Dear Parishioners,

  We are pilgrims of hope. What that means is no matter what the sins or obstacles of the past or present, there is always a future, there is always hope. And that future is bright and good because we trust in a good and loving God. St. Thomas said, “if an angel should come from God to tell us: ‘God no longer loves you; hence do not confide in him,’ we must not believe him...” 

   Trust in God does not prevent sin from making us feel sorrowful; all sin wounds the divine heart and since we love him, naturally we feel sorrow. St. Therese tell us that when we feel the weight of our sins, we must cast ourselves into the arms of our Savior. This is hope. Thus, confidence and contrition are not incompatible, they both flow from the same font which is love. We feel pain at offending God because We love him. I confide in him because he knows me and loves me.  

   Lent is upon us... It is a time to hope again, begin again. As a parish we want to give as many opportunities as possible to take advantage of this season of grace. Lent should include the three areas of focus: a focus on prayer, a focus on fasting/penance and a focus on almsgiving. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, March 5.

   For our focus on Prayer, we continue to encourage you to listen to the Rosary in a Year from Ascension Press with Fr. Mark-Mary. I am doing it myself and find it very inspiring. The Lenten companion we are offering this year is from Word on Fire that offers a daily reflection on the Gospel throughout Lent. We would also like to encourage parishioners to make a commitment to a weekly Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament in our Adoration Chapel. Additionally, we will be holding a special all-night adoration vigil on the First Sunday of Lent on March 8 and 9. We will have our weekly Stations of the Cross at 5:30 pm each Friday, and also have a women’s Fiat 40 group taking place during Friday Soup Suppers to be lead by Shirley Baker.

  For our focus on Fasting and Penance, our plan for Faith Night during lent includes the Forgiven series on Formed; Forgiven: The Transforming Power of Confession is a three-episode series which begins March 19 and concludes right before our annual Lenten Penance Service on Monday, April 7. We also will have a First Reconciliation Service on March 20 for those in our Religious Education Sacramental Preparation class. We may have up to 10 making their First Confession this year.

   For our focus on Almsgiving, we will be supporting those in need, near and far. Through the St. Mary’s Lenten Food Drive, we want to collect donations to support all the communities within our parish boundaries and plan to distribute food to the Chewelah, Loon Lake, Valley, Springdale and Addy food banks. We will also be promoting our annual Lenten fundraiser to support communities in Malawi, Africa; the Malawi Fund that has raised more than $40,000 in the last two years. This year Fr. Dominic, who was priest with me in my last parish, is now a Pastor of a parish in Malawi that is in the bush, meaning they are almost

completely without infrastructure. I asked Fr. Dominic what are the needs in his parish? He responded that they 

need wells. The villages he serves need fresh water. A well costs about $7,000. We hope to raise $15,000 this Lent

to put in at least two wells for his parish. The money will go directly to his parish, and they have a dependable 

contractor to do the work.