Ezekiel is writing in exile. Nebuchadnezzar has put down a rebellion by the Jewish leaders and taken the royal house to Babylon, along with the priest Ezekiel and others of Jerusalem’s ruling class. Now the puppet king in Jerusalem is seeking Egypt’s aid in yet another rebellion, and Ezekiel is saying, no, what don’t you understand about the last rebellion? You have not atoned for your arrogant and idolatrous ways! Ruin is coming for you! In the end, however, God promises a new beginning. This promise is renewed almost 600 years later in Mary’s Canticle, where God promises to raise the lowly, bring down the rulers, and “disperse the arrogant of mind and heart” (Luke 1:51).
In Chapter 7 of Fratelli Tutti, “Paths of Renewed Encounter,” Pope Francis cites the need to heal open social wounds and advises us to begin with the least:
Building social friendship does not only call for rapprochement between groups who took different sides at some troubled period of history, but also for a renewed encounter with the most impoverished and vulnerable sector of society. For peace is not merely absence of war but a tireless commitment to recognize, protect and concretely restore the dignity of our brothers and sisters, so that they can see themselves as the principal protagonists of the destiny of their nation.
Our
Annual Catholic Appeal progress is at about 60%. Aside from the worthiness of the campaign, given the current Archdiocesan strategic planning process, it is best to be above our goal than below it.
The Archdiocese of Western Washington has been a leader in developing safe environment and stewardship practices for over thirty years. It manages health insurance, retirement and other benefits for staff and provides payroll services. It oversees the financial practices of parishes and advises on the management of facilities. It advises on religious education curricula and runs one of the largest education systems in the state of Washington. It recruits, educates and manages the retirement funds of priests. It contributes to the retirement and health fund of sisters.
Father Maurice is now in the last month of his tenure with us. I personally am very thankful for him. Let us send him off with an excess over our ACA goal! If you haven’t made a gift, please go online at st-therese.cc, click on the ACA in the photo scroll or scroll down the page to the “Donate Now” button. Either way, you end up in the ACA window; click on the bold heading of your choice under “Ways to Give”. Please give generously to the Annual Catholic Appeal.
Ministry Opportunities To help run our
livestream equipment, contact Nicole at nicoles@st-therese.cc
To make and deliver lunches for the
Matt Talbot Center, contact Ellie Wakefield at ellieawake@gmail.com
To join
the Spirit Choir, contact Diane Figaro at diane.cornell.figaro@gmail.com or (206)271-5117.
Collections July 1, 2020 - June 9, 2021 $396,559
Where we need to be: $367,163
Last year at this time $354,714