"Jubilee celebrations"by Bishop William S. Skylstad (From the April 6, 2000 edition of the Inland Register)
The Holy Father in a prophetic manner on March 12 celebrated the Mass of Pardon at St. Peter’s Basilica. The comments have been mostly positive as the Church expressed her continuing need to be forgiven for her sins of the past and extended forgiveness to those who had hurt her as well. The International Theological Commission mentioned four general areas for the Church’s requested forgiveness:
The pope’s recent pilgrimage to Jordan and Israel has also attracted much positive media attention. That pastoral visit to a part of our world troubled by ethnic and religious tensions gave the Holy Father the opportunity to call for peace, unity, reconciliation, and hope for the future. The tensions in the Middle East have festered for a long time. We can all hope that his pastoral visit will assist the transformation of difficult relationships into peaceful and just ones. We need to be mindful of our own lives, our parishes and our diocesan church. Reconciliation is not a single moment approach but a process on our spiritual journey. Just as we need continual conversion of heart, so, too, deepening a sense of community and unity needs to be constantly addressed and worked at. Several months ago I was contacted by the pastors in the Tri-cities area to preside at the Ash Wednesday evening Mass at the TRAC (Trade, Recreation, Agricultural Center) between Pasco and Richland. Since parishes from both dioceses were attending, Bishop Carlos Sevilla SJ of Yakima preached the homily. It’s interesting that the largest parish in the Yakima Diocese, Christ the King in Richland, is located across the Columbia River from the largest parish in the Spokane Diocese, St. Patrick in Pasco. We had to start the Mass 30 minutes late because the freeway was jammed up, but eventually almost 7,000 people came, filling the TRAC. The Mass was celebrated in four languages, indicating the diversity of the church in that area. I returned the following evening to celebrate the Rite of Election in St. Patrick Parish in Pasco. Many came up to me afterwards to share how they had been deeply touched by the Mass the night before. The experience of the celebrating Church in a larger setting reminds us of how connected we always are in the Body of Christ. The wonderful diversity in the Church is a great blessing indeed. For several months now planning has been taking place for our diocesan jubilee celebration on Pentecost Sunday at the Arena in Spokane. It has been a long time since we have come together for a diocesan celebration such as this. I think the last large gathering was for Bishop Welsh’s ordination, in the old Coliseum in December 1978. The Pentecost Mass on June 11 will be celebrated in the afternoon at 2 p.m. I will be asking the pastors in the diocese not to celebrate Mass after a certain time on Sunday morning in local parishes so that they and parishioners can come. This will be a great moment for us as Church, to celebrate Pentecost Sunday together as a diocesan family. Cardinal Szoka, the president of Vatican City and formerly the Archbishop of Detroit, will be with us as a representative of the Holy Father and a reminder of our church universal will preach the homily. I hope no one takes lightly this opportunity of coming together as Church to celebrate God’s goodness to us including our diversity. We have been blessed in so many ways. But for now our Lenten journey continues. We experience the Year of Jubilee with an ever-deeper appreciation of our needs, challenges, the call of the Gospel, and God’s goodness to us. May God bless you and give you peace.
Bishop Skylstad's schedule 8: Confirmation, 6 p.m, St. Joseph/St. Mark Parishes, Dayton/Waitsburg 9: Confirmation, 10 a.m., Sacred Heart Parish, Wilbur; Confirmation, 4 p.m., St. Patrick Parish, Walla Walla; Jubilee Charismatic Renewal, 6 p.m., Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes 10: Catholic Charities Board meeting; Confirmation, 7 p.m., St. Agnes Parish, Ritzville 11: Leadership Conference of Women Religious meeting, Clare Center 12: Confirmation class, Assumption Parish, Spokane 13: Secretariat meeting; Confirmation, 7 p.m., St. Anne Parish, Medical Lake 16: Reconciliation Service, 4 p.m., Holy Family Parish, Clarkston 17: Penance Service, 7 p.m., Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes 18: Business breakfast meeting; Penance Service, 7 p.m., Immaculate Conception Parish, Colville 19: Octet Day of Prayer; Finance Council meeting 20: Chrism Mass, Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes 21: Good Friday service, noon, Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes 26: Diocesan Council of Catholic Women spring meeting; Confirmation, 7 p.m., Holy Rosary Parish, Pomeroy 27: Secretariat meeting; Confirmation, 7 p.m., Immaculate Conception Parish, Oroville 28: Confirmation, 7 p.m., Holy Rosary Parish, Tonasket 29: Diocesan School Advisory Council meeting; Confirmation, 2 p.m., St. Peter Parish, Spokane; Confirmation, 5:30 p.m., Sacred Heart Parish, Tekoa
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My travels recently around the diocese have impressed me with the attention given to the Jubilee Year. Many of the churches have jubilee banners in them or at the entrances, reminding us of this important year of celebration. When I was in Guatemala, the parishes there also had their banners up, so I suspect the theme of this jubilee has impacted the parishes all over the world. The focus on conversion and reconciliation has been and will continue to be an important theme.