Catholic Diocese of Spokane, Washington

The Bishop Writes

(From the June 12, 2003 edition of the Inland Register)

Most of the celebrations of Confirmation and First Eucharist take place in the spring. Consequently almost every weeknight and weekend is filled with joyful celebrations of these sacraments. I find the driving from parish to parish during springtime to be refreshing and uplifting. Our region’s great geographic diversity, from desert scablands to forested mountains, provides an appreciation of the beautiful land on which we live — truly a gift we so often take for granted.

On the weekend of May 11, we celebrated Confirmation and First Eucharist in St. Patrick Parish in Pasco. That weekend, the huge numbers meant five separate celebrations: two in English and three in Spanish. When the five celebrations had been completed, 502 had been confirmed and received First Eucharist. Probably about 4,500 attended the Masses as well. Can you imagine the challenge of the catechists in preparing such a large number? This is not even an unusually large group. Just a normal yearly number of those fully initiated into the Church.

At two of the large Masses in Spanish, many people were standing for the almost two-hour ceremony. I found amazing that no one seemed to leave early! That’s a cultural trait well worth imitating for those of us who seem to get pressured into rushed lives.

Clearly, at the present moment St. Patrick Parish in Pasco is the largest parish in the diocese in terms of parishioners, and that community is growing rapidly. The pastor and parochial vicar, assisted by deacons, lay staff and other resident priests working in the area, are kept very busy. I am sure in the not too distant future we will have to start making other plans as to how we will care for the growing Catholic population in the area.

On the following Friday night and Saturday I was in my home country of Sacred Heart Parish in Brewster for two celebrations of Confirmation and First Eucharist. The first, on Friday evening, was in English. The second, in Spanish, was on Saturday at noon. Since the crowd on Saturday was much too large for the parish church, the celebration was held in the recreation center in the Brewster Park, next to the Columbia River. There were approximately 80 who were fully initiated into the Church and approximately 500 were at Mass.

I remember in my early years as a youth that there were probably at most about 25 or 30 families in the parish. There has been phenomenal growth of the Church in that area.

My father is in Harmony House, a care facility in Brewster, so I had a chance to see him a couple of times during the visit. He was 94 this past week and I think he recognized me. He is unable to speak but seems to be resting comfortably. Since I had some extra time the rest of Saturday I drove up my home valley of Methow to Winthrop and then back over the Loop Loop road to Okanogan, where we celebrated Confirmation and First Eucharist at Our Lady of the Valley Parish on Sunday morning. In early afternoon, the last celebration of the day was in Immaculate Conception Parish in Oroville. Again the language was Spanish and the church was packed. Even though that part of our diocese is economically depressed, the numbers attending Mass seem to be increasing.

From there I took the Cheesaw Toroda Creek road to Curlew and then Boulder Creek road to the Kettle River and 395 back to Spokane. That area is somewhat remote but a beautiful part of the diocese. The route takes no longer to return to Spokane.

These are just a few of the celebrations in the diocese that have taken place this spring. I wanted to share them with you to give you a sense of the nature of our diocesan family, the diversity of our parish communities, and the moving celebrations of faith with the sacraments of initiation. For some years now we have gone back to the original sequence of these sacraments. I have found the celebrations to be meaningful, joyful, and well accepted. The formation of the children in many instances has also involved the parents. Given the limitation of my own time, I have been able to participate in some of those classes.

On the other hand, with the full initiation into the Church taking place at an earlier age, we need to be vigilant about the necessity of faith formation in the later grade school and high school years. These are areas of continuing challenge. I am grateful to the many directors of religious education and catechists who are involved in this work. Ministry to our youth is vital to our life in the Church as all of us strive to grow in knowledge of our faith and an appreciation of our tradition as Church.

Finally, I would like to offer a word of congratulations to all of our graduates this spring. May they be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in their lives as they go through significant transitions.

To all of you, a blessed and joyful summer.

June 12: Presbyteral Council