Beginning on Sunday, January 28, the Church observes Catholic Schools Week. I’m writing this Pastor’s Column on Catholic schooling now because next weekend, January 27/28, we’ll start having representatives in the narthex after Mass to answer any questions you may have and I want to give you a heads up now about that.

All Catholic parents are responsible for their children’s religious upbringing, to that end, the Church tries her best to help parents bring up their children in the practice of the faith through both schools and parish-based programs. As you know, school is super important for kids and adults too.

World War II officially began in 1939 (some argue 1936) and ended in 1945, so it was at least six years long. And again, depending on how you count deaths, 50 to 60 million died as a result of the war. World War II was a really big deal. The world is still largely structured along the lines of its aftermath 78 years on. So, it came as something of a shock when I read last week that in the year just concluded, 2023, 73 million babies were aborted world-wide. That’s more killing per-year of innocent non-combatants than the world lost in six years of the biggest war in history. Where is God in all this?

On New Years eve I spoke to a stranger behind the counter asking her if she was going to celebrate the coming of the new year that evening. She said she was. I asked her, tongue in cheek, if she was excited about the new year. She said she wasn’t excited about the new year, but she wasn’t afraid either. I didn’t ask her if she were afraid, so her answer made me pause and reflect. So, I asked her if she knew anyone who was afraid of the coming new year, “Oh yes!” she exclaimed. If the word frightened is too strong for most, I venture a guess that most people would say they have anxiety going into 2024, and anxiety about 2025 and beyond too.

“And in that region, there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!’” (Luke 2:8-14).

God has blessed Holy Redeemer with (now) eight religious vocations in the past 15 years, five in the last four years! One of them, Maris MacKenzie, is set to leave for the Carmel of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Post Falls, Idaho on January 6th (you’ll hear from her on the next page). We are hopeful that many more will follow.

The national timetable for the holiday season goes something like this: Thanksgiving, then the day after; begin the month-long preparation for Christmas by shopping and decorating; then celebrate Christmas (mostly on Christmas Eve); then on December 26 start returning to normal. The point of all that fuss is family and the “holiday spirit.” Sound about right? Of course, that’s not what the Christian focus was or how Christians acted did prior to materialism becoming our national religion. Nor should it be our focus and practice today.

The national timetable for the holiday season goes something like this: Thanksgiving, then the day after; begin the month-long preparation for Christmas by shopping and decorating; then celebrate Christmas (mostly on Christmas Eve); then on December 26 start returning to normal. The point of all that fuss is family and the “holiday spirit.” Sound about right? Of course, that’s not what the Christian focus was or how Christians acted did prior to materialism becoming our national religion. Nor should it be our focus and practice today.

November is traditionally the month of the year where we pray for the dead. Why would we do that? Aren’t all the dead in either heaven or hell? The souls in heaven and hell don’t need our prayers, so why are we praying for the dead? Answer: because a huge number of the deceased are in purgatory, heaven’s washroom. Consider the following account of such an incident.

November is traditionally the month of the year where we pray for the dead. Why would we do that? Aren’t all the dead in either heaven or hell? The souls in heaven and hell don’t need our prayers, so why are we praying for the dead? Answer: because a huge number of the deceased are in purgatory, heaven’s washroom. Consider the following account of such an incident.

A big thank you to those of you who answered the Measures of Engagement survey’s 25 questions.  Both Holy Redeemer and St. Thomas parishes did this the same weekend of September 17.  The survey was administered by the Gallup Corporation which has been studying successful organizations for several decades.

The intention of the survey, as the names implies, was to measure your engagement with the parish and in your own faith practice. At the time I started to pursue this last summer, I assumed I would remain as the pastor of the new parish family here, and I wanted to get a feel for St. Thomas Parish.  So I asked Fr. Raja at St. Thomas if he was agreeable about taking the survey and he was.  [By the way, Fr. Raja is about the easiest priest to get along with you’ll ever find.]

Two Saturday’s ago I gave a talk to representatives of various Serra Clubs from around the Northwest.  The talk got me thinking again about vocations to the religious life, then I discovered that this week is National Vocation Awareness Week, and then I discovered that I haven’t written a pastor’s column on vocations in over a year, so I figure I better strike while the iron is still hot. 

I want far more people to enter religious life as a priest, monk, nun, or sister than is currently the case.  Why?  Because religious life is so blessed.  I am not concerned about numbers nor should you be.  If you and I want more priests so we can keep our parishes open, and because priests and consecrated religious do so much good for us and others, then we’re being motivated by our own self-interests, not the well-being of the priest or consecrated religious.  Rather, we want people to consecrate themselves to Christ and His Church for God’s happiness and theirs, not ours.  

Last Tuesday evening we held our annual one-night mission on the holy angels hosted by a priest of Opus Sanctorum Angelorum (work of the holy angels). People who attended the mission had the opportunity to attend Mass, hear a talk on the angels, witness three people consecrate themselves to their guardian angels, begin a program to consecrate themselves to their guardian angel next year, or if they have done that already, begin a multi-year program to consecrate themselves to all the angels. What a blessing the ministry of Opus Sanctorum Angelorum has been to us. The mission coming so close to All Saints and All Souls days this year, drives home the reality of the Communion of the Saints and our relationship with them.

In reference to helping his parishioners grow in holiness, a good priest friend of mine says, “I can’t make anyone do anything, all I can do is offer.” He’s correct in saying that a priest can’t make anyone do anything: unlike the government that can make us pay taxes, serve in the military in wartime, force us to send our children to anti-Christian government schools because they won’t let our tax dollars follow our kids to Catholic schools, etc. With that said, my priest friend’s statement would be more accurate if it was: “while I can’t make anyone do anything, God has entrusted me with the responsibility to try—through example, instruction, inspiration, and warning—to help people grow in holiness.” If you know me at all, then you know this is something I take to heart.

Instead of dressing up your kids for Halloween as a fake superhero, popular cultural figure, or monster, how about dressing them up as a saint or angel? Instead of having your children trick or treat through demonically themed lawns and front doors, how about bringing them to the parish center for Christ- themed fun? This Halloween let’s protect our children and reclaim this festivity from its current godless and even satanic manifestation and return it to its Catholic origins.

On Sunday, October 30th, Holy Redeemer Parish is hosting an “All Hallows Celebration”. Come dressed as your favorite saint. The Knights of Columbus will grill up some hamburgers and hotdogs for a 1pm BBQ and at 1:30pm we’ll Trunk or Treat, play saint-inspired games and eat delicious saintly snacks!

October is the month of the Rosary, and so today I submit another pastor’s column on this incredible devotion. I ran this column last year and plan to do so annually, as the mysteries in it release phenomenal graces for those who put them into practice.

While the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary have been around for centuries, it wasn’t until 2002 that Pope Saint John Paul II (St. JPII) introduced the Luminous Mysteries. He got his inspiration from a priest he canonized only the year before, Saint George Preca (1880-1962). St. George was a Maltese priest who founded a society of catechists which endures to this day, yet his greatest contribution to the Church was a set of private mysteries that he would pray the Rosary with. He called these the Mysteries of Light, hence St. JPII’s “Luminous Mysteries.” You can see here how they inspired St. JPII and how closely they paralleled his own Luminous Mysteries

God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and I love the Rosary and want you to pray it daily. When the Blessed Virgin Mary visited St. Bernadette at Lourdes she always prayed the Rosary with her (14 visits). When the Blessed Virgin Mary visited the children at Fatima, she told them to pray the Rosary daily. Simply put, heaven wants us to pray the Rosary daily. If all the Catholics in the world prayed the Rosary daily, Satan’s power would be broken and the world would be converted to Jesus Christ. The Rosary is a gift from God, a superpower.

We live in an age unlike any other in the 2000-year history of Christianity, a spiritual “Dark Age” that has seen . . .

On July 1, 2024, the following parishes will henceforth share the same pastor: Holy Redeemer, Vancouver; St. Thomas, Camas; Star of the Sea, Stevenson. Then at some point between 2024 and 2027, they will merge into one parish, name change and all.

Throughout the western world the Church has unfortunately been in decline for decades. To deal with this, many dioceses have had to restructure and the Church in Western Washington is no exception.

Beginning last year, the Archdiocese of Seattle (the Church in Western Washington) began to process the greatest reorganization of parishes and missions in our history through a process the Archdiocese calls Partners in the Gospel.

In light of the Archdiocesan wide program, Partners in the Gospel, a program to reorganize and revitalize the Church in Western Washington, I want to get a better idea of what you think of Holy Redeemer Parish now and how we might improve upon it. How can we best accomplish what God has in mind for us? How can we best use the gifts and talents of the people who are a part of this parish? These are important questions that we’re always seeking to know and answer.

In light of the Archdiocesan wide program, Partners in the Gospel, a program to reorganize and revitalize the Church in Western Washington, I want to get a better idea of what you think of Holy Redeemer Parish now and how we might improve upon it. How can we best accomplish what God has in mind for us? How can we best use the gifts and talents of the people who are a part of this parish? These are important questions that we’re always seeking to know and answer.

If you only remember one thing from this pastor’s column, let it be this:

Catholics who marry are obligated to wed in the Catholic Church.  Failure to do so would constitute grave evil and the union would not be a valid marriage in God’s eyes. 

I never heard this fact growing up Catholic, so it was news to me when I discovered it in my early 30’s, and it may well be news to you too. 

So what happens to a Catholic who weds outside of the Catholic Church?  Although the union is recognized by civil society as marriage, it is not recognized by God as such: thus the couple are sleeping together outside of marriage.