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March 31, 2023Dear Parishioners, As we approach the wonderful and mysterious events of Holy Week, now is a good time to ensure that we are prepared for the final leg of our journey. This can be very practical: have you checked when the various services are? Requested time off from work? Made the necessary plans to give the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil) your full attention and to truly celebrate Easter?Read More -
March 23, 2023Dear Parishioners, Our Penance service is this Thursday, March 30 beginning at 6:30 pm. We will have four priests here to hear everyone’s confession. Prepare yourself now with an examination of conscience and come to receive the cleansing grace of the sacrament of Reconciliation. Every confession is a new beginning where we put the past behind us and look forward to the future with God’s strength, grace and mercy. Click here for moreRead More -
March 17, 2023Dear Parishioners, The response to the Lenten Malawi Fund has been overwhelming. We have raised nearly $15,000 so far! Thank you to everyone who has donated to this project. It really will make a difference to many girls.Read More -
March 10, 2023I know a lot of people have a troubled relationship with the sacrament of penance. It is a sacrament that has fallen off rather dramatically the last several decades. There perhaps are many reasons for this, but one is what St. Pope Paul IV noted in the 70’s as a loss in our society of a “sense of sin.” A sense of Sin does not mean we have to go around feeling guilty all the time but it does mean we know and understand ourselves to be broken and sinners and always standing in need of God’s forgiveness and mercy. Click to continue...Read More -
March 3, 2023Dear Parishioners, A parishioner has made available a little book entitled “Heaven.” It describes the inner locutions of an Irish woman, named Anne, who is a wife and mother of six. She describes her visions of heaven in which I found fascinating. They are quite in line with what others have shared about their experiences of heaven, and what we know of it from Scripture. These books will be made available to take. Click here for more...Read More -
February 24, 2023ear Parishioners, I am so happy to announce that a St. Mary's parishioner has come forward and paid the remainder of our 2022 ACA goal to reach $23,225. We made it! This has been a goal that St. Mary’s has historically not achieved for several years. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of our parishioners in all of our parishes who have participated in this year's ACA: 46 families participated at St. Mary’s, 11 at Holy Ghost and 8 at Sacred Heart. Click here for more...Read More -
February 18, 2023Dear Parishioners, As I mentioned last month, more than four years ago my parish in Edmonds developed a sister parish relationship with a parish in Malawi, Africa. We sponsored two mission trips, one of which I participated. It allowed us to get to know the people and culture of Malawi. Now that I am here I would like to continue this relationship with the people in Malawi but in a different way.Read More -
February 11, 2023Dear Parishioners, Lent is already upon us - Ash Wednesday is Feb. 22. Each Lent is the opportunity to come closer to our Lord and grow in our spiritual life. If we are not growing we are dying. I heard once that “If nothing changes, nothing changes.” Let’s make this Lent a special Lent, forty days of growth and grace by putting good spiritual habits and routines in place in our lives. I would like to give you some suggestions to make this Lent a fruitful time and a great preparation for the Easter, the Paschal Mystery.Read More
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February 4, 2023Dear Parishioners, I attended my first Mardi Gras dinner last Saturday. It was a lovely and fun evening. The Prime Rib/Salmon dinner was fantastic. Thanks to Ron and all the Knights who prepared it. And thanks to the youth who did a marvelous job serving tables. Matt did a wonderful job as the MC and auctioneer of the amazing and beautiful desserts. And thanks to all the organizers and decorators. The evening was a great success.Read More -
February 1, 2023Dear Parishioners, As you may realize the Liturgy/Eucharist is the most important thing we do as Catholics and for which our churches were built. The Liturgy brings Our Lord to us in Word and Sacrament. Music plays a big part in enhancing and uplifting the liturgy. Music and singing has always been a part of our Catholic liturgical tradition. I have heard stories about the choirs that our parishes have had over the years and the musicians that have been involved. The reality is that many of those choirs and musicians are gone now and we have been struggling to maintain quality and consistent liturgical music. (Click for more...)Read More
