Listen to this note instead: https://morefrmoore.podbean.com/e/july-02-2026-pastors-note/
County-Wide Mass & Picnic
First, thank you to everyone who made our county-wide Mass and Picnic a success two weeks ago. Thank you especially to our Lummi Community for hosting and to our Sacred Heart volunteers who fed so, so many people at Zuanich Point Park.
Second, I have heard a lot of positive feedback from those who attended. Having discussed this with our Pastoral Council, I am planning to do a county-wide Mass and picnic at least once a year, though the Council recommended moving it to September and allowing Sacred Heart to have their own picnic going forward. However, if you have further feedback or if it has inspired you to volunteer to do something else county-wide, please let Olivia Phillips (olivia@whatcomcatholic.org) know.
Retreat Reflections
Immediately after the picnic, I flew to Steubenville, OH for my annual retreat. It was wonderful and very, very necessary.
My main takeaway following the retreat was adventure. One of our speakers encouraged us to reflect on our image of God the Father in light of our own experiences with our earthly fathers, and then to apply that to our spiritual fatherhood. For me, I reflected on how my happiest memories with my dad were when he was being playful. I prayed about that for a while and talked to some fellow retreatants and friends about the nature of play. Finally, I concluded that the best fathers are adventurous. Meaning two things:
(1) I want to rediscover and recenter myself on the adventure of Christianity. When I initially began learning, living, and preaching the faith, it was very much an adventure. This was, in a very real sense, God the Father playing and being adventurous with me. As life has continued, the faith has taken on more aspects of duty and obedience in my life, which is sometimes necessary; but I want to spend some time this year receiving the playful, adventurous offerings of my Heavenly Father again.
(2) I would like to try to better offer that spirit of adventure in my role as Pastor and spiritual father to Whatcom Catholic. When people ask me how I am doing, I am always honest – but that has resulted in my seeming pretty cynical as I describe to people how this has been a hard year for me. And yet, at the core of my being, I still absolutely believe that following and preaching Jesus is a grand adventure, as is the incredible opportunity that is Partners in the Gospel. I want to try to reflect that more in my conversations and my preaching.
America’s 250th Birthday
I have recently been appreciating John Papola’s reflections on education, democracy, and America in his podcast “Dad Saves America“. It is a long-form interview podcast, so even he does not agree with everything his guests say, nor do I agree with everything that he says. But the podcast is very pro-family, pro-liberty, pro-capitalism, and (unsurprisingly, given its name) pro-America, which has helped me re-enliven my love for the United States and what it represents as we prepare for the 250th anniversary of our founding.
I remain convinced that the United States is the greatest secular force for good in the world today and will remain so as long as we do not abandon Christ or our founding values. At its best, the American experiment is based on the deeply Christian belief in the inherent dignity of each human being as made in the image and likeness of God. Liberty does not make sense if the individual is irredeemably corrupted and savage – that requires a Hobbesian totalitarianism to keep society controlled. But if each person, in their own way, has the potential to show forth the glory of God, then giving them maximal liberty is the surest path towards human and societal flourishing. The Catholic term for this is subsidiarity: favoring localized decision-making over centralized control, with the understanding that the more people a decision affects the more that decision must be centralized.
Ultimately, democracy and capitalism are the two most impactful expressions of liberty, allowing individuals to have maximal control over their political and economic lives. These two ideologies, when lived out well, have brought more freedom and flourishing to the world than any other force besides Christianity itself. And we should be proud that our country is such a bright beacon for both.
Of course, the problem with human beings is that their capacity for greatness is marred by their capacity for sin. Our country is far from perfect, both historically and presently. This is why I am firmly convinced that we will fail – quickly! – if we corporately abandon Christ, who purifies us and keeps us true to our best nature. It is and always has been Christianity that has pushed the United States to be the best version of itself. We preach the Gospel to our neighbors out of love for them and to save their souls, of course; but in so doing, we also guarantee to future of our country, which requires the Gospel to thrive.
On the 250th birthday of America, I am proud to be Catholic and I am proud to be an American. I hope that my fidelity to Christ will also help me to be a better citizen and my country to be a better beacon of liberty and justice for all.
Fr. Moore 