Pastor's Letter Dec. 11: Rejoice in the Lord

Dear 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.” Gaudete is a 

Latin word for rejoice. Advent is season of hope and joy. We rejoice that the Lord is very near, we are coming close to the great feast of Christmas. St. Paul says: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say rejoice!” We might wonder how can we always rejoice? Can we look at our world so ravaged by war, so wounded in many areas by corrosive selfishness and riddled with drugs, alcohol, crime, all manner of addictions and sufferings of every kind. Even in our own lives often we do not see the cause for joy.

It is the little preposition “in” that makes all the difference. “Rejoice in the Lord”. We cannot always rejoice in things, in others, or in ourselves. But we can rejoice in the Lord, we can rejoice in our faith. With Him and in Him we can place all our trust and hope, without Him we are nothing. He turns our darkness into light.

As I have mentioned in my homilies for Advent, it is a good practice to make a confession before Christmas. I would encourage everyone to make a confession as a way to prepare the soul to receive all the graces that our Lord wants to give us during the Christmas Season. In addition to our confession times, we have listed confession time for Colville and Deer Park in the bulletin. I drive into Spokane to make my own confessions.

Lastly, the Annual Catholic Appeal (ACA) has been running for several months now. Congratulations to Holy Ghost/St. Joseph and Sacred Heart for surpassing your goals! St. Mary’s still has about $6,000 to go. Can we get there by the New Year? If everyone can make a donation of any amount, I know we can get there. This is a worthy cause and helps support the work of the Bishop and Diocese. We could not exist as a parish without the support of the Diocese. If you have not donated the ACA yet, please do so this weekend. And thank you to everyone who has already donated this fall. I’m hoping that we won’t need to use any more of our time on this campaign after the new year. Thank you!