by Mitch Finley, Inland Register staff
(From the Feb. 4, 2010 edition of the Inland Register)
Bishop William S. Skylstad greeted students after the 100 Ways in 100 Days Diocesan School Mass, hosted by Catholic Charities, at St. Patrick Church in Spokane on Jan. 27. Schools across the Diocese collected items for those in need for the many people helped every day by Catholic Charities. (IR photo courtesy of St. Patrick School, Spokane)
Students and teachers representing every Catholic school in the Spokane area, plus Holy Family Catholic School in Clarkston, gathered at Spokane’s St. Patrick Church the morning of Jan. 27th. The occasion was the kick-off for the 12th annual “100 Ways in 100 Days” celebration.
Students at each Catholic school in the diocese, in collaboration with Catholic Charities, collect items in lots of 100, such as diapers, socks and canned goods that are needed by Catholic Charities programs. These items are then used to support the hungry, homeless, and most vulnerable clients that Catholic Charities serves.
The Mass, with Bishop William Skylstad presiding, began at 10 a.m., the church filled with students, teachers, representatives of Catholic Charities, diocesan Education Office staff, and parents. Priests concelebrating were Father Victor Blazovich, pastor of St. Francis Xavier and St. Patrick parishes, from St. Patrick School; Father Mark Pautler, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, which participates in Cataldo School; and Father Steve Dublinski, the diocese’s Vicar General and rector of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes, another Cataldo parish.
Students served as lectors, altar servers, and music ministers. During the Presentation of the Gifts, a student from each participating school came forward. Scott Cooper, director of Catholic Charities’ Parish Social Ministries office, announced the name of each student’s school as he or she presented items collected by the students to representatives of the benefiting charities.
In his homily, Bishop Skylstad congratulated the students on their participation in the “100 Ways in 100 Days” program and pointed out connections between this local charitable work and the world’s response to the overwhelming tragedy of the recent earthquake in Haiti.
Haiti “has been a terrible, terrible tragedy,” Bishop Skylstad said, “but the generosity of the aid that has been sent, and is still being sent to Haiti is great. In our own diocese we have had a special collection to send aid from our own area. And here we are with ‘100 Ways in 100 Days,’ and here, too, we are in solidarity with those who are in need in our own part of the world, our brothers and sisters in Christ.”
Cataldo’s 4th graders organized the collection for the 100 Ways in 100 Days program. Cataldo students collected items for The Delaney, low-income housing for seniors. Pictured from left are Molly Condon, Grace Moloney, Nate Condon, and Joe Raske. (IR photo courtesy of Cataldo School, Spokane)
