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Voice - September 2008
SUMMER OLYMPICS
I have been interested in the Olympics. It is not so much the various events. They are all interesting and the competitors are probably the greatest athletes in history. What is fascinating to me is the venue and persons that have come into our homes via this great TV extravaganza.
The venue story is about a new China. China is the latest chapter in the story of the modern world. Resistence to the modern world was strong in this part of Asia in some ways. The Communist revolution did not come from a vacuum. The building of the modern world had a great deal to do with the missionary activity of the Church in the days of colonialism. One of the common judgements of many commentators is that the early Church missionaries to China were folks of great vision. They had an impossible task to share that vision with the leadership of the Church in Europe. They were not listened to. So the mission to China was very marginal. Maybe things could have been different and the boundaries between cultures broken. But it did not happen.
Our memory is a time in China where religion was persecuted. We know that there were many martyrs for the faith in the last 100 years in China. But the new age is Asia is most dynamic. One Columbian missionary wrote this:
“The China of those who have journeyed before us is gone. McDonald’s and Starbucks and Wal-Mart and the like are in all the major cities. The poverty and famine of the 1920's is a distant memory for most, though poverty is not eradicated. Freedom of religion is allowed within strict gridlines spelled out by the Bureau of Religious Affairs. Ironically, it is no longer Communism, itself, which is the enemy, Instead, capitalism and consumerism creates a society of have and have-nots....Today, however we need different tools and methods to be faithful to mission in this 21st global reality.”
To me, the presence of the world in China for the Olympics will have and has had a transforming effect. The faces of the participants and the faces of the spectators, present or watching from the far corners of the world, the faces of humanity bring the greatest message to this new global reality. We are all called to respect and cultivate our human dignity and solidarity.
My own personal life has been touched by my very brief visits to Asia. After visiting with Father Mike McKeirnan, the Maryknoll priest who was from Pomeroy, my world vision was never the same. And I still think Hong Kong is a great place to visit. It is a world that amazes me. We live on a very small planet. Thanks be to God that we have all been able to visit China this summer. I hope by God’s grace it has helped us to transform a view of the world.
INITIATIVE 1000
The Assisted Suicide Initiative will be on the November ballot and we will be caught up in the moralizing of those who will try to sell the electorate on the primacy of the “God of choice”. This is serious business. The end of life issues are challenging to us all. The real issue at hand is not about “choice”, but about the pressure of the social institutions to end the lives of those who existence is inconvenient. Your health care provider or funder could seriously place the deliberate ending of your life as a “medical alternative”. We have an opportunity to stand together against this attempt at social change. It will not enhance our human dignity.
APRIL VOICE 2008
THE PAPAL PILGRIMAGE
Pope Benedict's visit to the United States has been an historical moment. I was really surprised to see this 81 year old man skip down the stairs from his arrival jet for the meeting with President Bush. He seemed to be full of spirit and obviously joyful in his visit to America and the American Catholic community.
You have all seen many news stories, TV news clips and articles about the pope's visit. Over and over again I am surprised that the commentators suggest that he will have hard and demanding words for our faith community. I have read the reports to date. The Pope's words to the United Nations capture his very positive and hopeful message:
The activity of the United Nations in recent years has ensured that public debate gives space to viewpoints inspired by a religious vision in all its dimensions, including ritual, worship, education, dissemination of information and the freedom to profess and choose religion. It is inconceivable, then, that believers should have to suppress a part of themselves -- their faith -- in order to be active citizens. It should never be necessary to deny God in order to enjoy one's rights........The full guarantee of religious liberty cannot be limited to the free exercise of worship, but has to give due consideration to the public dimension of religion and hence to the possibility of believers playing their part in building the social order.....Refusal to recognize the contribution to society that is rooted in the religious dimension and in the quest for the Absolute -- by its nature, expressing communion between persons -- would effectively privilege an individualistic approach, and would fragment the unity of the person.
In the pre visit commentary I was very interested in one finding about Catholic's sacramental identity, particularly Catholics in their early and mid 20's called the millennial generation. This report said:
Millennials stand apart when saying which sacrament is most meaningful to them personally. For Catholics overall, 39 percent said baptism is the most meaningful; 43 percent of Millennials said marriage is.
But they are right... Marriage and family is the fundamental religious experience for human beings and family life and the human rights of families stand first. Pope Benedict said to the Bishops:
It is your task to proclaim boldly the arguments from faith and reason in favor of the institution of marriage, understood as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman, open to the transmission of life. This message should resonate with people today, because it is essentially an unconditional and unreserved "yes" to life, a "yes" to love, and a "yes" to the aspirations at the heart of our common humanity, as we strive to fulfill our deep yearning for intimacy with others and with the Lord.
The Pope ended his visit at the United Nations with this greeting in all the official languages:
Peace and prosperity with God's help!
PS April 27th I join with 25 other parishioners on our pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Rome. Our prayer at the Holy Places will be for you and your family. I have asked that the pilgrimage prayer be printed in this issue of the Voice. Please pray with us and for us.
PILGRIMAGE PRAYER
God our Father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, bless us as we journey the land of the promise. We have come to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, your Son. May this journey in faith be a time of grace for all of us. Bring peace to this land of faith. Open our eyes to the mystery of the promise of Salvation. Touch our hearts that we may be forever faithful to the message of the Scriptures and the life of the Sacraments.
Guide us to Bethlehem, to Nazareth, to the Sea of Galilee, to the waters of the Jordan and to the Holy City of Jerusalem. Be with us in all the holy places.
