You Gotta Serve Somebody!

Ann and I spent the weekend in Spokane attending the vigil and funeral of her brother, Steve Kuder, SJ.

Bob Fabing, SJ, perhaps Steve’s longest and dearest Jesuit brother, was there, of course. Bob founded and developed the Jesuit Institute for Family Life, an international network of counseling centers. Bob once stated that the state of families worldwide is the biggest crisis humanity faces. Someone else nominated global warming. These both, however, are rooted in the same problem: choosing ourselves to be our god.

At the interment, Fr. Pat Lee cited some of Steve’s self-tests along these lines, often for the benefit of his brother Jesuits. In particular, there was “If you think you’re the greatest Jesuit in the world, you’ve made God in your own image.”

This works equally as well for “Catholic”, “Christian” and even “Parish” (to say nothing of “nation” as once again our hubris is showing as we exit Afghanistan).

One of Steve’s favorite quotes was, “The main thing is to know the main thing, and to keep the main thing the main thing.” As we work to re-invigorate our Parish, we will be telling everyone how wonderful we are. Let us remember that we are not really the main thing. We need to keep reminding ourselves that the main thing to know is that God loves us unconditionally.

P.S.: “You know you have made God in your own image,” he would warn, “if you and God have all the same enemies.”


Ministry Opportunities

To help run our livestream equipment, contact Nicole St. Hilaire at nicoles@st-therese.cc

If you are interested in seeing, tending or advising on the Parish garden, feel free to stop by or contact victoria.ries@comcast.net or 206-915-3479. We would be especially helped by another experienced vegetable gardener. ————————————————————————————————————————— Parish Collections
Collection so far this fiscal year July 1, 2021 – August 19, 2021.….... $49,603
The budget….….                                                                                         $47,419
Last year at this time….….                                                                         $55,750