’s grace and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, of the
Spiritual Exercises.
I invite you, as we anticipate the beginning of this Ignatian Year, to take a moment to view the delightful, short video below about Ignatius’s cannonball moment with questions to reflect upon as you consider your own cannonball moments.
While our cannonball moments might not be as dramatic as Ignatius’, we’ve all had them. In fact, like Ignatius, we too have had more than one such “enlightening” cannonball moment that may have even dramatically, but oftentimes not so dramatically, changed the course of our lives.
One such cannonball moment for us as a parish was the killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. This shocking event made our Twin Cities the epicenter of a global reckoning regarding systemic racism and the need for police reform. At that time our parish started an
Anti-Racism Taskforce which continues to meet and plan activities such as the
Peaceful Presence in our church during the Derek Chauvin trial.
On May 20, our parish will celebrate a
Solemn Vespers Service to begin the Ignatian Year at 5:30 pm in our church.
On May 23 (Pentecost Sunday) there will be a livestreamed 1-hour prayer service for the global Ignatian Family. Join in prayer at 7 pm at
ignatius500.global/live.
Stay tuned for more activities celebrating the Ignatian Year as a parish. I pray this will be an opportunity for us to deepen our Ignatian identity and spirituality.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Warren Sazama, SJ
Pastor
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