VOICE (October 2009)

Fifteen years ago, St. Mary’s Parish, under the leadership of Monsignor Bach, began a major construction program to meet the future needs of the parish. After a great deal of study and community input, a three fold plan was accepted, fund raising undertaken, and construction begun.

All the time I have been pastor, we have lived with the fruits of that effort. The Parish Service Center was remodeled, the youth room completed and the Martha and Mary Rooms completed for parish use. The Southwest corner of the parish property was used for the construction of the Duplex to provide housing for the priests serving the parish, and finally the gathering space, renewed restroom facilities and the baptismal font were added to the Church.

This kind of program with diverse agendas is hard to pull off, but Msgr. Frank Bach did it. The end results were wonderful. After living the Duplex for over six years, I am so grateful for the parishes commitment to such a positive living situation. The Parish Office has been well used by the staff. But, the financial impact of this effort was in excess of $1 million. The payment of pledges got the first 80% taken care of, but the loan received from the Diocesan Deposit and Loan Fund has continued to require a commitment from the parish. Some of you have used the Building Campaign envelops in the monthly packets. The satisfaction of the debt was put into the parish budget during Father Steve Dublinski’s time as pastor.

This week the Mortgage on work done fifteen years ago was paid in full. Thank you and thank God. A symbolic Mortgage burning may already have taken place.

The Parish Finance Council at its October 14^th meeting agreed that the "Building" envelope will remain in the monthly packet. It will be renamed something like the "Capital Fund." The list of capital needs that are very real and demanding is significant. I will put down five ( not in any priority): Parking Lot renovation, storage space construction, Church Sound System, Interior Church painting, Heating plant update - Church and School.

PS: I also have to remind you that we have over $60K remaining debt on the Sexual Abuse settlement. So there still is a parish debt. But this is not a construction debt. We are committed to monthly payments on the loan from American West Bank.

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Special Thank you to Father Matthew for holding down the fort while I was on vacation in Europe. I had a great time. I was most moved in visiting the house in which my grandmother was born. The little Austrian town of Illmitz was much fun. The local priest is from Sira Lanka. He is very young and enthusiastic. I was so very kind to me. It was wonderful to pray at the grave of my grandmother’s parents, her brother and my cousins. I may have brought back the German version of H3N6.... hack three times and blow nose six times.

To even open my mouth about this issue will drive some folks in the parish community into a frenzy. Health Care reform in the United States is a moral imperative and has been for a good number of years. The issue is made very confusing because of its natural association with the Catholic vision of the respect for human life. I personally think that folks on both sides of the issues are using this critical moment to play power and politics. But what I think is unimportant. I would like to share with you the summary evaluation of Bishop William Murphy, Bishop of Brooklyn, who is the leader of the Bishops’ Conference Domestic Policy Committee.

Gospel solidarity calls upon all of us to put aside our political ideologies to advocate reform for all now. No matter what the talking heads say, we are all responsible for the health and well being of one another. The Catholic community has unique credibility in this debate, because we provide health care, we have a long and consistent tradition of teaching on the ethics of health care, we purchase health care and we pick up the pieces of a broken health care system.

Voice May 2009         

                                        GOD IS GOOD; BUT GOD CHALLENGES US

The above title is another way of saying "I have good news and I have bad news."   The good news is that this year our Diocese will have five additional priests..... three priests will be ordained for our diocese this year, one returns from school and Father Mee will receive an assignment here in the Spokane Diocese.   The good news is that St. Mary's will be the first assignment of one of the newly ordained priests, Father Matthew Larsen.  That is very good news.  God is good!  It will be good to welcome Father Larsen this summer.  Now a deacon, he has agreed to come an preach one of the weekends in June before his ordination.  So you will be meeting him soon.

The assignment of a new priest to St. Mary's will bring a new dimension to Father Jim's life.  He will be establishing a retirement residence in Spokane later this summer.  He can speak for himself, but I know he has a certain appreciation for moving back onto the South Hill in Spokane where so many of his friends live and where he spent almost 20 years in ministry.

The bad news!   Well, the arrival of a new priest will be a financial challenge to St. Mary's.  Father Jim has served us in semi-retirement.  He would say that the pastor has been really frugal.... or in less kind words....CHEAP!   Yes, his presence has been very cheap for us.  We have provided him housing, and he has made a wonderful contribution to the life of our parish.

The hard dollars and cents of the cost of a new priest is an additional $49,000 to next years budget.    Note I said additional.... in addition to the housing costs we are already paying.... things like water, gas, electricity, cleaning and maintenance.   I want you all to see the yearly budget projection so you can understand.... It is not that priests get paid very much, it is the non-salary costs that are so much:

Salary $17,160    Medical $ 8,500       Board $ 3,000        Cell phone $ 500  FICA $ 4,277      Retirement $ 9,300 Mileage $ 3,000  Maintenance $ 500   State Ind $ 400    Professional $ 2,500     Auto Liability $ 500

Is there some way of getting rid of the other old guy.... he must be expensive too!   As of this writing, I will be your pastor for another year.  Father Rich Poole at St. John Vianney has been accepted into the Air Force as a Chaplain.  Fr. Joe Bell is coming to Saint John Vianney and Father Mee will be the new pastor at St. Peter's in Spokane.  He will be happy to get out of my basement.