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January 20, 2023Dear Parishioners, Over the last three years my former parish developed a sister parish relationship with a Catholic parish in Malawi Africa. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. Most in Malawi live on a subsistence leaven and without electricity. Our sister parish program helped with several parish projects and put many wells in the rural villages.Read More -
January 13, 2023Dear Parishioners, a question has been raised regarding the Rectory, the pastor's house for serving the Catholic Parishes of South Stevens County (SSC), and how the renovation project is being funded. Click for more...Read More -
January 10, 2023Dear Parishioners, Here's a quick note about the flood that happened in the hall at St. Mary’s Christmas Day. We are so fortunate and grateful that a parishioner caught the issue when they did and we were able to get the main shut off quickly and the restoration company was here within an hour mopping up and setting up fans. We only sustained a fraction of the damage we did last year. We will be submitting an insurance claim to cover the costs. We will do our best to ensure when we build back to do so in such a way to avoid such occurrences in the future. Click for more...Read More -
December 29, 2022Dear Parishioners, This Sunday we are celebrating the Solemnity of the Mother of God. The baby conceived in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary and born on Christmas Day will grow into a man and allow himself to be nailed to the cross and die. What should pass for a normal life and death story is made very unusual by the nature of this child. This child has both a human nature and a divine nature. To hold both of these concepts as absolutely true and distinct was the subject of much theological controversy in the early centuries of the Church. Click for more...Read More -
December 22, 2022Dear Parishioners, This is my first Christmas in South Stevens County and it is indeed a white one! I am so happy to be here and serve this community. It is so lovely to see how all the parishes have decorated our churches for Christmas. Each church has a prominent Nativity Scene. Ever since I was a kid, I loved Nativity Scenes and have spent most of my life either decorating, enhancing or making mangers. I have made over a dozen mangers/stables out of wood. I feel kind of like Joseph, who had to find a place for our Lord Jesus to be born, he found the manger/stable. Click for more...Read More -
December 22, 2022Dear Parishioners, Throughout this Advent time, we have been focusing our attention on what it means to prepare for the coming of Jesus. Part of our Advent journey is about leading us to that moment of faithful surrender so that we can become a selfless conduit of God’s grace for others. That's what Mary did with her “Yes,” that’s what Joseph did with his “Yes,” and that’s what we can do with our “Yes.” People who say “Yes” to eagerly accomplish the Lord’s will can change the world. Click for more...Read More
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December 15, 2022Dear Parishioners, Christmas is just two weeks away; this Sunday is the third week of Advent. We have reached the mid-point of this time of preparation and the church encourages us to persevere. We light the rose-colored candle on the Advent Wreath this weekend. This Sunday is traditionally known as “Gaudete Sunday.” Click for more...Read More -
December 2, 2022Dear Parishioners, Our Scripture passage for this Sunday, the Second Sunday of Advent, introduces the person of John the Baptist and his ministry of preparing the way for Jesus. Advent is a time of preparation, and the image of John the Baptist offers some insightful challenges as we strive to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of our Savior again at Christmas. Click here for more...Read More
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November 26, 2022Dear Parishioners, Advent starts this weekend. Advent Season is a very special time of year. The first day of Advent is the first day of a new Liturgical (or church) calendar and begins a four-week period of preparation in anticipation of the nativity of Jesus at Christmas. Click for more...Read More -
November 21, 2022Dear Parishioners, It is good to be back from my Italian walking pilgrimage. It was a fun with a lot of rich experiences. Over time I will share some of what I experiences and perhaps in the Spring I will do a slide show for Faith Night on my pilgrimage. I have a lot of beautiful pictures from where we walked and the churches we visited in Tuscany. Thanks for being patient with the masses I need to cancel. I am ready to get back into things. This weekend we are celebrating the Feast of Christ the King. It brings us to the close of the Liturgical Year. Next weekend we will begin Advent which is the start to Liturgical Year appropriately preparing us birth of Our Lord at Christmas. The Liturgical Seasons are rich as they take us through the main mysteries of our Faith. (Click here for more)Read More
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