Bulletin (April 12, 2009)

Today is Easter Sunday – the central feast of our Christian faith. Pope Benedict said that the resurrection of Christ is “the core of Christianity, the bedrock of our faith, the powerful lever of our certainties, the great wind that blows away all fear and indecision, all doubt and human calculation.” He went on to affirm: “Only from God can the decisive change of the world come. Only by going back to the Resurrection can the true nature of the Church and of her witness be understood.”

Faith in the resurrection of Jesus unites us with all Christians. At the end of this column I will quote from two great Protestant theologians, but before doing that I wish express some words of gratitude and to inform you about some matters important to our parish.

First of all, words of gratitude: I want to thank all those who worked so hard to make our grounds and church beautiful for Holy Week. Last Saturday, our Knights of Columbus – together with a good number of volunteers – did a general clean-up of our parish grounds. Below is a picture of a couple of volunteers working on the flower beds. I am most grateful to all who helped with this effort.

Knights of Columbus Spring Clean-Up, April 4, 2009

Dennis

Cliff, Dominic & Israel

A special thanks to those who organized the Palm Sunday processions. We had a nice group before the 8 a.m. and in the afternoon Fr. Armando and Deacon Abel led the Hispanic community in a procession with the Blessed Sacrament. I placed of photo of that procession in Spanish section of the bulletin.

A wonderful corps of volunteers spent many hours on cleaning and decorating the church. I thank them for making our church so beautiful for the celebration of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. Of course, those celebrations depend on a variety of ministers: lectors, extraordinary ministers of Communion, sacristans, ushers, altar servers and musicians. The music has been exceptionally gorgeous and inspiring. I thank our music director, Mrs. Anca Wilson, and all those who spent so much time in practices so that we would have excellent music for worship during these days.

Many people made donations for Easter flowers and in other ways have donated toward the beautification of the church. In the bulletin you will find a list of those who made contributions for Easter flowers.

Also in today’s bulletin is a list of those who have made donations and/or pledges for the Randy Terlicker Endowment Fund. This fund will help provide stability for the future of our school and parish. It will benefit the parish and school by providing financial assistance to children of poorer families. We want Holy Family School to be accessible to all children of our parish. Your donations to this endowment fund will make that possible. The fund is named for Holy Family graduate Randy Terlicker, who gave his life in the 1995 Pang Warehouse Fire. The second collection for this Easter Sunday will go entirely to the Randy Terlicker Endowment – and Randy’s mother (long-time parishioner, Mrs. Colleen Terlicker) will match your donations dollar for dollar. Also at the church entrances you will find brochures explaining this fund – and special envelopes you can use to make a pledge or one-time donation.

Next Sunday we have a great blessing for our parish: Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, will preach at our Sunday morning Masses. After the 11 a.m. we will have a reception for those who would like to meet Fr. Pavone. That afternoon, at 3 p.m., Fr. Pavone will lead the Hour of Mercy Prayers in front of the Madison Street Planned Parenthood. Bishop Eusebio Elizondo will give an opening prayer and final blessing for this event. Do not miss this important opportunity.

This week many of you will join praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet. In promoting this devotion Pope John Paul II asked us to offer the Divine Mercy prayers for “ mothers, that they not abort their offspring; for infants in danger of being put to death in the womb; for a change of heart of providers of abortions and of their collaborators; for human victims of embryonic stem cell research, genetic manipulation, cloning and euthanasia; and for all entrusted with the government of peoples, that they may promote the Culture of Life, so as to put an end to the culture of death.”

In conclusion I would like to share quotes from two Protestant theologians regarding the Resurrection. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who I quoted in my Good Friday and Easter Sunday homilies, said: “In the incarnation we recognize God’s love for his creation, in the crucifixion God’s judgment over all flesh, and the resurrection God’s will to a new world.” Bonhoeffer – like many Protestant ministers and Catholic priests – was imprisoned by the Nazis. While in jail, he wrote:

“Socrates mastered the art of dying; Christ overcame death as “the last enemy” (1 Cor. 15:26). There is a real difference between the two things; the one is within the scope of human possibilities, the other means resurrection. It is not from ars moriendi, the art of dying, but from the resurrection of Christ that a new and purifying wind can blow through our present world. … If a few people really believed that and acted on it in their daily lives, a great deal would be changed. To live in the light of the Resurrection—that is what Easter means.”

Finally I would like to quote a second Protestant theologian who expressed the matter very directly. Wolfhart Pannenberg wrote something that we could all reflect on this Easter day: "The evidence for Jesus' resurrection is so strong that nobody would question it except for two things: First, it is a very unusual event. And second, if you believe it happened, you have to change the way you live."