In face of the reality that I will be with you one more year, I am very glad that we will have a young priest.  Retirement is not just a happy wish for me, it is a necessity.  I am very aware that father time is catching up with me.  I am tired way too much of the time.  My memory for simple things like names is almost entirely gone.  I was never very good at that, but now I can't get my recall to pull out the names I used to know.   I am very sorry about that.... and it seems to be getting worse.  I remember too well the things that are unimportant and draw a blank on other things.  That is embarrassing and unhelpful to my ministry

I will do all in my power to empower a new young priest in the service of this parish community.   I will pledge to do all I can to be sure that this new resource benefits the life of this community.   I want him to be well worth five times $49,000.   I ask you to be generous in helping the parish increase the budget to meet this additional expense.  To use the old joke, we have the money.... the only problem is it is still in our wallets!  Finally I would ask your prayers for Father Larsen and I hope you will take up his invitation when he comes next month to attend his ordination at the Cathedral on June 26^th.    We certainly welcome him to St. Mary's.

VOICE - Spring 2009

THE LENTEN JOURNEY

In his message for Lent 2009, Pope Benedict has provided an wonderful reflection on the traditional Lenten practice of fasting. I remember a couple of years ago when I thought now I am over 59.... goodie, I do not have to fast. But we all know that fasting is heart and center of a Lenten observance. We all need to know the feeling of emptiness.

The Gospels tell us that "Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry" (Mt 4,1-2.) For the Lord Jesus this time in the desert was preparation for the battle which he would wage for the proclamation of the Good News. Pope Benedict cites St. Basil who preached that fasting began in the Garden of Paradise. "You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."

Lenten observance is not about following rules and regulations, it is about turning our hearts to the Lord. Jesus condemned that Scribes and Pharisees for holding fast to the observances and not letting their hearts be turned. It has to be the same for us. I remember hearing of a Catholic community that observed Friday abstinence with a Lobster dinner. It just does not ring true to the Gospel call. As much as I love fish, the Friday Fish fries held by the Knights are right on cue for us. A simple meal, shared in community, reminding us of our Lenten solidarity. This part of our Lenten observance is an act of humble submission to being faithful to the Lord on his journey to the hill of Calvary.

Pope Benedict captures the need for us to refocus our observance:

The Forty days of Lent need to be a hallmark of our identity as Catholics. We unite together to follow the observance. Our solidarity with those preparing for Easter Sacraments is a significant part of the reason for our accepting of the disciplines of Lent. By turning into the desert in the spirit of prayer, we will find ourselves ready to enter into the Sacred Triduum. We can let go of our hunger, we can share our blessings in alms giving. In all things we can honor the dying and rising of the Lord Jesus by making his prayer ours: Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my Spirit."

2009.... After ten years of living in the new century, I still want to count time in the 1900's. When will I get used to this new Millennium? The beginning of a new year the Holy Father’s first word is a message and prayer for peace. It is a profound message this year.

"Give them something to eat yourselves" (Lk 9:13). Faithful to this summons from the Lord, the Christian community will never fail, then, to assure the entire human family of her support through gestures of creative solidarity, not only by "giving from one's surplus", but above all by "a change of life- styles, of models of production and consumption, and of the established structures of power which today govern societies"

 

 

At the start of the New Year, then, I extend to every disciple of Christ and to every person of good will a warm invitation to expand their hearts to meet the needs of the poor and to take whatever practical steps are possible in order to help them. The truth of the axiom cannot be refuted: "to fight poverty is to build peace."

If you want to see his entire message it can be found on the Vatican web site: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/peace/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20081208_xlii-world-day-peace_en.html (Or you can look under Pope Benedict’s messages)

January 20^th will mark the beginning of a new presidential administration. The challenge to build a peaceful and just world is great. Our nation has and must continue to make a sacrificial contribution to that effort. Pope Paul VI said: "If you want peace, work for Justice." Now we hear Benedict’s last words in this year’s message: "to fight poverty is to build peace." Our Catholic world vew leads us to be filled with hope, but also a sense of responsibility. It is a happy new year!

I bought my ticket to run away during January before the market melt down. In the face of the challenge of prudence I will participate in the world economic stimulus package in a very personal way. I have promised Terry to e-mail a picture from Hong Kong or Thailand for insert in the bulletin. I thank my Dad for paying, Fr. Jim for covering the store, and God for giving me good enough health and energy to go play for a couple of weeks.

At the beginning of February, the Diocese will begin the Annual Catholic Appeal for 2009. You all know the economic reality of the Church in Eastern Washington. This annual appeal is the economic fuel to support the mission of the Church during the next year. Last year, in the scramble to gather funds for the Settlement Campaign, St. Mary’s was just a bit short of reaching our ACA goal. I know that the economy is painful for us all, but my hope and prayer is that we can join together to make our ACA effort more than successful this year. Deacon Mike will introduce the Appeal and its needs on February 1^st. I hope to give testimony to its critical importance on the first Sunday after I return from Asia. ACA is a very positive doorway to enter into the Lenten season at the end of February. As Pope Benedict says above.... "the Christian community will never fail, then, to assure the entire human family of her support through gestures of creative solidarity, not only by "giving from one's surplus", but above all by "a change of life- styles, of models of production and consumption." I prayer for that Creative Solidarity!