The Ignatian Year
Declaration of the Ignatian Year for Our Parish
From our Pastor, Rev. C. Kevin Gillespie, S.J., and the Parish Pastoral Council:
Five hundred years ago, the man who would become known as St. Ignatius of Loyola was hit in the legs by a cannonball at the battle of Pamplona. This devastating event sparked a process of conversion as Ignatius' eyes were slowly opened to see all things new in Christ. To mark this anniversary, we, the Pastor and Parish Pastoral Council of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, declare an Ignatian Year for our parish starting on May 20, 2021 (the anniversary of the battle of Pamplona) and ending on the Feast of St. Ignatius, July 31, 2022. We take this step in concert with declarations of the Ignatian Year made by Father General Arturo Sosa, S.J., by the Jesuits East USA province, and in concert with Jesuit ministries around the world. We encourage parish ministries to focus their work over the next year through the lens of “seeing all things new in Christ.” We invite all parishioners and community members to respond to God’s call to deeper conversion, to engage more deeply with the Universal Apostolic Preferences, to recognize and reflect on personal “cannonball moments,” and to truly “see all things new in Christ.”
Ignatian Year Upcoming Events
The Feast of St. Ignatius
July 31, 2022
St. Ignatius' Feast Day marks the close of the Ignatian Year. As we are a Jesuit parish, the solemnity marking his feast will take the place of the regular Sunday celebration (meaning we'll use the readings and prayers for the feast rather than the 18th Sunday in Ordinary time). Come together after each Mass for fellowship and treats in McKenna Hall.
Past Events
In Our Forbears' Footsteps
A Pilgrimage to Remember Our Forgotten Black Parishioners
April 2, 2022, 9:30am - 1:30pm
In 1923, over 350 Black parishioners left Holy Trinity to found Epiphany Parish because of the ongoing segregation they faced here. They were motivated, one of them said, "by the same need and desire for freedom to worship that was one of the main reasons that our great nation was explored and settled." As part of our Ignatian Year commemorations, we will gather at Holy Rood Cemetery to pray and remember those brothers and sisters, asking God to help us see both our past and our present reality new in Christ. We will then walk/bus to Holy Trinity to continue our prayer and remembrance together. More information and registration here.
Ignatian Pilgrimage to Spain and Rome
March 20-29, 2022
Father Kevin Gillespie will be leading a group of Holy Trinity parishioners and friends on a pilgrimage tracing the steps of St. Ignatius of Loyola from March 20-29, 2022. Pilgrims will experience the transformative power of travel with prayer through Spain and Rome during the Ignatian Year. Visit the webpage for information. Please keep our pilgrims in your prayers as they travel, learn, reflect, and pray!
Lenten Faith Sharing
Come to Monday/Friday morning prayer (details in the parish eLetter). Young adults gather at 7pm on Thursdays in the Chapel for faith sharing. And please keep in mind our seven Trinity Faith Sharing groups that are meeting weekly during Lent and Easter.
400th Anniversary of the Canonization of St. Ignatius & St. Francis Xavier
Jesuit Friends & Alumni Mass
Saturday, March 12, 5:30pm Church
Jesuit-educated alumni and friends of the Jesuits are invited to a special celebration on the 400th anniversary of the canonization of St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Francis Xavier. Our presider will be Fr. Michael Rozier, SJ, visiting Jesuit Chair in the Department of Health Systems Administration at Georgetown University. A reception will follow the Mass. All are welcome!
White Nationalism and the LGBTQ Community: The Challenge to Catholics to See All Things New
Saturday, March 5, 2:30pm, Church. Reception to follow in Trinity Hall
Fr. Bryan Massingale joins us to explore how white nationalism is not simply about racism, but also a threat to the well-being of the entire LGBTQ community. This threat challenges LGBTQ Catholics to a more inclusive understanding of their/our community. It also implicates Catholic practices of complicity in both racial and sexual injustice, and a summons an Ignatian inspired imagination that sees and acts differently in response to the needs of vulnerable populations. All are welcome to this Ignatian Year event!
Setting Captives Free: Racism, You and I and God’s Liberating Grace
February 27 – April 3, 2022
A six-week Ignatian directed retreat made in a small group, online and at home. The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola provide the framework for retreatants who seek to uncover their complicity with racial injustice, help them grow in interior freedom and with God’s grace open them to transformation. Register by February 17th.
Ignatian Year Day of Prayer
November 6, 9:00am-3:00pm
St. Ignatius invites us to “see all things new in Christ.” This invitation can include every human experience, including the experience of loss. The time of COVID-19 has given us many reasons to acknowledge the pain of loss, whether it be the loss of a loved one, an associate at work or school, a close friend, or an acquaintance. We also grieve the loss of something important in our lives: our job, our home, financial security, health, the celebration of special events. Grieving is both a human and a spiritual experience, allowing God’s healing grace to touch us. This Day of Prayer: “A Time to Grieve, a Time to Hope” will be led by Fr. Jim Wallace, CSsR and the Redemptorist Team for Evangelization and Parish Missions.
Responding to Racism
The social justice ministry continues to invite parishioners to explore their own responses to racism in our church and communities. Parishioners are invited to participate in Restorative Justice circles, JustFaith retreats on racial healing and racial justice, advocacy efforts with Washington Interfaith Network, and understanding the history of race and racism at Holy Trinity.
Lifting the Voices of Women
The Women Who Stay taps feminist biblical scholarship, art, imagination, and the experiences of participants to prompt spiritual reflection on the often overlooked and misunderstood women of scripture and the Christian tradition. Embracing the theme of the Ignatian Year to see all things new in Christ, the program will continue to highlight voices and perspectives of women.
Living Laudato Si in the Year of Ignatius
Ignatian Solidarity Network and Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology invite you to explore themes from Laudato Si through the lens of Ignatian Spirituality and the gospels during the coming year. Renewing the Earth: Living Laudato Si in the Year of Ignatius is a campaign that invites the Ignatian family to consider St. Ignatius’ conversion, or “cannonball moment,” as a model for our own ecological conversion in this historic environmental moment that requires a renewal of our spirits and of the earth. The HT Green Team will continue to meet each month inviting speakers to support a renewal of our spirits at Holy Trinity. The HT Green Team is also leading the effort to bring solar to energy to Holy Trinity with installation by summer 2022.
A Prayer for the Ignatian Year
God of love, when St. Ignatius was at his lowest point, you slowly opened his eyes to imagine new pathways for his life in response to your invitations. I ask you to be with me as you were with Ignatius. Help me to imagine new possibilities in my life and in the world as I listen to you. Open my eyes to see your presence in all things, and to see all things new in Christ. Amen.
Learn more about and find resources for the Ignatian Year at Jesuits.org/Ignatian-Year.