The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the sacraments as “efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us” (CCC 1131). These seven gifts entrusted to the Church calls for the Church at all levels to always be attentive to how they are celebrated taking into account the particular needs of the people, in various cultures and throughout various periods in our history.

On the universal level of the Church, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments advises the Pope on universal principles and procedures as he continues to implement the teaching of the councils in regards to liturgy.    Each national conference of Catholic bishops is called to set certain policies and practices for each nation that reflects the local culture, language and needs of a local people. Not every nation celebrates Mass exactly the same way as many discover when traveling or immigrating. Even within a country, there may be differences.  Each individual Bishop leading a diocese has certain responsibilities in caring for the celebration of the sacraments.  A pastor of a parish has a few decisions that need to be made. In addition, the entire People of God play an important role in the proper celebration of these efficacious signs of grace.

As our new archbishop has traveled from parish to parish celebrating the sacraments, he has noticed a wide variety of ways Mass is being celebrated.  His desire is to make us, as a local Church, more uniformed in how we celebrate Mass.   He has written a pastoral letter on the Eucharist and has called for a special Year of the Eucharist to help us reflect upon this gift given to us and our call to celebrate it worthily. There will be a few changes that we will implement by the first Sunday of Advent. We will explain those changes in future newsletters.

A pastor prays for parishioners. You are in my prayers during Sunday Mass and as I pray the Liturgy of the Hours each day. You are in my prayers as I hear of some of the struggles you face.  I pray for those I know who are sick. I pray for those who come for Reconciliation and who especially struggle with how sin tries to convince us we are not loved by God.   I pray for the many who are engaged in the various ministries of the parish. And I pray for those I offend.    Praying for parishioners is just natural.

I have been deeply moved by hearing of your prayers for me as I go through radiation therapy for cancer.  This is a very treatable cancer, but it seems like a very sizable arsenal of prayer has been assembled to combat it. This little cancer does not have much of a chance in light of all your prayers.  Thank you for your cards and messages. I probably will not be able to respond to all the notes, but they do mean a lot to me. Thank you.

The parish continues to recruit volunteers to make it possible to offer daily Mass on Monday mornings and Thursday evenings.  We need people to serve as sacristans, lectors, ushers, hosts, and church cleaners.  Contact Katie Goodson to volunteer kgoodson@stvincentparish.org

The pandemic can’t stop us. Join the Vincentians on October 13th at noon via zoom. Bring your lunch and spend some time playing Scattergories with your friends. You won’t need anything to play the game, zoom will have all you need. On October 13 a little before noon click on the link and it will get you into zoom. If you have questions or need anything please let Katie know. Please note that the correct day is October 13th not October 11th.

Next week, Wednesday, October 7, the Archdiocese of Seattle will join in solidarity with Archbishop Gomez, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, to celebrate the memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary. This national prayer event is designed to unite Catholics across the country in a moment of prayer for America at this time when there is so much unrest and uncertainty.

Join this live prayer event led by Archbishop Gomez at noon (PST) on the USCCB’s YouTube channel and Facebook page: https://www.usccb.org/rosary-america.

Please select the link below to review the shopping list and bring your purchased food items to the food pantry garage at the Life House. The Life House is the house on 8th Ave immediately next to the main entrance to the parish campus.

Ways to give: