In Principal Glen Lutz’ column, you will see some very good news. Colleen Terlicker, mother of Randy Terlicker, has made a generous offer. She will match, dollar for dollar, any amount contributed in next weekend’s two-bit collection for the Randy Terlicker Fund. This collection will go toward immediate tuition assistance for needy families – and will greatly benefit our school and overall parish. Thank you.
Speaking of two-bit collections, Fr. Qui-Tac Nguyen has made a special appeal for the needs of the Newman Catholic Campus Ministry in Bellingham. Many of you know Fr. Qui-Tac, one of the finest young priests in the Archdiocese of Seattle. He is now Chaplain of Newman Campus Ministry at Western Washington University. I have posted his letter on our bulletin board in which he describes the amazing growth of Campus Ministry, which has involved adding an extra Sunday Mass, more times for confession and Eucharistic Adoration and a mission trip of 40 students to build homes for the homeless in Mexico. Please be generous in this Sunday’s two-bit collection to support the work of Newman Catholic Campus Ministry in Bellingham.
I also want to thank you for last Sunday’s donations for the Mary Bloom Center. You will see the results in the Stewardship section of the bulletin. Your donations will help the Mary Bloom Center purchase equipment for its medical clinic that serves the needy in Puno, Peru. During Lent our parish school collected toys and school supplies for children of Peru. The picture shows Mrs. Anca Wilson and her fourth graders in front of some of the boxes. They collected and sorted 1508 items! Thank you to all children and families that participated in this beautiful project.
Toys for Peru, Fourth Grade - Mrs. Anca Wilson
As you know, Pope Benedict will be visiting our country in just over a week. He will give a major address at the United Nations, visit the site of the September 11 attacks and meet with heads of Catholic universities and other educational institutions. We are blessed to have a pope that comes from a rigorous academic background and who can address contemporary issues in their own terms. Last week I particularly recommended his essay on “Conscience and Truth.” You can find it on the Internet, for instance, on the Catholic Information Network.
I mentioned last week how a subjective view of conscience can lead to a justification of even the most extreme behavior. Pope Benedict spoke about a professor who argued that Hitler and his henchmen would be saved because they were acting sincerely, “according to their consciences.” Of course, this cannot be right, and in the essay Pope Benedict (then Cardinal Ratzinger) shows what happens when conscience is separated from truth. Comparing our contemporary dilemma to the classic argument between Socrates and the Sophists, he makes this analysis:
“Giving up the idea of man's capacity for truth leads first to pure formalism in the use of words and concepts. Again, the loss of content, then and now, leads to a pure formalism of judgment. In many places today, for example, no one bothers any longer to ask what a person thinks. The verdict on someone's thinking is ready at hand as long as you can assign it to its corresponding, formal category: conservative, reactionary, fundamentalist, progressive, revolutionary. Assignment to a formal scheme suffices to render unnecessary coming to terms with the content.”
You have probably noticed this tendency. To speak personally, I have wondered at the eagerness of some to classify me as a “conservative.” As the pope observes, it is a handy way to avoid the bother of asking what the other person thinks. And, if words are merely weapons and if truth has no content (as the Sophists maintained), then we are reduced to a power struggle between competing forces – what the pope referred to as the “dictatorship of relativism.” More on that next week. Meanwhile, I urge you to pray as our Holy Father prepares for his apostolic visit to our country – especially that the Holy Spirit might open the hearts of those who have grown cold.
Estamos en los dias de los sacramentos pascuales. Como ustedes saben, unos 44 adultos y jovenes recibieron los sacramentos de bautismo, confirmacion y Primera Communion en las vigilias pascuales. Abajo hay la foto de uno de los jovenes con sus papás y hermano. El 21 de este mes el Obispo Tyson estará con nosotros para celebrar la Confirmacion en castellano.
Gracias por su apoyo para el Centro Mary Bloom. Los resultados de esta colecta y las otras colectas estan en la seccion de Mayordomia. El proximo domingo la Sra. Colleen Terlicker va a dar un dólar por cada dólar donado en la colecta de Randy Terlicker. Es una buena oportunidad de ayudar a familias necesitadas – y al mismo tiempo apoyar a nuestra escuela y parroquia. Gracias.
Dear Parishioners,
Holy Family Parish School speaks to the Mission of the Church and the parish. For 80 years, countless children have received the gift of a Catholic education. For many years, the Sisters of Providence endowed the school with their servant leadership. As with all of our Catholic schools, the model for staffing and finance has changed and continues to develop and evolve. The laity must really assume the responsibilities for stewarding the ministry of the parish school.
At HFPS, we are blessed with a wonderful and diverse student body. The families are devoted to the church and committed to the school. The Parish dedicates a substantial amount of its treasure in support of the school. Thank you.
The future is ours to co-create. For us to insure that we can serve all parish families, it is our turn to endow the school. The Randy Terlicker Endowment and Scholarship Fund is the vehicle for us to provide this needed support.
During the weekend coinciding with Sunday, April 13, the 2-Bit Collection will be taken up for the Randy Terlicker Scholarship Fund. The money received can be used this year and in future years to help families with tuition assistance. The families who receive this assistance must go through a qualifying process including applying to the Fulcrum Foundation as the initial step into our school process.
I have some really good news to share regarding the Scholarship Fund. Mrs. Colleen Terlicker, Randy’s mother, will match whatever is donated to the 2-Bit Collection during the weekend of April 12 – 13. This is a wonderful gift from Colleen and her family. Please take advantage of this opportunity to help the parish families who are trying to give their children the gift of a Catholic education.
This announcement will be repeated on April 13. The school will be on spring break from April 7 – 11. Mr. Lutz’s column will resume on April 20.
Easter Blessings, Glen t. Lutz Principal Fostering Stewardship As a Way of Life Stewardship Reflection “This Christ-centered way of living has its beginning in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. As Vatican II remarks, all Christians are ‘bound to show forth, by the example of their lives and by the witness of their speech,’ that new life of faith which begins in Baptism and is strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation.” ~ US Bishops’ Letter – Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response Parish Stewardship Giving Summary Wk. 40 of Fiscal Year (July 1, 2007 – March 30, 2008) Amount Needed Each Sunday: $ 12,289.00 March 30 Check/Cash Envelope: $ 6,531.00 March 30 EFT(Automatic Deduction)$ 637.05 March 30 Loose Cash: $ 2,528.93 March 30 Total Offering: $ 9,696.98 Weekly Income Difference: (-) $ 2,592.02 Budgeted Fiscal Year to Date: $491,560.00 Collected Year to Date: $479,345.53 Income Difference Year to Date: (-) $ 12,214.47 Some of the Gifts from the Other Half of our Stewardship 2-Bit (Mary Bloom): $ 2,061.75 Rice Bowl/CRS: $ 1,104.90 Saint Vincent de Paul $ 126.00 Capital Campaign Total Households Pledging: 723 Total Pledged: $1,205,550.62 Total Paid: $1,027,891.49 Balance: $ 177,659.13 2007 Archdiocesan Annual Catholic Appeal Update The 2007 Annual Catholic Appeal is coming to a close this month. Our parish has done very well this year, and at this point, we have exceeded our required contribution amount by $4,236, which will be returned to us and used to remodel the baptistery into a St. Michael and Sacred Heart Prayer Chapel. If you have not yet fulfilled your pledge, please do so as it will help us greatly in this project. All payments are due at the Archdiocese by Friday, April 18. You may also fulfill your pledge on-line by going to www.seattlearch.org. Thank you for your generosity!