Accept our prayers for our families and friends at home. Bless all those whom we promised to pray for. Lead us to be witnesses of Christ Jesus in Rome, in Spokane, and to the ends of the world. We make this journey in the name of Jesus the Lord. AMEN
Spring 2008
LENT AND HOLY WEEK
The very early celebration of Easter in this year’s cycle has drawn us quickly out of the center of a very wicked winter into the hope for Spring. Each year at the beginning of the “Lenten Spring” the Holy Father shares a message. I would like to share with you parts of the introduction to that message from Pope Benedict.
Each year, Lent offers us a providential opportunity to deepen the meaning and value of our Christian lives, and it stimulates us to rediscover the mercy of God so that we, in turn, become more merciful toward our brothers and sisters. In the Lenten period, the Church makes it her duty to propose some specific tasks that accompany the faithful concretely in this process of interior renewal: these are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. For this year’s Lenten Message, I wish to spend some time reflecting on the practice of almsgiving, which represents a specific way to assist those in need and, at the same time, an exercise in self-denial to free us from attachment to worldly goods. .....If, in accomplishing a good deed, we do not have as our goal God’s glory and the real well being of our brothers and sisters, looking rather for a return of personal interest or simply of applause, we place ourselves outside of the Gospel vision.
Lent is a journey toward a deeper Gospel vision. As we draw closer to the celebration of the mystery of the cross in Holy Week, we hope that our eyes are open to more faithful Gospel living. We live only for God’s glory. Easter is more than our hope of eternal life. It is the manifestation of the awesome glory of the work of God. All things come to life; all things come to light; all things come to love. We are set free from selfishness and sin, not because it makes us better or more faithful, but God’s love and glory are revealed in the new world of love and service. This is Easter glory and Easter life.
SETTLEMENT REPORT
The generous response of so many who have helped has drawn St. Mary’s parish into a hope filled future. Our pro-rata share of the settlement was $611,286. From your contributions and from parish funds we have funded $478,845. The Finance Council will look at a proposed budget which will seek to fund our remaining balance of $132,441 in the next five years. Thank you to all who have prayed for the success of this effort.
WORSHIP SPACE UPDATE
The Epiphany Sunday exercise of seeking comments about care for our Worship Space was most interesting. My friends, to be clear we are not embarking on some kind of capital program. Call to mind what we did for the upkeep of the gym last summer. It is this kind of update which we need to be about. And in summary what did we learn? 1. We will continue efforts to study and improve the sound system. Best first step would be to fix the pastor! 2. We will do some easy handicap accessibility issues..... parking, commode, etc. 3. There is some hope that we can do a simple remodel of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel which will link it better to the Worship space maybe via a window. 4. We will try to provide some storage for the music ministry and make the music space a bit more tidy. 5. We will continue to explore some needed painting and lighting for the sake of a brighter interior. Some of these things are easy and will happen soon. Others may take a year or so. Outside we are challenged by the damage caused to the sidewalk by the tree roots. For safety sake we will have to do something about that. You will hear more before we move ahead. Thank you to the task force for collecting the ideas and input of the community.
Fr. John
Winter 2008
2008
A NEW YEAR OF GRACE
It is New Years Day as I prepare this VOICE message, the beginning of a New Year of grace and opportunity. What will this year bring? These are my three reflections today:
I ELECTIONS
We do not look forward to the politics of this year. Yet we cannot pretend this is not one of the awesome moral imperatives for us all.... to participate wisely and faithfully. These words are from the Bishops' Conference Document on Faithful Citizenship prepared for this election year:
Our nation faces political challenges that demand urgent moral choices. We are a nation at war, with all of its human costs; a country often divided by race and ethnicity; a nation of
immigrants struggling with immigration. We are an affluent society where too many live in poverty; part of a global community confronting terrorism and facing urgent threats to our
environment; a culture built on families, where some now question the value of marriage and family life. We pride ourselves on supporting human rights, but we fail even to protect the fundamental right to life, especially for unborn children.
The basic right to life implies and is linked to other human rights to the goods that every person needs to live and thrive-including food, shelter, health care, education, and meaningful work. The use of the death penalty, hunger, lack of healthcare or housing, human trafficking, the human and moral costs of war, and unjust immigration policies are some of the serious moral issues that challenge our consciences and require us to act.
In light of Catholic teaching, as bishops we vigorously repeat our call for a renewed politics that focuses on moral principles, the defense of life, the needs of the weak, and the
pursuit of the common good. This kind of political participation reflects the social teaching of our Church and the best traditions of our nation.
II OUR WORSHIP SPACE
The Parish Pastoral Council has approved using this Spring as a time to make some choices about updating our Worship Space. We hope in this Summer of 2008 to renew, brighten, and update the Church and Gathering Space for the glory of God. Your participation and reflection on the ideas and suggestions set forth will frame the visual framework of our worship experience. What we see with our eyes inflames our hearts and renews our spirits. As the Gospel proclaims we see and believe.
III OUR GROWTH IN AGE AND GRACE WITH HOPE
My personal experience for 2008 will include a new Medicare Card. Each of us must face changes and challenges provided by a New year. Our faith calls us to an optimistic and hope filled embrace of the gift of time God gives us. Pope Benedict summarized it so clearly in his encyclical: The Gospel is not merely a communication of things that can be known-it is one that makes things happen and is life-changing. The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life. Yes, in faith we can say: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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