The Signs of Our Times

  “Go and tell John what you hear and see.”  
          Jesus’ reply to the Baptist’s disciples’ query if he is the one to come.
          Matthew 11: 4


Happy Third Sunday of Advent!

John the Baptist is in prison. He baptized Jesus but perhaps is confused because sinners are not being burned in “unquenchable Herefire” (MT 4:10 and 12), so he sends his disciples to ask Jesus if he is the Anointed One. Jesus does not recite a genealogy or launch into an explanation of himself as the culmination of the history of Israel or claim to be Elijah (Malachi 3:23-24).  He merely tells the disciples to see the signs of the times: the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear. He doesn’t have to tell John that this is a reference to Isaiah.

What are the signs of our times? We are enduring a fresh outbreak of racism and antisemitism, of belief in incredible conspiracies. Our churches are turning gray as the past few generations believe in the Judeo-Christian ethic but not in the institutional Church.

What can we do?

The Stewardship Commission has developed a plan for multi-media communications to expand our ability to spread the Good News as practiced here at St Therese. Jen Tawatao has volunteered to lead that effort, so you will be hearing more of that in the coming weeks & months.

We also need to keep our live stream alive! Nicole needs a team of people to help her. This is an absolute necessity in these times! If interested email Nicole St. Hilaire at nicoles@st-therese.cc.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society leads our efforts to keep people in their homes. If interested, email Bob Mackin at rmackinatty@yahoo.com.

Our very own Catherine Pagès delivered the case for supporting Catholic Community Services, the largest private social service program in Washington State. Please support their efforts here.

Don’t miss the St. Therese response to “Enlarge Your Tent, the Document for the Continental Stage,” the summary of the first phase of the world-wide synodal process.  St. Therese listening sessions will be Tuesday, Dec. 13, from 7-8:30 pm (here)

and Sunday, Dec. 18, from 3-4:30 pm via Zoom: Here

This is also the time to reflect on our gratitude for our St. Therese Parish and how we can let that be reflected in our giving.  Two excellent stewardship reflections were offered in the last two weeks and are available on st-therese.cc here.  To pledge your support for your parish, please do so here