Weekly Bulletin: A Message from Fr. Gary

3/14/2024

Dear Friends at St. Louise,

Thank you for the support and prayers you showed for our sister parish and school, Ste. Anne de Hyacynthe in Haiti. And congratulations to our school students for winning the pennies war with the St. Anthony students. They collected well over $2,000 worth of coins!  As a result St. Anthony’s principal, Deacon Cantu, and pastor, Fr. Tom, will have to wear St. Louise Charger gear! I appreciate your warm welcome to Fr. Frank Rouleau who serves as our contact to Ste. Anne’s parish, school and pastor, Pe Josue. The terrible suffering of the people of Haiti makes our resolve to journey together with them all the more meaningful.

Those of us who live in the United States have more connections with our Haitian brothers and sisters than we might think at first. Did you know that Haitian soldiers fought in the American Revolution under the French Army? Things might have been different for the people of our land if it were not for them. Also, the 26 states that came into being through the Louisiana Purchase might not have happened if the enslaved Black people in Haiti had not revolted and set themselves free from French rule. Napoleon decided to sell to the United States the territory the French once held because his plan to use Haitian slaves to produce commodities he planned to sell in that French territory had evaporated. Sadly, slavery in the United States only grew as a result.

And we Catholics in the United States can claim as our own two Haitian‑born people of African descent who are on their way to canonization: First, Venerable Pierre Toussaint came as an enslaved person to New York City and was eventually freed. He was a hairdresser to wealthy women, and used his considerable earnings to help those most in need. He became well known among Catholics in New York for his deep faith and his charity to the poor. Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange was a religious sister in Baltimore and in 1829 founded the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first African-American religious congregation in the United States.

Your donations will help Pe Josue to continue to pay his teachers, feed the students with a hot meal each, and improve their education. He has the dream to install solar panels so that Ste. Anne’s can have enough reliable electricity to introduce some of the technology that we all take for granted.

Thank you for this and for the many ways that you show generous stewardship to our parish and our school and beyond.

Mesi Anpil! Thank you very much!

Fr. Gary Zender

Thank you to those of you who have helped St. Louise to address our $50K deficit. Every gift, given from the heart, makes a difference, no matter how big or how small. Not equal gift, but equal sacrifice, is what makes the difference.

3/7/2024

Dear Friends at St. Louise,

Most of you know that after over two years serving as our St. Louise School principal, Mike Fuerte has discerned that God is calling him to return to the classroom. He let me know early in this school year, which put us in a strong position to post the position with good timing.

I am delighted to announce that we have a new principal! His name is John Black, he currently lives in California, and he comes with a wealth of experience. He will officially begin on July 1, 2024. Here is an adapted version of what he shared with the school community:

John began his career as a Peace Corps volunteer, teaching mathematics to high school students in a little village in central Africa. He returned from that experience fully committed to a career in education. In the decade that followed, he completed his Masters and Doctoral studies while teaching at Catholic and international schools in the United States and Honduras, before becoming a principal at a Catholic school in central California. His leadership career continued at Catholic, independent, and international schools in the United States, the Middle East, and Asia. In total, he has more than 20 years of leadership experience.

John is originally from Massachusetts, born to an Irish Catholic mother and a Lutheran father. His wife was born in the Philippines and grew-up in a staunchly Catholic household. They have been blessed with five children, all of whom are now in college or beyond. Their oldest is married and soon to start his own family.

John describes his leadership style as collaborative and relational. He looks forward to partnering with everyone in the parish and school as we take St. Louise Catholic School to new heights of excellence, while continuing to ensure its strong Catholic identity.

John notes that in education these days, we hear so much about the Whole Child, about how important it is for schools to meet not just the academic but the social and emotional needs of every student. But this is where Catholic education has its greatest advantage. At schools like St. Louise, we can also meet the spiritual needs of each child, regardless of their faith background. In doing so, we are giving our children the strongest of foundations upon which to build their lives.

In the years to come, John looks forward to collaborating with everyone in our community to give the students of St. Louise Catholic School an education that prepares them to be lifelong learners, forever grounded in the values of the Catholic Church.

Thank you for your prayers for St. Louise School in this time of transition.

