Dear Parishioners,
 
This Sunday, March 29 we celebrated the 5^th Sunday of Lent with the raising of Lazarus which prefigures Jesus’ resurrection.  What has always stood out in my mind is that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus who were very close and dear friends of Jesus so much so that through his journey to and from Galilee and Judea, he had an open invitation to their homes.
 
He and his disciples were always welcome to rest, get a warm meal, and could pop in without calling ahead.  Basically, how I feel at anyone of your homes on a given day.  This is the type of family hospitality and connection that Jesus had with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.  In other words, they were very close and tight.
 
So, upon hearing that Lazarus was deathly ill, how long did it take Jesus to pay Lazarus a visit.  He did not go immediately, rather he waited for TWO days!  Many of us have been in similar situations and we know the desire and urgency of getting to our loved ones.  Nevertheless, Jesus waits and once he decides that it is the right time to go.  While in route he gets word, that Lazarus has died.
 
Then there is the scene in which as he approaches the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, he is first greeted by Martha who says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” You can just hear it in her voice, the anguish, the frustration, the worry, and the exasperation of a person who just lost her brother and her loved one. 
 
But then you hear the following: “But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”  Although she recognizes how powerless she feels in this situation, how she has no control of the circumstances of her brother’s death, her resignation does not become despair but rather hope and trust.
 
I cannot help but notice the same feelings and emotions expressed to me during this pandemic that has altered our daily lives and routine especially in how we are spiritually fed at the Eucharist.  Many have reached out to me and I have listened to your anguish, frustration, worry, and exasperation of not being able to attend Mass, receive the Blessed Sacrament, and experience the community.
 
As one parishioner shared with me, nothing like this has ever been experienced by any of us so it is very demoralizing.  I responded by saying, “Yes, it is true that not in my lifetime or yours have we experienced this, but it has for my parents and this is what I grew up hearing them share with me.”  April 1975, my parents and my four siblings (I was not born yet) fled Vietnam.
 
After miraculously landing in the Philippines, they spent 4 months in a refugee camp.  They were without the celebration of Mass until a few months later it was able to be arranged, but unfortunately not in their native tongue of Vietnamese.  As my parents will share, imagine living in a temporary shelter where it is not your home, a place where you don’t have any of your own personal comforts because it is in a country, culture, and language that is foreign to you.
 
But none of that mattered as you were grateful to be alive, to be free, and you were safe, protected, and fed.  Although Mass was not initially celebrated to ease the anxiety, worry, and wonder of how missing family members or friends that you lost contact with, the family still prayed together and stuck together. 
 
If you ask my parents today, they would tell you, if they could get through the refugee camp under those conditions, what they are experiencing right now is a blessing as they have a home that shelters them (a home that is really their home with their personal effects), plenty of food and toilet paper (thank you parishioners for stocking me up so I could stock them up), although not ideal but Mass that they can watch on EWTN or on their tablet, and the ability to communicate and account for all their loves ones.
 
Yes, this disruption in their daily lives of not being able to attend Mass or even visit a church because they are in the high risk group is challenging, but if they managed through it in different conditions and less luxuries and comforts 44 years ago, as my mother reminds me, “This too shall pass” and “God has a plan, trust and have faith or at least see where your family came from and where we are now.”  In other words, “Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.”
 
Finally, my father likes to counsel me with this, “Son, if you feel the weight of pastoring 3 parishes and 2 schools and the many lives under your care, imagine the weight that is on the shoulders of the Archbishop and all the souls of the faithful in the Archdiocese and the Governor with the State of Oregon and the President with the entire Country.” 
 
So I obediently follow my dad’s advice and daily pray for those who are in leadership position and have a greater responsibility than I to make prudent, thoughtful, and just decisions because it is easy to just focus on what is going on in MY LIFE and not see the bigger picture and place everything in its proper perspective.  Without a doubt these times are challenging, but there are many blessings before us.
 
Have a Blessed Week!
~Fr. Michael
29 March 2020
 

PARISH COMMUNITY CENTER BUILDING PROJECT

"It is in giving that you receive"

Our Parish Mission is to accept the invitation of God the Father under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to continue the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ to spread the truth of the Gospel to everyone.  Over a century of the foundation of the parish and school we have provided a safe environment for minds, bodies, and hearts to grow.  We have an opportunity to enhance our ability to continue with this noble endeavor with the construction of Community Center to add to the facilities of our parish and school campus.  Please scroll through the conceptional pictures and a complete a survey provided as your feedback is greatly appreciated.
~Fr. Michael, Pastor and the Parish Community Center Building Committee (Kevin Duyck, chair, David Duyck, Sam Meeuwsen, Diane Ramsperger, Courtney Schaefer, Dan Spiering, Bill Vandehey, Allan Vanderzanden, Joe Wren).

                            

St. Francis of Assisi School, in partnership with parents, is committed to providing a strong educational foundation emphasizing traditional Catholic spirituality, teachings, and values.