Ignatian Spirituality for Busy People, with Fr Alejandro Baez, SJ  

Sunday, May 25,11:45-12:45 pm (English), 2:45-3:45 pm (Spanish)
Suggested donation: $10

This one-hour refresher seminar offers a practical and prayerful reintroduction to the core principles of Ignatian spirituality—rooted in a 500-year-old Catholic tradition that helps us find God in all things. Designed especially for those who may be familiar with the name but haven’t explored its tools recently, this session is perfect for people immersed in work, ministry, or family life who long to reconnect with God’s voice in their daily experiences.

Together, we’ll revisit how Ignatian prayer flows into everyday choices and relationships, and explore easy, practical methods to listen to God even amid life’s chaos. We’ll also reflect on how our desires, fears, habits, and spiritual routines either draw us closer to or away from God’s love. By the end, you’ll leave with concrete ideas for integrating Ignatian practices into your personal prayer life and ministry.

Este seminario de una hora ofrece una reintroducción práctica y espiritual a los principios fundamentales de la espiritualidad ignaciana, una tradición católica con casi 500 años de historia que nos ayuda a descubrir a Dios en todas las cosas. Diseñado especialmente para quienes ya han tenido algún contacto previo con esta espiritualidad pero desean refrescarla y profundizarla, este encuentro es ideal para personas ocupadas por el trabajo, el ministerio o la vida familiar, que anhelan volver a escuchar la voz de Dios en su día a día.

Reflexionaremos sobre cómo la oración puede derramarse en nuestras actividades cotidianas y cómo los métodos ignacianos pueden ayudarnos a discernir con mayor claridad nuestras decisiones, deseos y relaciones. También abordaremos preguntas esenciales sobre nuestra espiritualidad personal, nuestras virtudes y luchas, y nuestro deseo más profundo de acercarnos a Dios.

Graced History / Hopeful Future, with Catherine Kelly, MDiv

Saturday, June 7, 2025 

9 am - 1 pm 

Hope does not disappoint (Romans 5:5). St. Ignatius of Loyola invites us to look back to look forward, an essential prayer practice of reviewing our day and our life through the lens of God's love. Seeing how God has journeyed with us today and in the past helps us recognize God's presence and invitation in our lives so we can move forward in hope. Hope opens new horizons (Pope Francis). Our morning of reflection will offer us an opportunity to trace and savor the paths of grace and hope in our parish's communal journey with God. Identifying this hope history will orient us to how the Spirit is nudging us forward into new life. 

Light refreshments and lunch (optional) are included.

Catherine M. Kelly, M.Div., Director of Spiritual Formation, Retreats & Christian Life Community, St. Mark's Parish-UBC, Vancouver, Canada

Catherine is a former St. Agnes parishioner (2000-8), lector, Eucharistic minister, and parish council member, and helped launch teen and young adult ministry at the parish. She and her husband were married at St. Agnes. Catherine is a gifted formator, spiritual director, teacher, and retreat facilitator in several areas, including Ignatian spirituality and discernment. Catherine guides spiritual formation for students and non-students through Christian Life Community (CLC), a worldwide lay apostolate rooted in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. A former attorney, editor and grant writer, Catherine is passionate about seeking and finding God in all things. She received her Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California.

Cultivating Hope in Troubling Times: A Queer Latinx Perspective, with Prof. Ish Ruiz 

Wednesday, June 18, 6:30-8 pm 

Suggested donation: $10

What does hope look like today? How do we find light in dark and difficult times, including adverse political times and times of transition? One possible answer is to reclaim our traditions! This presentation will explore how we can find refuge in our queer and Latinx Christian traditions to craft a message of hope. The facilitator will interweave personal narrative, theological insight, and practical advice for how people and communities can navigate difficulty and grow together in communion with God. This journey often involves introspection, discernment, and external public activism.

Dr. Ish Ruiz teaches Latinx and Queer Decolonial Theology at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA, and holds a PhD in Theology and Ethics from the Graduate Theological Union. A native from Puerto Rico and a queer Catholic theologian, his research interests explore the intersection between queer theology, Latinx theology, ecclesiology, sexual ethics, liberation, human rights, and Catholic education. Through his teaching, research, and service, Dr. Ruiz hopes to see a world where Catholicism (and Christianity, more broadly) embrace the diversity of gifts people of all racial backgrounds and sexual identities bring to society and the Church.