Fr. Gary Zender

Thank you for your kind words of support after I shared with the parish, two weeks ago at Mass, that we are currently operating with a $50,000 deficit. The 16% growth in attendance at Mass has not been matched with the growth in financial contributions, while expenses that are beyond our control continue to increase. As I said at Mass, I have faith in God, and I know that you do too! I am confident that together we can overcome this challenge to ensure that we have a vibrant parish in the future. Thank you! Fr. Gary

2/29/2024

Dear Friends at St. Louise,

Catholic advocacy on issues that implicate or affect our faith is important. For longer than I have been a priest, every Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle has worked hard to protect children and other vulnerable populations, and to ensure a safe environment for them and for everyone in all the ministries of our Church. Every volunteer who works with minors or other vulnerable populations, all members of the clergy, and all staff members must go through Safe Environment training. Every priest or deacon from outside our Archdiocese who serves here in any capacity must have a letter of suitability from their superior that is approved by the Vicar for Clergy of the Archdiocese. For many years now, per archdiocesan policy, all clergy have been mandatory reporters of child abuse while still maintaining the protection of the seal of confession.

You might recall that last year, a bill came before the Washington State legislature that would have included even what a priest might hear in confession in mandatory reporting. Your advocacy led to a new bill being introduced, Senate Bill 6298. It went for a vote on Tuesday, February 20, and passed. That bill makes all clergy of any faith mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect with the limited exception of information obtained in a penitential communication. The definition of penitential communication is narrowly written to protect the Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation. Opponents of the bill are seeking to eliminate the privilege entirely, leaving clergy without any protections when they refuse to break the seal of confession.

The Washington State Catholic Conference (WSCC) is in support of most of this bill, which represents a compromise between the religious liberty rights of religions and the rights of survivors of abuse. Thus, the bill provides a strong exemption from reporting for any information obtained solely in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. On the other hand, if a child is actively being abused, the bill adds a duty to warn authorities, even if the information comes “in part” from a penitential communication.

No priest has authority to violate canon law by breaking the seal of confession, even in part. But, neither the WSCC nor I know of any priest who would allow known child abuse to persist and a known perpetrator to continue to jeopardize their immortal soul after that person has reached out for help in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

The WSCC has taken a neutral position on the "in part" language because the broader exemption for penitential communications in the bill is critical to protect the Sacrament of Reconciliation from state intrusion. The duty to warn is such an intrusion, but can be avoided by following Safe Environment policies and appropriate pastoral care of a penitent confessing to ongoing sinfulness.

As noted, advocates are pushing for an amendment to this bill that would eliminate the exemption altogether, placing the priest in violation of state law in all circumstances where there is a confession of past or present abuse. So there may be a time when your advocacy will be needed again.

For information about this legislation, our Catholic views on it, and its legislative status, go to the WSCC webpage and read, or sign up for, their Catholic Advocacy bulletins (https://www.wacatholics.org/stay-informed). There is a path to protect both the integrity of the sacrament and those who are vulnerable, and our current policy does just that.

Fr. Gary Zender

2/15/2024

Dear Friends at St. Louise,

This weekend Fr. Tom Belleque and I will do our annual pulpit exchange as a part of our joint commitment to our sister parish and school in Haiti, St. Anne de Hyacynthe.

Your donations in the past have made a real difference for the pastor, Pe Josue, and the people of St. Anne’s. Fr. Frank Rouleau, who will be with us again this year in March, has been in communication with Pe Josue, and reports that the money we are sending is covering the expenses well. For the grammar school, Pe Josue has eight teachers, plus one retired teacher whom he helps financially. The annual salaries for the grammar school teachers are 121,200 Haitian gourdes (HTG) (about US$4,596.51). He spends between HTG30,000 (US$228) and HTG35,000 (US$266) for food each week. For the high school, Father has 23 teachers, whose annual salaries are HTG490,320 (approximately US$18,596). Father also employs two cooks. The school students are fed three to four times a week depending on the availability and price of food (food and other prices continue to increase – the Haitian Inflation Rate in November 2023 was 22.2% according to the Haitian Institute of Statistics and Information).

We also plan to send money so that Pe Josue can buy a motorcycle, at the cost of US$1,750, to help to transport the teachers each day from Ti Goave, the city below the mountain where St. Anne’s Parish and School are located. He will also need money for registration, insurance and maintenance of the motorcycle. We also assist with replacing the tires, fuel and service of the existing parish pickup truck, which costs about US$3,500 for a year. Your donations have made this possible. Thank you!

The Standing with Haiti Committee has also done advocacy work to ask our lawmakers to help with the crisis that Haiti faces due to horrible gang violence. This violence has prevented us from sending delegations to St. Anne’s as has been done the past. Despite the current inability to visit, we hope also to find ways to strengthen our communication and connection with the people of St. Anne’s, since the relationship aspect is key to a strong sister parish and school covenant. I am grateful that our school students pray for St. Anne’s regularly and are learning about the country of Haiti in their classrooms.

