News - July 2019 RSS Feed

Eight Sisters of Providence will celebrate significant anniversaries at a Jubilee celebration on Saturday, August 3, at 10:30 a.m., at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, 7000 35th Ave SW, in West Seattle.

I recently received a note from Sean, who is a student at St. Charles Catholic School in Spokane. Sean painted the cover of the note card with the scene of Jesus walking on the water, which we find in the Gospels. The apostles were caught in a storm and, as they saw Jesus walking toward them on the water, they thought he was a ghost. They were filled with fear and anxiety. Despite their lack of faith, the Lord calmed the storm and restored peace in their hearts.

La Crosse, Wisconsin – July 18, 2019 – A Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration with ties to your area is celebrating her Diamond Jubilee, marking 75 years of vowed religious life.

SINSINAWA, Wis.— July 18, 2019 — Sister Jeanette Landuyt, OP, died July 3, 2019, at Mercy Medical Center, Dubuque, Iowa. Her religious name was Sister Guinevere. The funeral Mass was held at the Dominican motherhouse, Sinsinawa, July 10, 2019, followed by burial in the Motherhouse Cemetery.

La Crosse, Wisconsin – July 18, 2019 – A Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration with ties to your area is celebrating her Diamond Jubilee, marking 75 years of vowed religious life.

Late July brings one of my favorite celebrations in the Church year:  the July 26th Memorial of Saints Ann and Joachim, the parents of Mary, the Mother of God. 
I had some early biases toward this feast.   I grew up in a New York parish named for St. Ann.   My parents gave me that moniker for my middle name when I was baptized, and I took it again when I was confirmed.   My family always celebrated our patron saints’ feast days, and I was competitively (but uncharitably) pleased that I had two celebrations rather than one because I was the only one of my siblings to be baptized with a middle name.  

“I JUST DON’T FEEL RIGHT,” the post-partum mom told me as we waited together outside the classroom to pick up our preschoolers. She’d just had her third C-section three weeks ago and her incision wasn’t healing up well. She also shared with me that she’d had an IUD placed during the C-section. “I don’t do hormones, so this was our only option,” she said. She had three children spaced closely and her body needed a break. However, she was worried and uncomfortable about what the IUD may be doing to her body, in addition to her other post-partum complications. “Have you heard of Natural Family Planning?” I asked her. “NFP is completely healthy, with no side-effects. It’s highly effective, and it’s good for your relationship as well.” She was interested and asked me to bring her more information next time we met outside the preschool door. 

Ten years after Bishop Skylstad solemnly blessed its new facilities, Bishop White Seminary is facing a challenge: how to deal with the largest number of seminarians in decades. As many as 24 young seminarians will likely enroll in the Fall 2019 semester.

“Catholic education is my passion because God is found here in all people and things. In my estimation, no other work more clearly articulates the mission of the Church: To find God in all things and do everything for the greater glory of God.”
Ben Walker, new principal at St. Mary, Spokane Valley

When the phone rings at Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCS), it means one more young person in Spokane County has left a human trafficking situation. LCS specializes in helping commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC). There are no good data on the prevalence of CSEC in Spokane, but as with the nation as a whole, it’s on the rise.

“Here’s the mailman,” Bishop Skylstad welcomed me with his customary greeting when I delivered the odds and ends of his mail that are addressed to the Chancery. But something was different: he was standing with a walker, and I don’t mean one of The Walking Dead variety. “My legs just gave out the other day. But I’m OK now."

It began with the parents. If you asked any of the children, they would attribute their accomplishments to their parents. Vocation, Spiritual Growth, and Love began in their family and from those attributes, came flooding in the gifts from Christ.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) held its 2019 Spring General Assembly in Baltimore from June 11 to June 14. In terms of anticipation and importance to the U.S. Church, the U.S. protocols for the application of Pope Francis’ apostolic letter, Vos estis lux mundi (You are the light of the world) topped the list. In the letter dated May 7, 2019, Pope Francis established new procedures for reporting abuse and for holding both the abuser and the bishops and religious superiors accountable for their actions.

Recently, the Washington State Catholic Daughters of the Americas held its state convention in Fife, WA. One highlight was the naming of the Catholic Daughter of the year.

You can’t miss the bright blue exterior with 1950s vintage style painted squares on the side. Whether it’s the colorful mural or the restaurant with a purpose that first draws you in, the food and mission will bring you back.

From the moment we sat down, it was clear I should have brushed up on my Latin. Ad majoriam Dei gloriam (A.M.D.G.), cura personalis, Magis, Ite inflammata omnia – all familiar phrases to those immersed in Ignatian spirituality – roll gracefully off the tongue of new Gonzaga Prep aluma, Liza Christopher. Christopher holds dear the tenets shared by the students and staff of Prep, and credits the Catholic school system for inspiring her to live her faith actively rather than passively - to travel through life as a person for others rather than a person for herself.  

Extra credit question: Name the author of this admonition about the insecure cultural foundations and potentially perilous future of the American republic — “Seeds of dissolution were already present in the ancient heritage as it reached the shores of America. [And] perhaps the dissolution, long since begun, may one day be consummated. Perhaps one day the noble many-storeyed mansion of democracy will be dismantled, leveled to the dimensions of a flat majoritarianism, which is no mansion but a barn, perhaps even a tool shed in which the weapons on tyranny may be forged. Perhaps there will one day be wide dissent from....[the understanding] that the eternal reason of God is the ultimate origin of all law [and] that this nation in all its aspects — as a society, a state, an ordered and free relationship between governors and governed — is under God...”

Recientemente recibí una nota de sean, quien es un estudiante en la Escuela Católica de San Carlos Borromeo en Spokane. Sean dibujó en la portada de una tarjeta la escena de Jesús caminando sobre el agua, que encontramos en los Evangelios. Los apóstoles estaban atrapados en una tormenta y, al ver a Jesús caminando hacia ellos en el agua, pensaron que era un fantasma. Estaban llenos de miedo y ansiedad. A pesar de su falta de fe, el Señor calmó la tormenta y restauró la paz en sus corazones.

La Iglesia Católica considera el matrimonio como un sacramento que une a dos personas para toda la vida. Al casarse, la pareja le promete a Dios mismo el poder durar casados para toda la vida – hasta que la muerte los separe. Sin embargo, cuando la relación matrimonial no funciona y ya los esposos se han separado por el civil (esto es, legalmente), se puede pedir la anulación del matrimonio eclesiástico.

All are invited to the Seventh Annual Guatemala Mission Celebration on Monday, September 16, 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at Barrister Winery in Spokane. Featured guests will be Sr. Mary Bertrand, SSND, and Lourdes Tzoc Ramirez (pictured). Both Sr. Mary and Lourdes are associated with the radio station, Nawal Estereo, in Nahuala. The event includes appetizers and coffee and is free to the public.