News - April 2020 RSS Feed

At least for now, this will be my final Wednesday update. We have settled into our “new normal” and are simply moving forward as best we can. The weeks are going by!

In the late 90s, psychologists began using the term inattentional blindness. This describes the experience of being so concentrated on one thing that a person altogether misses something else — something that would otherwise be glaringly obvious.

“My Jesus”…Even when I was small, the need for someone to know me by name existed. The need to be authentically known exists in all of us.

Hello, everybody. Many of you have been asking how you can help or where you should donate to support efforts against the pandemic, beyond just our community and the Food Closet.

This litany expresses well whatever I could write to encourage you and to ask you to consider in your prayers.

Beaverton Foursquare as an emergency food site is going great!

Today is Earth Day and is such a fitting day to give thanks to God for the wonders of his creation! Psalm 148 is one of my favorites as it names various parts of God’s created world and attributes words of praise to them.

In high school, I earned my money mowing lawns. My favorite client was Margie. She was about 150 years old way back then, so I doubt she'll complain that I'm telling you this story now.

Jesus’ Divine Mercy…Let’s imagine Jesus, appearing to a simple Polish girl. Let’s imagine that those revelations have spread to influence Catholics everywhere, because they have and they did!

Hello everyone! Here we are at Divine Mercy Sunday, named for the devotion started by St. Faustina and extended to the whole church by St. John Paul II not that many years ago. Many of you, I know, like to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in your homes with your families.

Easter continues! I hope you and your families were able to enter deeply into the Easter spirit this year, despite so many things being very, very different from the “old days”!

It's A Whole New World at the Food Closet too!

Middle of the month and onward we go. I don’t have any new news to report from the parish. We will continue to record and post our weekend Mass and will continue our daily reflections and the Sunday Coffee and Broccoli. Thanks for tuning in!

When we moved to Beaverton a few years ago, my family of five fit comfortably in a three-bedroom house. But when we went into isolation last month, I had a feeling our comfortable house was going to start feeling a little small!

Let’s pretend...that we are one of the first followers of Jesus, the first Christians. We are in hiding and afraid after Jesus’ brutal crucifixion and death, believing that it’s all over, but members of our group venture out. Soon, we hear astonishing news: “He is Risen!”

Happy Easter, everyone! Despite the difficulties surrounding us, Jesus lives, and His victory continues to work in powerful and mysterious ways. We have reason to hope!

Happy Easter! Our faith in Jesus is founded on his Resurrection. We believe that he is more than a wise teacher, a miracle worker, and a religious figure of his time. He is God!

Happy Easter! Rejoice in all the good being done!

Okay good people, we are in the middle of Holy Week and about to enter into the Sacred Triduum — the three most sacred days of our liturgical year.  I am grateful for the response we have been getting to our online information, recordings, and our weekly Masses. Thanks for adapting!

Palm Sunday must look strange to outsiders: a bunch of people squeezed into a big ol' church waving leaves around.