Fr. Tom will be at the 9AM, 11AM and 1PM Masses this weekend.

Mesi anpil! Thank you!

Fr. Gary Zender

2/8/2024

Dear Friends at St. Louise,

Happy world Marriage Day! This day is an important one for everyone in the Church, married or not, because Christ has made a “marriage covenant” with us, as the Church, through our baptism. This covenant began with his birth, when he joined heaven and earth together as one. By his death he poured out his life-blood for us, with the selfless love of a bridegroom for his bride, the Church. By his resurrection, he raised up to a new level all of human life, including the human experience of marriage.

To highlight the sacrament of marriage is to lift up not only those who are married, but all of us. The grace that is poured upon the couple through this sacrament is not for them exclusively. Rather, it is one of the two “Sacraments at the Service of Communion” (the other is the sacrament of Holy Orders: deacon, priest and bishop), so called because they are directed to the salvation of others. Those who are single, either by choice or by circumstance, those who are widowed or divorced, those who are celibate like Fr. Nehnevaj and myself, are not excluded from the gift and grace of the sacrament of Matrimony. Firstly, so many of us of us are born as the fruit of the sacramental marital union of our parents. Even beyond that, for me, strong marriages in the parish, as well as marriages that sometimes struggle in family life, help to sustain me in my priesthood. When my siblings were raising babies, someone commented to me, “It must be hard as a priest to get a call to anoint someone in the middle of the night.” Knowing the struggles that my siblings faced with young ones who wake up crying in the middle of the night almost every night, I said, “Not as hard as having to care for a baby that wakes up every night. I get calls at night only a few times a year.”

Marriage is a visible reminder that God made all of us, no matter our state of life, of out of love, and for us to live in God’s love. The grace in the sacrament of marriage is that God pours a particular love on the couple, so that they may have the strength to be more united in God’s perfect love, and to let go of the imperfections of their love that happen even in the best of marriages. God pours a particular grace on every person, for what they need in their personal life. It is a beautiful gift for all of us to see that happen in a couple who are no longer two but one flesh, which, God willing, will produce the gift of children.

Know that our love and prayers go to all of you who are married. And married or not, we all share in the nuptial love of Christ for his entire Church; and all of us, through God’s mercy, will sit at the eternal wedding feast of the lamb.

Fr. Gary Zender

2/1/2024

Dear Friends of St. Louise,

This weekend is an important one in the life of our local church in Western Washington. After more than a year of preparation and consultation, this weekend Archbishop Etienne is sharing with Catholics in Western Washington his decision on the composition of the “parish families” that will formally begin this coming July 1. There are some proposed parish families in the Archdiocese that have been reconfigured, based upon the input of parishioners. But at this writing, I am 99% certain that we will be a parish family with St. Madeleine Sophie Parish in Bellevue, based on the positive input that you gave to that proposal last Fall. If that proves not to be true, well then, we will pivot!

We never know from one day to the next about what will happen in the world, in our country, in our families, and even in the Church. Life goes better with a high dose of flexibility! I found these words about parish life from Pope Francis to be extremely helpful the first time I read them in 2013:

The parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility, it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness and missionary creativity of the pastor and the community. (The Joy of the Gospel, # 28)

Flexibility – from everyone – around what it will mean to be a parish family will be important, because there are far more questions than there are answers at this point. We will live into the answers in the next three years, after which each parish family will become one canonical parish (i.e., officially, according to Church law). It is easier to be flexible when we take our questions, our fears, our hopes, and our efforts to grow in faith and prayer, to the Lord, and allow him to look at us with love, so that we in turn can look at every experience and every person with the gaze of his love. That is the first and most important step.

I invite you to include the prayer for Partners in the Gospel in your daily prayer, and to consider attending the Partners Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament the first Wednesday of each month. The next one is this Wednesday, February 7, at 6:30PM. Even if you can’t join, do please pray for our parish family at home.

With gratitude for you and your faith in Christ,

Fr. Gary Zender

1/25/2024

Dear Friends of St. Louise,

Lent is early this year. In fact, Ash Wednesday falls on February 14, Valentine’s Day, or as we say in Spanish, El día de Amor y Amistad (the Day of Love and Friendship). Since God is love and we have no greater friend than Jesus himself, it seems appropriate that we begin our Lenten Journey to renew and strengthen our friendship with the Lord with prayer, penance, and fasting instead of flowers and chocolate. (The night before will work just fine for those! It might even be easier to get a restaurant reservation, if you are going out to celebrate.)

