Novena of Grace

Tuesday, March 8—Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Available online via audio (scroll down)

Tuesday, March 8th
Tammy Liddell is Director of Campus Ministry at Seattle University and is an alumna of Jesuit education — undergraduate and graduate school. Tammy earned a Master of Divinity at University of Notre Dame and a Master in Counseling Psychology from Boston College. She feels privileged to accompany students on their journey of faith and spirituality and justice, as they explore what it means to be part of the Ignatian heritage of Jesuit education. Tammy lives in the foothills of the Cascades with her spouse and two kids (and Lenny, the dog). They enjoy the days of long sunshine in the summer and sitting by fire on rainy Northwest nights.

Wednesday, March 9th
Fr. Greg Celio, S.J. was born and raised in Southern California. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Notre Dame (M.Ed) and a graduate degree from the University of Toronto (M.Div). Before entering the Jesuits, he taught in Catholic schools in Nashville, TN. Since entering the Jesuits, Fr. Greg has served in Native American, Hispanic, and Black Catholic contexts in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. He has also spent time as an educator both at Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, WA and now at Seattle Prep, where he currently serves. Fr. Greg currently serves on the Vocations Team for the Jesuit West Province in addition to teaching and ministering at Prep. He has a deep love of music, Ignatian spirituality, sports, and the outdoors. 

Thursday, March 10th
Leonetta Elaiho is a board member for the Ignatian Spirituality Center. She is a Spiritual Director working to make the practice more accessible to BIPOC and youth through personal practice and communal offerings. Leonetta has worked in community development, youth development and program management for twenty years at the local, national and international level. She is also a graduate of Seattle University, where she graduated with a Bachelors in Social Work. She thrives at the intersection of culture, faith and justice. Learn more about her spiritual practice at www.beautifulle.com.

Friday, March 11th
Will Rutt is the Executive Director of the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center (IPJC) in Seattle, WA and formerly served as the Director of Justice Formation & Advocacy at Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, Arizona. He holds undergraduate degrees in economics and theology from Creighton University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of San Francisco. Since college Will has been an accomplice of the undocumented community, when he first worked as student organizer helping resist SB1070 in Arizona. Will began working closely with Aliento during his time at Brophy, as partners in support the student-led DreamOn campaign, an undocumented led, narrative based campaign that leverages Catholic identity to create change for those who are undocumented in the United States. The DreamOn campaign has been some of the most life-giving work that he has done, especially witnessing the impact that the campaign has had on undocumented student experience at Brophy. Now at IPJC, Will continues his work through education, advocacy, and community organizing. When Will is not working, he can be found spending time with his partner Elizabeth and pup Autumn, always trying to get outside in the mountains.

Saturday, March 12th
Jeanette Rodriguez, PhD is a professor at Seattle University and teaches in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Women Studies, and the Couples and Family Therapy Graduate Program. She also serves as Director of the Institute for Thought and Culture and holds the Malcolm and Mari Stamper Endowed Chair in Catholic Intellectual and Cultural Traditions. Rodriguez is the author of several books and articles concentrated in the areas of U.S. Hispanic theology, theologies of liberation, peacebuilding, and women’s spirituality. Her works include Our Lady of Guadalupe: Faith and Empowerment among Mexican American Women (1994); Stories We Live (1996); co-editor with Dr. Maria Pilar Aquino and Dr. Daisy Machado of A Reader in Latina Feminist Theology (2002); co-authored with Dr. Ted Fortier on Cultural Memory: Resistance, Faith and Identity (2007); and A Clan Mother’s Call (2017). She has served as board member for the Academy of Hispanic Theologians in the United States, and as Vice Chair for Pax Christi USA. Rodriguez holds a Ph.D. in Religion and the Personality Sciences from the Graduate Theological Union (1990), Berkeley, California.

Sunday, March 13th
Fr. Ryan J. Rallanka, S.J., is a Chaplain in Community Ministry and a faculty member in Theology at Seattle Preparatory School. After being educated in Catholic schools in Sacramento, California, Fr. Rallanka went on to Seattle University, where he studied English and sociology. After graduating in 2006, he entered the Society of Jesus. During his time as a novice, Fr. Rallanka worked with the L’Arche community in Tacoma, served at Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, and ministered at St. Andrew’s Mission Church on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Pendleton, Oregon. He went on to earn a master’s degree in philosophical resources at Fordham University while teaching catechism classes and directing the English choir at St. Martin of Tours Parish. His next step took him to Jesuit High School in Portland, where he taught freshman theology while serving as a spiritual director for the SEEL program at St. Ignatius Catholic Church. In 2014, Fr. Rallanka was missioned to the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. There, he completed a Master of Divinity degree while serving as a deacon at San Quentin State Prison.  

Monday, March 14th
Bei Bernal is the Principal for Seattle Nativity School, a Jesuit-sponsored Catholic middle school. She has also worked for 15 years at Seattle Preparatory School as a Community Minister,  Theology Teacher and Dance Team Coach. She graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry at the University of the Philippines and worked as a licensed Chemist for 8 years. She then became the CEO of her home (aka stay-at-home mom) for 6 years - three of which were also spent finishing a Masters in Pastoral Studies at Seattle University. For the past 28 years, she has worked with and mentored youth and young adults in the classroom, at retreats, service trips, dance floors, stage productions and many other avenues that allow young people to "find God in all things." She actively serves at her parish in many capacities particularly in multi-cultural ministry. She also has led many retreats for married and engaged couples along with her husband, Joe Bernal. She is the proud mom of Juan (LMU Grad '20), Alicia (LMU Grad '21) and Juliana (Cal Poly '25). All three graduated from Seattle Prep. They also have a family dog named Marshall.

Tuesday, March 15th
Bill Hallerman is the Agency Director for Catholic Community Services of King County (CCSKC), which serves over 22,000 people a year in the Seattle and King County area. He has over 35 years of experience in working with poor and vulnerable people and their communities. Prior to coming to Seattle in 1994, he worked in Sacramento where he founded Sacramento Cottage Housing, which developed cottage housing for the homeless and at Loaves and Fishes, an ecumenical non-profit providing food and shelter to Sacramento’s homeless. Bill also spent four years with the Maryknoll lay Missioners, organizing community projects for a barrio of 7,000 people in Caracas, Venezuela, where he and his wife and three children lived and worked. He holds a M. A. in Theology with a concentration on Social Justice from the Maryknoll School of Theology. His other interests are music, hiking, riding his motorcycle, and spending time with his granddaughter, Kadence.

Wednesday, March 16th
Anna Johnson is the Manager of Mission Formation and Team Leader for the Young Adult Empowerment team for Maryknoll's U.S. Church Engagement Division. She works with young adults, teachers, catechists, and other ministers to enliven and mobilize the U.S. Catholic Church towards mission, social justice, and global solidarity. Anna holds undergraduate degrees in Peace Studies and Political Science from the University of Notre Dame and a graduate degree in Sustainability Leadership from Arizona State University. She lived as an Overseas Volunteer with the Holy Cross in Bugembe, Uganda, learning from and teaching Internally Displaced Communities. She grew up with a wild love of the outdoors, and on any given weekend you can find her camping, kayaking, or hiking with her partner, Corbin, and their dog, Tilly. 

Bob McCaffery-Lent is the Pastoral Assistant for Music and Liturgy at St. Joseph Parish.

Jennifer Kelly is a Cantor at St. Joseph Parish.

Bill McNamara is the Campus Minister for Liturgical Music at Seattle University.