Going Phishing
This week, we had a spam e-mail go out from one of our ParishStaq groups, something that also occurred at Holy Family in Kirkland. We have instructions from the Archdiocese on how to disable a certain feature that will keep that from happening again.
However, in the meantime, a reminder: No one on the parish staff, including the Pastor, will ever ask you to e-mail us at gmail, hotmail, or yahoo. We all have official e-mail addresses, ending in whatcomcatholic.org, assumption.org, shbham.org, stjosephferndale.org, stjoseph-stpeter.org, or vikingcatholic.org. If you get an e-mail that seems weirdly urgent or claims to be from a priest or parish staff member, check the end of the e-mail address to be sure.
County Wide Mass
I am getting more and more excited about our county-wide Mass and picnic on June 14th. Please remember that there are many Mass changes that weekend, so check the schedule at https://www.whatcomcatholic.org/mass.
Consecration to the Sacred Heart
The bishops of the United States are doing something really amazing in honor of our country’s 250th anniversary – on June 11 they are consecrating our country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Personally, I have recently be growing in appreciation for devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so this consecration is supremely well-timed in my life. This growth began when I learned, in preparation for my pilgrimage last December, that St. Francis de Sales (whose tomb I visited) was an early advocate for devotion to the Sacred Heart. When I learned that, a lot of things began to click for me, because St. Francis de Sales is a saint of such mercy. The Sacred Heart is also primarily about mercy. It is about remembering that Jesus, having taken upon himself a human nature, has mercy on our human weakness. He gets it, he understands it, and he is deeply sad that we are constantly beaten down by the sin and corruption of this world and of our own hearts. Reflecting on the Sacred Heart causes us to reflect on a God who wanted nothing more than to join us in the muck, so that he could give us a way back to holiness and communion with him.
On a more practical note, there are wonderful resources published in preparation for this consecration. I would especially highlight:
- The USCCB page that explains the consecration and provides many excellent prayers and practices. https://www.usccb.org/consecration-united-states-sacred-heart-jesus
- The Archdiocesan page. https://archseattle.org/sacredheart/
- Archbishop Etienne’s letter on the Sacred Heart. (PDF – English | Español | Tiếng Việt)
Having consulted those resources and having asked other priests for advice, I would recommend doing the following to celebrate this amazing consecration.
- Pray the Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, starting on June 3rd. (USCCB link)
- Enthrone an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in your home. (Knights of Columbus booklet)
- Attend the Whatcom Catholic Mass for the Sacred Heart on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart at Sacred Heart Church. (7:00 pm, June 12)
Pope Leo’s Encyclical
As if all of this weren’t already exciting enough, Pope Leo published on May 25th his encyclical Magnifica Humanitatis, which is a reflection on the Social Doctrine of the Church in the age of rapidly advancing technology, including A.I. (link).
I am slowly working my way through it, so I do not have much to say yet, other than that I appreciate his clarity and structure. (And I do not appreciate his rejection of the Oxford comma!) I am not sure what kind of reflection I’ll be able to offer when I am done, but the first step to answering that question is just to get the thing read.
Fr. Moore 