Meals together are so often an expression of love. Jesus built on this human experience when he instituted the Eucharist. Since this year is the Year of Eucharistic Revival, we will offer an opportunity to help St. Louise parish dive deeper into our appreciation of the Eucharist, through a small group faith sharing program called “Living the Eucharist” (in Spanish, Vive la Eucaristia) by Paulist Press. It will run on Thursday nights, 6:30-8PM, for the six weeks of Lent. Fr. Nehnevaj will lead the sessions in English and Deacon Abel Magaña will lead the sessions in Spanish. Both language groups will gather together in the lobby of our School and Faith Formation Center for an introduction to each evening, then separate for the sessions in their preferred language and for prayer. You can also participate even if you cannot make the Thursday night sessions – every week, each parishioner who has their email in our records will be sent a summary of the theme for that week. And, there will be a celebratory potluck dinner for all participants once Lent is over and the Easter season arrives.

Lent is a time to renew our faith, to turn away from sin, and to grow in our love of the Lord. One real way to do that is to grow in our understanding and appreciation of the meaning of the Eucharist. You will hear more about this in the coming weeks as we get closer to Lent.

With my gratitude and promise of prayer,

Fr. Gary Zender

Fr. Gary will be on vacation starting Wednesday afternoon, January 31, and returning Thursday afternoon, February 8.

Next weekend we will receive the official announcement of the Parish Families for the Archdiocese of Seattle. Please keep in your prayers that the Holy Spirit continue to guide us in this process of “Partners in the Gospel.”

1/18/24

Dear Friends at St. Louise,

Each year on the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time we celebrate “Sunday of the Word of God,” and the theme for this year is “Remain in my Word” (John 8:31). This is important since, as St Jerome once said, anyone who is ignorant of the scriptures is ignorant of Christ. Jesus Christ himself is the Word made flesh.

How can we grow in what it means to remain in God’s Word? That all depends upon where we are in our own personal journey of knowing and understanding the Bible. We do know that left on our own, it is easy to get discouraged about reading the Bible regularly when the passages are confusing. Some people wonder even how to begin. We need the help of the Church to interpret and understand the scriptures, as we have the wealth of centuries of wisdom and spiritual insights from the Fathers of the Church, the saints, and scholars on which to draw.

One good place to start is with the readings for each Sunday. Could you make a commitment to pray over one or more of the Sunday readings, perhaps the Gospel, sometime before coming to Mass each weekend? Taking that step can help with listening better both to the Gospel as it is proclaimed and to the homily. After all, even in this year of the Eucharistic revival, half of the Mass is still the Liturgy of the Word!

There are numerous online resources for Bible study. Many people find Bishop Robert Barron’s weekly commentaries, called Word on Fire, helpful; these are available online. I know people who listen to these commentaries while driving to work or while on a walk. If you would like to go beyond that, try listening to Fr. Michael Schmitz’s The Bible in a Year podcast on YouTube. Many in the parish and others I know have found his commentaries to be very helpful.

If you are interested in joining an in-person Bible study, we also have several active groups. Geri Hanley (425-747-4450 x5464 or [email protected]) can provide you with more information.

Sometimes taking a small step forward in faith makes a big difference in our spiritual growth, and that can also be true for growing in our understanding of the Bible.

With my prayers that the Word of God may dwell deep within you!

Fr. Gary Zender

1/11/24

Dear Friends at St. Louise,

Each year on the third Monday of January, our country remembers the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It can be tempting, as with any federal holiday, to let the day come and go without doing anything more than using the day to rest, recreate or to catch up on our “to do” list. I hope that this column will be a way for us to take at least a few moments to reflect on this important day.

Here is something we need to not forget, from the opening paragraphs of the 2018 U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Pastoral Letter, Open Wide Our Hearts:

Racism arises when—either consciously or unconsciously—a person holds that his or her own race or ethnicity is superior, and therefore judges persons of other races or ethnicities as inferior and unworthy of equal regard. When this conviction or attitude leads individuals or groups to exclude, ridicule, mistreat, or unjustly discriminate against persons on the basis of their race or ethnicity, it is sinful. Racist acts are sinful because they violate justice. They reveal a failure to acknowledge the human dignity of the persons offended, to recognize them as the neighbors Christ calls us to love (Mt 22:39).

Here is what Dr. King said in his speech, The Other America, at Riverside Church in New York City on April 4, 1967, just one year before his assassination:

In the final analysis, racism is evil because its ultimate logic is genocide. Hitler was a sick and tragic man who carried racism to its logical conclusion. He ended up leading a nation to the point of killing about 6 million Jews. This is the tragedy of racism because its ultimate logic is genocide.

