Today’s readings for Mass continue the call of Lent to ‘return to the Lord.’ The call today is for us to recognize our sin in the face of the righteousness of God. The Prophet Ezekiel speaks of ‘wicked men’ and the need to turn away from sin. Do we Read more…
Our staff at Catholic Community Services (CCS) enjoys a great reputation throughout Western Washington for their compassionate care for the poor. Our staff and volunteers make the compassion of Jesus present in concrete and credible ways, on a daily basis. Very often, when a housing agency or government agency in Read more…
Yesterday at the main offices of our Catholic Community Services / Catholic Housing Services an individual entered and threatened the life of one of our workers, and ended up taking his own life. Please pray for all who were traumatized as a result of this tragic event, as well as Read more…
As you know, many East Asian countries celebrate Lunar New Year, which this year was Friday, February 12. This weeks long celebration is a strong part of the culture and tradition of our Vietnamese Catholic community in the Archdiocese. I had hoped to join the Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic community for Read more…
Today’s Reading from the Prophet Isaiah uses nature as a means of teaching us that God’s Word is the true sustenance of human life. The Prayer Jesus taught his disciples relays the same message, that our daily bread is the holiness of God, the kingdom of God, the will of Read more…
Today the Church celebrates an unusual, but significant feast day, known as the Chair of St. Peter. Obviously, the focus is not on the ‘chair’ but rather upon the ‘office’ Jesus bestowed upon Peter at the moment Peter proclaimed: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Mt Read more…
Nature has always been a place of graced encounter with the Creator. The human person, as one created by God, is also the only part of creation upon whom God bestows his own image and likeness. Thus it follows that a truly graced place of encounter with God is precisely Read more…
How often does Lent feel like a sacrifice – a burden? While sacrifice is a core practice in our ‘return to God’, we must keep our focus on the goal, which is new life – Easter! Why is it so hard to give up the practices of our life that Read more…
Dear Friends, I pray your Lenten journey ‘back to God’ has begun well. Let us pray for one another that this may be a fruitful Lenten exercise for all of God’s people. Today’s readings make clear that our practices of penance are meant to lead us to true conversion. In Read more…
Who does not seek the blessing of God?! Jesus Christ is our greatest blessing! And Jesus is ours because of Mary, who became his mother, and in so doing, became the Mother of God. As we begin a new year, as every year, we celebrate this first day of the Read more…