Ignatian Family Gathers for Mass for Life

BY JOSIE SCHUMAN | January 24, 2020

On Friday, January 24, 2020, over 100 members of the Ignatian family, including delegations from Jesuit colleges and universities, high schools, and parishes, gathered together to celebrate the Ignatian Mass for Life at Holy Trinity Church, a Jesuit parish in Washington, D.C., before the annual March for Life. 

[Photo courtesy of Doris Sump/Jesuit Conference]

Very Rev. Timothy Kesicki, president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, presides at the Mass for Life.

In his homily, the Very Rev. Timothy Kesicki, S.J., president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, reminded attendees that God is at the heart of all human life: “Our faith teaches us that human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end.”

“We are called to remember that we are all made in the very image and likeness of God and see the face of God in every stage of human life, from conception until death,” he continued. 

Leah Finnegan, a senior at Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City, echoed this sentiment in sharing her decision to attend the Ignatian Mass for Life and March for Life: “We’re here to advocate for life and promote the value of life from the moment of conception to natural death and to commemorate and celebrate the mystery and beauty of all human life.” 

When advocating for the right to life, Fr. Kesicki explained that we must be intentional with our actions. “How we engage this fundamental struggle is important, particularly as students, teachers, pastors, and parishioners in Jesuit institutions,” he said. “We don’t gather to separate ourselves from those who think differently than us, we gather to engage one another, especially those who do not share our beliefs, in the hope that our witness and our beliefs might be transformative.”

Saint Peter’s University with Fr. Kesicki at the Mass for Life. [Photo courtesy of Doris Sump/Jesuit Conference]

Mass for Life attendees with Fr. Kesicki [Photo courtesy of Doris Sump/Jesuit Conference]

Mass for Life attendees [Photo courtesy of Doris Sump/Jesuit Conference]

ISN executive director Christopher Kerr welcomes Mass for Life attendees. [Photo courtesy of Doris Sump/Jesuit Conference]

Josie Schuman

Josie Schuman is a former ISN intern and graduate of John Carroll University. She is currently a member of the Urban Catholic Teacher Corp at Boston College, pursuing a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction while teaching 5th grade English. Josie is passionate about faith-based antiracist education and hopes to inspire students of color to use reading and writing as tool for social change.