Lest we think that racism is a problem of the past, consider that here in the United States movements such as the Ku Klux Klan, Proud Boys and other groups that seek to promote white nationalism have grown stronger and bolder in recent years. If you ask a person of color, most will have some story to share about how they have personally experienced racism – sadly, even at times within the Church. Our bishops were aware of this as they wrote their letter.

I invite you to take time to go online to read one of Dr. King’s speeches – which you’ll find still very much apply to our nation today – or a section or even all of Open Wide Our Hearts. Here is a prayer from that same pastoral letter that you can pray at home:

Mary, friend and mother to all, through your Son, God has found a way to unite himself to every human being, called to be one people, sister and brothers to each other.

We ask for your help in calling on your Son, seeking forgiveness for the times when we have failed to love and respect one another.

We ask for your help in obtaining from your Son the grace we need to overcome the evil of racism and to build a just society.

We ask for your help in following your Son, so that prejudice and animosity will no longer infect our minds or hearts but will be replaced with a love that respects the dignity of each person.

Mother of the Church, the Spirit of your Son Jesus warms our hearts: pray for us.

With my prayers,

Fr. Gary Zender

1/4/24

Dear Friends at St. Louise,

On the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, we celebrate that Christ was born to save all nations.

In recent weeks, there has been much reporting and discussion in the secular as well as the Catholic media about the recent Declaration on the meaning of blessings – particularly in the context of same-sex relationships – from the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith. I have felt confusion as I listen to or read secular sources, and pain when Catholic sources attack the Holy Father rather than adding to the conversation or simply disagreeing with him.

A friend forwarded me an article from the Vatican website by Rocco Buttiglione, an Italian professor and member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. I found it one of the most helpful commentaries I’ve come across on this subject. I share it with you with the hope that is might clear up some confusion for you as well. Here is what he writes:

“The Declaration ‘Fiducia supplicans’ on the pastoral meaning of blessings of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith marks an authentic pastoral development solidly anchored in Church tradition and its moral theology. The Dicastery's Cardinal Prefect, Víctor Manuel Fernández, wisely prefaces the Declaration with a brief presentation in which he explains, among other things, what the Declaration is not: it is not a green light to gay marriage, and it is not a change in Church doctrine regarding sexual relations outside of marriage as always a serious matter of sin. So it changes nothing, then? No, it changes a lot; it is almost a revolution. In the Church’s history, however, every authentic revolution is also simultaneously a return to the origins, the missionary presence of Christ in human history. The starting point of the reality the Declaration has in mind is that of a couple in an ‘irregular’ situation asking for a blessing. To avoid any misunderstanding, let us imagine that they ask not a priest but their parents. Would you give this blessing? I would give it. I would not bless the irregular sexual relationship. Still, I would bless the care they have for one another, the support they give each other in life, the comfort during times of grief, and the companionship in the face of difficulties. Love is never wrong; sexual relations, on the other hand, sometimes are. In the life of this couple, the good and the bad are so closely intertwined that it is not possible to separate them with a clean break. If a daughter of mine were in such a situation I would bless her and certainly pray to God that in the journey of life, He might separate the good from the bad in that relationship by making it a step on the path to truth. God writes straight with crooked lines. I think any father would do the same thing and I don't see how a priest, if he has a father's heart for the members of his community, could do any different. Of course, there is the danger of scandal. There is the danger that in God's faithful people the poorest and weakest will be misled and will no longer understand what marriage is and why sex outside of marriage is wrong. This is a real problem and one that should not be underestimated. And this is precisely why Cardinal Fernández felt the need to make his preliminary remarks.” [Sentences that are in bold font are my additions for emphasis and ease of reading.]

Let me add a few remarks. In my pastoral experience, I have had conversations with people who have an incomplete understanding or who even reject the Church’s teaching on the nature of marriage and in particular sacramental marriage in the Church. That can lead to “scandal” or a weakening of the faith in people. But there is another source of weakening of the faith or scandal, and that is the false notion that the Church hates LGBTQ+ people. The truth is that the Church embraces all her children as a loving mother, and only corrects them, whoever they may be, with the greatest of tenderness and mercy.

Pope Francis and Cardinal Fernández have heard many stories from faithful Catholics of who for a variety of reasons feel excluded from the maternal embrace of the Church. This declaration is a pastoral response, not a change of doctrine, to their heartfelt plea for the ministry of the Church.

