News - March 2019 RSS Feed

You are asking one of the most important questions in the world: “Can I be a saint?” This question reveals that you have both awareness and desire: You are aware that there is nothing greater that a human person can become, and you actually want it.

In the months leading up to the annual diocesan Catholic Youth Conference, a team of adult leaders are busy reserving spaces, hiring speakers and arranging for musicians. There is much coordination and planning that goes into an event of this size. Behind the scenes, there is another team working to ensure the CYC is a success.

This year's best film is clearly "Roma." The great Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron has given us a masterpiece in the story of a maid who deeply made a difference in his life growing up in the Roma district of Mexico City.

The annual Hearts on Fire Men’s Conference draws hundreds each year, first to Gonzaga, then more recently to convention halls of a local hotel. Two speakers, Father Wade Menezes of the Father of Mercy, and Peter Herbeck, a lay evangelist, inspired and challenged the men this year who gathered at the Mirabeau Park Hotel.

The Catholic Diocese of Spokane is proud to claim Bishop White Seminary, a vibrant and thriving college Seminary, among its many ministries. Enrollment is growing, with seminarians being sent from eight dioceses.

"Our word for the year is growth, and that is our mindset," said St. John Vianney Catholic School's new principal, Deacon Nick Senger. St. John Vianney has been a fixture of Catholic education in Spokane for 65 years, since its inception in 1953. In the last few years, St. John Vianney has faced the same stresses as other Catholic schools, but if you visit the school today, you will feel the energy.

Nazareth Guild provided four grant opportunities to our 16 Catholic schools again this year! Principals were invited to apply for School Partnership and Bishop Brigade grants; teachers were given the opportunity to apply for funding through the Continuing Education and Teacher Initiative grants process.

On February 1, Bishop Daly published a letter concerning abortion that drew national and international attention. Speaking about recent legislation passed or proposed in multiple states, Bishop Daly said, “Efforts to expand access to abortion, allowing murder of children up to the moment of birth is evil. Children are a gift from God, no matter the circumstances of their conception.” 

Each Sunday at Mass, the priest dismisses the faithful by saying, "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life." This exhortation poses important questions. What truly glorifies God? How can we take the deeply spiritual Eucharist into a determinedly secular world? 

For a thing to be blessed means that it becomes holy. In fact, we often use those two words interchangeably. They convey the same sense of being "set apart."

Catholic Schools Week allows Catholic schools and parishes that host schools every year to celebrate the work of these fine institutions. So many of the lay people in the pews, parish staff and pastors were formed in and benefitted from Catholic schools.

Father Roy Thelen had been a priest of the Diocese of Spokane for 33 years when he wrote a letter to Bishop Bernard Topel asking to retire to Lourdes, France. He desired to serve at the shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary and keep a vow he had made.

During my junior year in college, I studied abroad in Paris and prayed to meet my future husband. In particular, I implored the intercession of St. Joseph — after all, he was Our Lady’s husband and, therefore, surely, the best husband in the world!

John R. Conley and Mary E. Conley met at a Catholic Sodality event 70 years ago. Their long life together was blessed with deep faith as they welcomed 11 children and almost 100 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

You may have noticed the promotions and sponsorships recently orchestrated by the Catholic Foundation's Marketing Committee. The committee's ultimate goal is to strengthen the board's outreach to the Catholic community of Eastern Washington, specifically in providing services to the parishes and schools of the Spokane Diocese.

Can a lazy lack of creativity ever be good for the soul? I would normally answer “no” – except for Lent when I was 19 years old.

Thanks to funds sent from the people of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane and the hard work of many people in Ixtahuacan, phase one stabilization of the religious education building in the parish of Santa Catarina in Ixtahuacan has been completed. Father Manuel Nicasio and the catechists of the church send their sincere gratitude and ask God to bless all benefactors.

With Lent on its way, I never know how to choose a “thing.” Do you have any suggestions for how to pick something to do for Lent? That’s a great (and perennial) question. I have personally had a tough time choosing the right thing in the past. How does a person know what they should give up or take up when it comes to their Lenten discipline?

I saw the pale blue book on the side table in the confessional room at my parish. It’s a pleasant, snug, well-lit room. I’ve received so much grace and mercy there throughout the years that just being in it inspires peace and gratitude in me. After dropping my daughter off at her Sunday morning faith formation class at our parish, I often like to take some time to pray before Mass.

Last year, Tom Carroll fielded a call from a client who needed help getting to Spokane for dialysis four days a week. Carroll said no problem. As the director for the Senior Services program at Catholic Charities Eastern Washington, he often arranges rides for seniors or people living with disabilities in rural communities.