What is the last thing a priest does at the end of Mass? He gives a blessing and a farewell: “May Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Mass is ended, go in peace.” That should sound really familiar because the presiding priest does that at the end of every Mass. So why do people come forward during the Communion rite to receive a blessing when they are going to receive one at the end of Mass? Great question.

Once in a while someone will ask me why we don’t give out “the wine” at Mass. By the wine they mean the Precious Blood of Jesus. I’ll try here to answer that question but first a few basics.

At every Mass we enter into the one, never ending sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary. A sacrifice He made for the Glory of God and the redemption of the human race. By redemption I mean that Our Lord’s passion, death, and Resurrection made salvation possible, but not guaranteed. The sacrifice that Jesus made for us made these things possible because Jesus is God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. Since God is eternal, Jesus’ sacrifice is not bound by the laws of time and space that govern us. Hence, at every Mass we enter into that one sacrifice, made once for all, that began at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday and ended on Good Friday with the death of Jesus on Calvary.

Throughout Western Washington this weekend, parishes and missions will be finding out who their priests will be on July 1st. That’s when all 163 parishes and missions of the Archdiocese of Seattle will fall under 60 pastors. This is part of the restructuring of the Archdiocese of Seattle called Partners in the Gospel, something the Archdiocese and I have been sharing copious amounts of information about with you for over a year now. On July 1st, Holy Redeemer Parish, St. Thomas Parish in Camas, and Our Lady, Star of Sea Mission in Stevenson, will all share one pastor – me.

Because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, the human race has hope for the future, and redemption in the sufferings of the present. If we didn’t know anything about the hope of heaven, and a life of perfect everlasting happiness within it, we’d despair of the present. With the suffering, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ (the Paschal Mystery), heaven has been opened to those who will be His faithful disciples. That means for a Catholic Christian, life doesn’t have to be lived in vain, but with incredible purpose, and with an interior peace that comes with accompanying Christ—a peace the world cannot give.

The Bible doesn’t tell us what Jesus looked like, how do we know? Answer: The Shroud of Turin.

Today is Passion or Palm Sunday, where at Mass we solemnly read through Our Lord’s Passion and death. Yet the Scriptures aren’t the only place that testify to what happened to Our Lord Jesus Christ at His death. There is one relic par excellent that irrefutably testifies to the truth of the Scriptures. That relic is the Shroud of Turin – the burial cloth of Jesus Christ.

God has blessed Holy Redeemer with (now) nine religious vocations in the past 15 years, six in the last four years! One of them, Townsen Poissant, is set to leave for Mt. Angel Abbey this Monday (you’ll hear from him below). We are hopeful that many more will follow him in the religious life.

Please pray daily for those from Holy Redeemer who have not yet reached final vows or ordination: Sr. Catherine, Sr. Katlyn, Evan, Br. Gabriel, Sr. Maris, and now Br. Townsen. Almost all those in religious formation will undergo a vocational crisis or more while in formation; almost all have undergone a vocational crisis before they even entered formation. Saying yes to God in this way is the bravest thing a human being can do because it is so un-natural.

For all of Christian history, people have had apparitions of those in heaven: the Blessed Virgin Mary, various angels and saints, and even Jesus Christ Himself. Almost none of them ever rise to the awareness of the Church’s authorities, let alone formal approval of the apparition and veneration of it. You and I can have an apparition of someone from heaven and treasure that visit for the rest of our lives; but we’re not going to go to our bishop and tell him all about it, wanting him to verify that it happened, and that people should venerate the site where it happened. That almost never happens. Because of this, and the profound reluctance of the bishops to verify things of this nature, there are only ten apparitions that the Church has formally approved of for authenticity and veneration. Today I introduce perhaps the least known of them all, Our Lady’s visits to the young shepherdess Benoite Rencurel in southeastern France from 1664 to 1718.

Every year on the first Sunday of Lent, we hear about Jesus in the wilderness praying and doing penance for 40 days, then Satan appears to tempt Him. In Our Lord’s case, Satan fails, in our case, he frequently succeeds. Why do Satan and the fallen angels (demons) tempt us to sin? Answer: to make our lives miserable and ultimately, to join them in hell for all eternity.

Some people don’t want to believe in hell, or at least that anyone is there. That’s understandable. On a superficial level, if hell didn’t exist then we wouldn’t have to worry about ourselves or anyone else burning there. That desire, as noble as it may at first seem, plays right into Satan’s hands.

Lent is a great time of the year to go to Confession. In fact, one of the precepts of the Church is that we have to go to Confession at least once a year. Historically, this is known as the “Easter Obligation” and is it normally done during the season of Lent or Easter, both six weeks long. Failure to go to Confession at least once a year, if aware of a mortal sin, is itself a mortal sin. To that end, we host a penance service here every Lent. This year’s penance service will be on Tuesday, March 26 (Holy Week) at 6pm. There will be seven priests here to hear confessions.

Lent is a special penitential season when Catholic Christians try to become better Catholic Christians. Specifically, we try to make some sort of special sacrifice for God’s glory, the salvation of souls, and atone for our sins and the sins of the whole world. Some people do big things and some people just one small thing, but we should all do something for Jesus who did everything for us.

Lent will begin this Wednesday with ashes, so now is the time to start making a resolution. Great things, even little things, don’t happen without a commitment and a plan: marriage, parenting, career, good health, etc., all take great commitments and a plan. So does our faith. Martyrs have died for the Lord, and saints have given their whole lives for Him. This Lent please join me in making a plan, with God’s grace, to better yourself in Christ.

The best I can do this week for a pastor’s column is to submit this great testimony below on the Holy Mass. Feel free to share with others, especially family members who are indifferent toward the Mass and hence God. Enjoy.

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In 1993, Catalina Rivas, a housewife and grandmother from Cochabamba, Bolivia began receiving messages from Jesus and Mary. Catalina bears the stigmata, the suffering wounds of Christ’s crucifixion. Amazingly, Catalina, who did not finish high school, has written eight books containing the messages of Jesus and Mary – all without a single theological mistake, and all given an imprimatur by the Archbishop of Cochabamba.

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.