Fr. Gary Zender

12/14/23

Dear Friends at St. Louise,

Christmas Eve is only a week away (and it’s also the Fourth Sunday of Advent this year). On every Gaudete (“Rejoice!”) Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, we have the option of using vestments colored rose – among the range of colors we can see in the morning sky, even in the dark days of winter.

Many of you know that I exercise almost every day, following my morning prayer, and I often run around Larsen Lake, located close to St. Louise, at the blueberry farm on 148^th. I never fail to enjoy the ever-changing sights and sounds of that little oasis of nature tucked away in our suburban neighborhood.

Monday morning, December 4, I debated with myself whether to do an indoor workout on my stationary bicycle and some weight training or to take in the fresh air of an outdoor run. The rain had subsided, and even though it was still dark, I decided to go for the run.

I was fully prepared to need to turn around at the point where the lake is closest to the trail and the trail is often flooded after hard rains fall. To my surprise, it was completely open. I thought that I was home-free when, less than a mile from the rectory, a huge mud puddle filled the trail. I decided, as I had done many times before, to side-step the mud puddle – but in doing so I then stepped into very slippery mud, slipped, both my feet went up into the air and I landed with most of my body weight on my right ankle, which broke. Ouch! But I don’t need surgery and am able to walk (hobble) on a boot and crutches as long as I don’t overdo it.

Just two days later I celebrated the 9AM Mass and was delighted to see one of our Pre‑K classrooms there to celebrate St. Nicholas Day. During the homily I normally step down to the children when they are at Mass, but since I needed to sit as much as possible, I invited them forward. That simple exchange on such a special day for them (and for the adults too!) was just the remedy I needed to bring home the joy of the Gospel.

There are always dark days, and from now on I will think twice about where I step on a dark, wet morning. Yet I also know that every step, whether I run or fall, is guided by the loving presence of God, who was born into our dark struggles that we meet along the path of life.

Rejoice, I say it again, rejoice!

Fr. Gary Zender

12/7/23

Ask Fr. Nehnevaj - Is Judas in heaven?

This is a question that has come up a few times while I’ve been visiting various classrooms at the school. Each time it has led to a really good discussion with the students. I usually respond by asking the inquirer what they think. Typically, they will say something to the effect of “Well, no, because he betrayed Jesus.” I will then ask the rest of the class if anyone thinks otherwise. Usually someone will respond “Well, but if he repented, he could still go to heaven” or “Well, but Jesus chose Judas as an apostle knowing Judas would betray Him, so Judas was just doing Jesus’ will.” I have been really impressed that our school students can fairly summarize the two sides to a somewhat debated question.

Of course, it is important to note that sin is never part of God’s will. It is something that He allows out of immense respect for our free will. And sin – all sin not just Judas’ sin – is a betrayal of Jesus. Sin is a rejection of relationship with God. And those who die in sin, in this state of rejection of God, cannot enter heaven, not because God refuses them entry, but because the unrepentant sinner himself refuses to enter. This is where the discussion usually turns to repentance and the last moments of life. For there is some evidence that Judas repented: he tries to return the money to the Temple. And the Bible here uses a Greek word, Ἥμαρτον, meaning “I have sinned,” that otherwise only appears (at least in the exact same form) in the story of the prodigal son and his forgiving father.

Additionally, the Church never declares any specific individual to be in hell. The Church knows with certainty that specific people, the canonized saints, are in heaven, but there is never any certainty as to the residents of hell. While we can recognize the objectively evil acts that Judas has committed (his betrayal of Jesus), we cannot know the subjective aspects of his sinful actions. We cannot know what was in Judas’ heart, mind, or will. We cannot know what Judas’ last moments of life were like or if at that time there was repentance present in his heart and mind. Indeed, this is true for all sinners. We cannot know what final merciful encounter they have with God in the last moments of their lives, where God extends to each one final chance for repentance.

So while we should, in charity, hope for the last‑minute conversion of Judas and other sinners, we should never rely on the uncertainty of a deathbed conversion for ourselves. While we may not be able to know what grace is present in the final few moments of life, we do know that grace is always present in the sacraments, in Baptism and Confirmation, in Confession and the Anointing of the Sick, in Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony, and above all in the Eucharist. So don’t wait for grace that may or may not come in life’s final moments – live now the grace-filled life, centered on the sacraments, that God is calling you to live.

