The replacement of the church’s annex roof will begin soon; it will take more than six weeks to complete the project. We were hoping to start it earlier in the fiscal year but, due to the weather and the high demands for “roof projects,” the company that we chose to do the work couldn’t schedule us earlier. We requested bids a year ago from a number of roofing companies to make sure that we had enough time to study and compare their proposals. In the end, we decided to go with the same company that did the roof on the main part of the church ten years ago as they have the prior understanding and experience of our church’s roof architectural design.
We have put in two concrete pathways across from the main entrance of church going to the parking lot right next to the Parish Center as many people use that space as a short cut to go to the church’s main entrance. I have always been quite nervous seeing people finding their balance as they used the uneven stones, especially during rainy days (which is most days!). The new pathways should be much safer than what we had before, but please look for oncoming cars as they sometimes turn without much precaution.
I would like to thank everyone who participated in the Corpus Christi procession last Saturday. Our profoundest gratitude to the key people who organized this event led by brothers Scott and Jeff Petersen. Thank you to our ever dependable Knights of Columbus for providing the honor guards, to the Neocatechumenate group who put together the altars/stations along the procession route, to the members of the Beaverton Police department who escorted us during the procession, to those who helped out putting together the Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit, to those who helped with the reception, to our altar servers, to the Legion of Mary members and many more who pitched in their time, resources and talents to make this tradition an avenue of grace and blessing.
For the past three Sundays, we celebrated three of the most important solemnities in the liturgical life of the Church: Pentecost, Blessed Trinity and Corpus Christi — three celebrations that deeply assure us of God’s abiding love and presence, thereby providing us that hopeful reassurance that as we live out our faith and the call of discipleship, we should do so without fear and trepidation. As the gospel this weekend exhorts us, “fear no one.. do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna…do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” We all have our own “fears”: health condition, financial insecurity, marital woes, peace in our land — the list could go on and on. And it is easy to be swallowed up by these fears. The great unknown that the future holds can sometimes make us impotent, but as these last three solemnities have assured us, God’s providential love and power have the last word. Whatever “fears” that disturb you right now, do a leap of faith, and just dive into the ocean of God’s infinite embrace. Whenever I find myself in a situation of fear, I ask myself: If I already gave up everything to the Lord, then there’s nothing more that I can lose, so I have nothing to fear. I remember reading a
reflection on the subject of fear. The author, Fr. Ron Rolheiser, proposed ten principles inviting us to live in less fear:
1. God’s insight and understanding surpass our own.
2. God’s compassion and forgiveness surpass our own.
3. God respects nature, our human make-up, and our innate propensities.
4. God is a blessing parent, not a threatened one.
5. God can handle our questions and doubts and angers.
6. God reads the heart and can tell the difference between wound and malice.
7. God gives us more than one chance, opening another door every time we close one.
8. God desires our salvation and the salvation of our loved ones more than we do.
9. God is the author of all that is good.
10. God can, and does, descend into hell to help us.
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” 1 John 4, 18 – Fr. Cary