As part of the Eucharistic revival called for by the U.S. Bishops, Archbishop Sample and Bishop Cary are inviting all Catholic churches in Oregon to hold a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration on or around January 29, 2022. Archbishop Sample will lead a Holy Hour at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland on Saturday, January 29, 2022 at 11:00 A.M. The Knights of Columbus, who inspired this initiative, will be standing ready to assist pastors and parishes with their efforts to plan, organize, publicize and attend the Eucharistic Holy Hours. The prayer intentions for the Holy Hour include requesting divine guidance for the Synodal process called for by Pope Francis, a deeper appreciation of the dignity and sacredness of human life, an end to abortion, and a renewed spirit and light for all parishes and parishioners in the Portland and Baker Dioceses. Wishing you every grace and peace in Christ and our Blessed Mother in the New Year

Daily Mass on Saturday, the 29th at our parish will be moved to 10:30 am for that day only, so that our local parish Holy Hour can follow immediately after Mass.

New to prayer or a seasoned prayer warrior?  We all want to improve our prayer habits. Do you want to add a new prayer to your daily time with God? Do you want to deepen your spiritual life? Would praying or reading Scripture with background music keep you focused? How about adding the Rosary to your daily spiritual habits?  At nighttime, would you like to listen to the Liturgy of the Hours? Do you want to learn prayers in Latin or Aramaic, or prayers in Spanish?

You can even listen daily to Father Mike Schmitz read through the entire Holy Bible, one day at a time for 365 days. Father Mike, along with Jeff Cavins, author of The Bible Timeline, explain the context of the history and ancient practices of both the Old and New Testaments  

Click here to visit Hallow.com and check out the many prayer aids you will find on the site.

“Hallow is an excellent resource for people searching for deeper spiritual lives, especially the younger generation of Catholics today. It helps make clear that a relationship with God is and can be extremely personal and can be a great source of peace, joy, and strength.”

Most Reverend Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades(Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend)

“Contemplative prayer, in my opinion, is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.”
St. Teresa of Avila

God delights in you. How do you feel when you hear that? Delight usually comes with an exuberant flow of joy that seemingly arises from one’s toes with the expression of great glee. Reflecting upon the deep measure of joy God has in us can be a source of joy for ourselves. Delight is infectious. A very young brother and sister were playing on the beach when the all too familiar ice cream truck made its daily rounds. The boy shook with excitement and delight as he took his sister’s hand and exclaimed, “The ice cream man is here, isn’t it great!” As they ran off toward the truck, one could hear the girl reply, “Yeah, I can’t wait!” The experience of a child’s delight in something so simple as ice cream, lifts our spirits from our burdens and transports us to the lighter, more innocent side of life.

Life is not meant to be a burden. Believe it or not, God actually wants us to be happy! In fact, the wedding feast at Cana shows us that God even puts His blessing on our happiness. It is okay to celebrate the wonder of ourselves and others. Life is good. It is always interesting to note that Jesus saves the good wine until last. You would think it would be the other way around. The superb quality of Jesus’ wine points to the superior quality of life we find in Christ. It is not a life of burdens but a life of wonder and delight! In Christ, we are lifted from the superficial and mundane to a life of purpose, hope, and love.

God is with us through the long haul, through the challenges and sorrows as well as the successes and accomplishments. In spite of the fact that we often wander from the path, God’s celebratory delight in us remains. As spouses are asked to remain faithful to each other through whatever life brings, God remains faithful too. This promise remains through this life and into the next. All we have to do is take the advice of Jesus’ mother to heart when she says, “Listen to him.” This wisdom saves us from foolishly giving in to the illusion that we can make better wine than Jesus.

©LPi