 11/30/23

Dear Friends at St. Louise,

As we begin the season of Advent, we as the Church in the United States are also celebrating the Eucharistic Revival. We also are aware of the disturbing tensions and violence in the Middle East. Every Christian, every Jew and every Muslim feels this conflict deeply since it began in the Holy Land on October 7. We long for peace, for the end of violence, and for God’s justice. These two themes, the revival of the Eucharist and the longing for justice, are both Advent messages of our hope for what is … not yet.

The whole reason for the Eucharistic Revival is that there has been such a drop in the belief in and practice of the Eucharist over the past three decades. Bishop Barron called the results of the 2018 Pew Study, which reported that only one-third of U. S. Catholics believe in transubstantiation, a “massive failure” of the Church to pass on effectively our own traditions. His impassioned message is what moved the U.S. bishops to put into motion the “Eucharistic Revival.”

Let me highlight for you a passage that we read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), that speaks to the “advent-longing” of Eucharist as the fulfillment of the centuries-long awaited promise of God. “In the Old Covenant bread and wine were offered in sacrifice among the first fruits of the earth as a sign of grateful acknowledgement of the Creator. But they also received a new significance in the context of the Exodus: the unleavened bread that Israel eats every year commemorates the haste of the departure that liberated them from Egypt; the remembrance of the manna in the desert will always recall to Israel that it lives by the bread of the Word of God; their daily bread is the fruit of the promised land, the pledge of God’s faithfulness to his promises. . . When Jesus instituted the Eucharist, he gave a new and definitive meaning to the blessing of the bread and the cup.” (CCC #1334). Advent can be a time for us who regularly attend Mass to deepen our understanding and appreciation of the Eucharist, and to invite others to join that journey. If you are reading this column and have fallen out of the practice of attending Mass regularly, I invite you to share in the fullness of Jesus’ blessing, and make this Advent time of year your time to return to active participation in the Mass.

Why is this important? Because the active celebration of the Mass is about the salvation that God wants to be present in the world – and through our sharing in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection we are Christ’s hands, feet, eyes, ears and mouth. In the liturgical prayers there are numerous references to active living of our faith, and here is one I would like to highlight: Keep us attentive to the needs of all, that, sharing their grief and pain, their joy and hope, we may faithfully bring them the good news of salvation and go forward with them along the way of your Kingdom. (Eucharistic Prayer for use in Masses for Various Needs III).

We are especially aware during Advent that our hope for the end of war and violence in all its forms and our care for others in their need is rooted in the active celebration of the Eucharist, which is our heavenly food on the way to the Kingdom – the Kingdom that is already here, in the Eucharist … but not yet. That is what Advent spirituality is about.

Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!

Fr. Gary Zender

11/16/23

Dear Friends at St. Louise,

Most of you know that I had minor surgery on October 23 (although one person told me, no surgery is minor . . . anything can happen). Well, something did happen, and it was more than just the surgery! It was a time to reflect on the gift of God’s constant care for me.

The time of reflection began as I was waiting to be wheeled to the operating room. I had a good bit of time to myself and just took in my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was how comfortable I was. Even though I had nothing on but a hospital gown, I was wrapped in a very warm heated blanket. I noticed the walls, the curtains, the medical equipment around me. I began to think, someone had to make the walls and the curtains, someone had to install them, someone had made the medical equipment, and still others knew how to operate it and to use it for my good. I became aware of the many people it took to make for a successful surgery, and I experienced a profound sense of gratitude.

And I became aware of the many people who helped me: of one friend who took me to the hospital and another who brought me home. I was not permitted to drive for several days after the surgery, so my brother-in-law Mike picked me up and drove me to Bellingham so I could recover with my mother at her home. My brother Bob and his wife Barb brought me back. What a blessing to have an 89-year-old mother who has the health and desire to give me a comfortable space to rest, eat good food and recover. I needed a lot of people to get through the “minor surgery”!

All of this has made me more aware that just everything in life is that way. The food and drink that I take in every day, the home where I live, the office where I work, the computer that I am typing on this moment, the cell phone in my pocket – all these everyday things represent dozens if not hundreds of people who make them and provide them to me and make what I do possible.

I realized that I am not nearly as independent as I would like to think I am . . . and that is a good thing. It keeps me humble, it helps me to realize that I am much more connected to others than what I often realize. We need each other and we need our loving God, who is the source of all that is.

