To My Spiritual Family of Holy Redeemer and St. Anthony,
From the CRO (Chief Reminding Officer): Why do we exist as a parish? To turn people’s lives upside down through an encounter with the redeeming love of Jesus Christ. How do we behave? Christ is at the center of all that we do and all that we are, we strive to be selfless and willing to sacrifice for others, and we persevere in the face of any struggle. How will we succeed? We invite to ignite, we thirst for the sacraments, and we make our parish a place of refuge. What is most important for us right now? Igniting the fire at Holy Redeemer.
Baptismal Font Marble Remembrances: Our tireless Facilities Manager, Gregg Danielson, has been working diligently to tear down the current baptismal font in preparation for the new. This is a time-consuming project and we likely will not see the new font in place for several months. Over the course of it’s 30-years of use, many souls entered into a sacramental relationship with the redeeming love of Christ at the old font. Indeed, there is a sacredness to be respected as we make this change. Small pieces of the marble base are available in the Holy Redeemer gathering space this weekend for those of you seeking a memento. If you are desirous of a larger piece of marble, please contact Gregg directly. He can be reached at [email protected].
Prayers for Hurting Parishes: St. Joseph Church in Salem, Oregon, a parish who, like us, is involved in the Amazing Parish movement, found their church building burned down by an arson on the morning of August 31, 2023. Our Parish Leadership Team and I joined in praying for them during a multi-team Amazing Parish webinar some days ago. It’s difficult, isn’t it, to even imagine the trauma that the good people of that parish are experiencing? Yet sadly, they are not alone. A Catholic group who monitors these things is reporting that 354 Catholic churches in the United States have been attacked or vandalized since May of 2020. It seems that theft is rarely the motivation. Sometimes, unfortunately, the attacks are the work of those suffering from mental illness. In many cases, though, intimidation or outright hatred for the Catholic Church is the apparent motive. What should we make of this? The Catholic Church is opposed and vilified because it stands in opposition to the evil currents of our culture. I believe that we can be proud that the Church is standing against the culture of death and the dictatorship of relevance. Christian communities that stand with the prevailing culture are rarely the target of threats or attacks. We – because we point out the evil of abortion and other cultural ills – we are the ones that the mob is coming for. Christ warned us clearly about this when he walked the earth. He told us of the persecutions to come. Be brave, therefore. The Lord himself is our refuge and our strength.
Prudence Over Fear: COVID fears are again being discussed and fretted over. It sure seems that this unhappy virus is with us for the long haul. Please, though, do not allow COVID or any other illness to steal away your peace of soul. Sickness and death remain an unfortunate consequence of original sin. Leprosy, bubonic plague, polio, flu, cancer and countless other diseases have brought suffering to the human race since the fall of man. Yet for many people, sickness of the body becomes an instrument for healing of the soul. Our duty is to continue taking the next good step forward. Hindsight shows us that the lockdowns and the mandates of 2020 brought about terrible consequences: depression, anxiety, suicide, loss of learning, missed medical diagnoses, social dysfunction, and loneliness. For the Church, shutting down reception of the sacraments was a horrible mistake. Incalculable spiritual damage was done to souls. We don’t want to repeat our errors. Be prudent, but unafraid. I intend to carry on with igniting the fire at Holy Redeemer. I want to see that fire roar! God bless you all and have a beautiful week.
Mary, Mother of the Redeemer – Pray for us! Our Lady of Guadalupe – Pray for us! St. Anthony – Pray for us! St. Joseph – Pray for us!