Felices Pascuas de Resurreccion. En un mensaje a jovenes el Papa Bendicto dijo: “Redimida por su sangre, ninguna vida humana es inútil o de poco valor, porque todos somos amados personalmente por Él con un amor apasionado y fiel, con un amor sin límites. La Cruz, locura para el mundo, escándalo para muchos creyentes, es en cambio "sabiduría de Dios" para los que se dejan tocar hasta en lo más profundo del propio ser, "porque lo que es necedad de Dios es más sabio que los hombres, y lo que es debilidad de Dios es más fuerte que los hombres" (1Cor 1,24-25). Es más, el Crucificado, que después de la resurrección lleva para siempre los signos de la propia pasión, pone de relieve las "falsificaciones" y mentiras sobre Dios, que se ocultan bajo el manto de la violencia, la venganza y la exclusión. Cristo es el Cordero de Dios, que carga con el pecado del mundo y erradica el odio del corazón del hombre. Ésta es su verdadera "revolución": el amor.”

Al celebrar la resurreccion de Cristo, quisiera expresar un agradecimiento a todos que ayudaron antes y durante la Semana Santa. En la parte en inglés, mencione a los voluntarios que ayudaron con la limpieza y belleza de nuestros terrenos y el interior del templo – y los que participaron en la liturgias. Por ejemplo la procesion de Domingo de Ramos fue realizada con mucha reverncia. Abajo hay una foto de ella.

Palm Sunday Procession before 8 a.m. Mass

9:30 a.m. Mass

Procession, 1 p.m.

1 p.m. Mass

Gracias a todos que hicieron donaciones para flores, velas ,etc. Un agradecimiento especial al Grupo de Eventos Sociales por la donacion de $400 al Centro Mary Bloom y $1000 para la parroquia. El domingo pasado tuvimos una colecta para el Ministerio de Hospitales (ver resultados en la seccion de “Stewardship”), el Jueves Santo para Madre Teresa y Viernes Santo para el ministerio a los encarcelados. Este domingo habra una segunda colecta para algo bien importante para el futuro de nuestra escuela parroquial: El Fondo Randy Terlicker. Hay folletos en espanol e ingles que explican mas sobre este fondo. Otra vez la Sra. Colleen Terlicker (mamá de Randy) dara un dólar por cada dólar donado. Tambien hay sobres que se puede usar para hacer una donacion o compromiso. En el boletin hay una lista de todos los donantes hasta la fecha.

El proximo domingo el Padre Frank Pavone predicara en la misa de 9:30 a.m. El Padre Pavone es Director Nacional de Sacerdotes para la Vida. Les invito a la Hora de Misericordia a las 3 p.m. ante el “Planned Parenthood” de 2001 E. Madison. El Obispo Eusebio Elizondo dara la oracion inicial y la bendicion final. El Diacono Abel nos guirara en el rezo del Tercer Misterio Glorioso. Es un momento importante para rezar por niños no-nacidos, por sus papas y para todos de nuestra sociedad que sepamos apoyar a mamás en embarazos de crisis.

Stewardship Reflection: Easter Sunday! In today’s second reading, St. Paul says: “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth” (Col 3:2). Even in the midst of the current economic challenges, this is an important reminder that our ultimate goal is eternal union with God. We are a Resurrection people.

Faith and Finances with Phil Lenahan © – www.VeritasFinancialMinistries.com

Parish Stewardship Giving Summary:
Wk. 40 of Fiscal Year, April 5, 2009		 
	
Amt. Needed 1st Collection Each Sunday:  $ 14,100.00	     
Check/Cash Envelope:		       $  10,189.05
EFT (Automatic Deduction):	       $      830.11    
Loose Cash:			       $   4,278.96  
Total Offering:		      	       $  15,298.12
 Weekly Income Difference:	     +$    1,198.12            

For on-line donations to parish or school: www.HFSeattle.org  

Gifts from the Other Half of Our Stewardship:
Second Collection:  Deanery Hospital:	       $    1,906.29	
	    	
Calling All Final Annual Catholic Appeal Payments!

There is less than ONE week left to fulfill your 2008 Annual Catholic Appeal Pledge. Payments need to be received at the Archdiocesan office by Monday, April 20. If you have not yet fulfilled your pledge, I strongly encourage you to do so in order for us to maximize the final rebate for our parish project. Please send your final payments directly to the Annual Appeal Office at 710 9th Ave, Seattle WA 98104. Thank you and God bless you for your generosity! ~ Father Bloom

New Parking Extension, April 5, 2009