Fr. Gary Zender

11/9/2023

Dear Friends at St. Louise,

As you know, the word Eucharist means thanksgiving. Have you thought that the words Eucharist and Thanksgiving can inform how we think about our moral life? Moral theologian (and former rector of my alma mater, St. Meinrad Seminary) Fr. Mark O’Keefe, OSB, certainly thinks so! He writes: “As a Catholic moral theologian, I believe that the daily living of the Christian moral life is empowered by gratitude. At the very least, we can say that fostering a spirit of gratitude is a powerful tool for enhancing our ability, one day after another, to live the sometimes‑difficult demands of Christian Discipleship. . . . ”

He then continues, “Many good Catholics think that morality is basically about obeying rules, following commandments, doing the right things and avoiding the bad things. Fair enough. Good moral living is about all of those things. But is good Catholic moral living — most basically, most fundamentally — about obeying the rules, following commandments, doing the right things and avoiding the bad things? I think that the answer to that question would have to be ‘no’.” He refers to a quote from Pope St. John Paul II’s encyclical Veritas Splendor, #22, where he refers to the teaching of St. Augustine:

Does love bring about the keeping of commandments, or does the keeping of commandments bring about love? But who can doubt that love comes first? For the one who does not love has no reason for keeping the commandments.

Fr. Mark then goes on to observe that Jesus is “the perfect revelation of God’s love for us” – and our human response to that perfect love is gratitude. I would add that a personal encounter with Jesus will fill our hearts with pure gratitude, because it is then that we know, in the depths of our being, that we have received a gift that we could in no way earn or deserve. It is love beyond all telling. There nothing more to say than, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” – and not only with our words, but with everything in our lives.

The most basic meaning of stewardship is gratitude to God for all the good that God has done for us. It is not just about trying to be a good Catholic and “help Father” or “help the staff” to do ministry, have vibrant liturgies, or pay the bills and have enough in the bank for the next building project, as important as all these things are. It is about our personal relationship with the Lord and our need to give our thanks to Him. Without God, we have nothing!

With true gratitude to God for you!

Fr. Gary Zender

(All quotes are taken from “Priestly Virtues: Reflections on the Moral Virtues in the Life of the Priest,” Rev. Mark O’Keefe, OSB, pp. 1-3)

11/2/2023

Dear Friends at St. Louise,

Jesus calls each one of us to a deeper friendship with him. The Father has revealed us to His personal love for us through His Son Jesus and through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit into our hearts. The person who experiences a personal encounter with Jesus sees his or her life and everything in the world in a new way.

Jesus was never shy about talking about the things of this world, both the things of beauty that draw us to the source of beauty and the danger of forgetting that all the things of this world are passing. With this in mind, it is not surprising that of all the topics that Jesus addressed, the most common one is the role of wealth, money, and possessions in the life of one who chooses to follow him. As the scripture so clearly tells us, “The love of money is the root of all evil.”

We all need money to live, and each one of us needs to balance this need with our faith in God. When we take to heart what Jesus has to say about money, we might not be able to go so far as to give everything away and follow him, as he tells the rich young man who seems to want to be perfect in his love for the Lord. That man couldn’t get there – he walked away sad, because he had many possessions. But Jesus would much rather that we walk with him and know the eternal happiness that only he can give. A big part of that walk is to discover the joy of giving away a portion of all that the Lord has given to us.

When we are to give away a portion of our treasure, we need to take time to prayerfully plan the portion that we will give. The Church encourages us to dedicate half of our total giving to our parish, and the other half to other needs, for example Standing with Haiti, Catholic Community Services, the Missions, St. Louise School and other special collections to which the Church invites our contribution. Of course different households will differ in their ability to make these financial contributions – parents with a growing family and a moderate income will not be able to make the same commitment as a single person with a high-paying job. The ideal is that everyone would make, not equal gifts, but equal sacrifices. And if each makes a sacrificial gift, in faith that God will provide blessings both spiritual and temporal, each will experience an inner peace and joy – and the whole community will be enriched.

I know that some people wonder about our future – and if we’re not certain about our future, should that not cause some doubt about how much to contribute? I would point out that making decisions out of fear will not help us to be strong and vibrant in our mission to preach and teach the Good News. Our mission will continue! We will still provide programs, we will still need to pay staff a living wage and provide for their benefits (which is the highest expense in our budget), we will still need to pay for our insurance (which, as an expense over which we have no control, keeps climbing at an alarming rate). Here on our St. Louise campus we will still need to tear down the original school building and replace it with new structures to meet the present and future needs of our parish and school. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that every parishioner make a commitment.

Thank you for the ways that so many of you do make a commitment to give your time (prayer), talent (service) and treasure (financial gifts) – all of which, taken together, make St. Louise strong in our mission to bring the love of Christ to the world.

Fr. Gary Zender

Pastor