Dear Parishioners, 

   A parishioner has made available a little book entitled “Heaven.” It describes the inner locutions of an Irish woman, named Anne, who is a wife and mother of six. She describes her visions of heaven in which I found fascinating. They are quite in line with what others have shared about their experiences of heaven, and what we know of it from Scripture. These books will be made available to take.  

   Anne’s vision experiences, though approved by her bishop, are in the category of “private revelation,” which means one can “take it or leave it.” Nonetheless, these visions can be used to inspire and enhance one’s devotion and love of heaven. St. Therese of Lisieux, while in a deep darkness of faith, declared, “I could not doubt the existence of heaven!”  

   I want to share a good reflection on Lenten Penance from a Catholic news outlet I follow called The Pillar: “Penance though not completely understood by secular society as perhaps, weird, and full of 'Catholic guilt,' in the context of Lent, is a good thing, something to be embraced. We all have a lot to feel guilty about, I am sure. Not just in the superficial sense of 'I was so bad when I did that,' but in the much fuller sense of living in the light of an informed and well-formed conscience which is, or should be, our internal impulse to convert, to reorient ourselves to God, and to embrace the better nature we are called to have. 

    "Penance, with its works of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, is uncomfortable, for sure. But it’s not meant to be miserable. Little actions, small offerings (or large ones) attune us to a right understanding of who we are, and who we need — God. 

   "Modern social media psychobabble is full of talk about 'mindfulness' and 'being present,' which are themselves mindless terms. To the extent they ever scratch the surface of human existence, they usually concentrate on 'centering yourself in the here and now' to distract from the void at the heart of a human experience that knows not God, the unbearable weight of our imperfections without hope of redemption. 

   "For us, Lent is the celebration of a great gift: the knowledge that our flaws, our jealousies, our petty vanity, and even what some might call our astonishing hubris, merit a great savior — one who is coming with power over the fear of death which rules and directs our baser natures. 

    "Finding our place relative to that cosmic truth, and preparing to accept it, may not be a comfortable experience, but it can be joyful. There is great joy to being a penitent when we are sure of His response, when each act of penance isn’t so much a plea for clemency before a wrathful master as a gesture of faith in the love of a Father whose nature we are striving to imitate. In this sense, Lent is a time of relief, of rest, of remembering who we actually are, and for what purpose we were actually made — to know Him, love Him and serve Him in this world, and be happy with Him forever in the next, as we used to say.” 

     I think the Meghan Markle crowd would call this 'self-actualization,' or maybe 'resting in your truth.' The Church calls it 'conversion,' and it’s great." 

Volunteers are taking donations for spring altar flowers to display at each parish during Easter season in memory or in honor of a loved one. A mass will be offered for the special intentions of your loved ones with the donation toward flowers. Flowers include Easter lilies, tulips and otherspring flowers. Each live plant costs $15 and will be displayed at the designated parish with a card that identifies who it is for. You are welcome to purchase multiple plants and will be able to take them home after Easter season to plant for your loved ones. Order forms are available at each parish or contact Mary Burnell at 509-935-6313.

Flowers are $15 and orders are due by Sunday, March 26. Turn in your forms/payment to the collection basket or the office. 

Mailing address: 502 E Main Ave St. 26, Chewelah, WA 99109

The community baby shower originally scheduled for this week has been postponed until Thursday, March 23 at 10 a.m. to Noon. Prepares diaper distribution will still take place March 9 and March 16 at St. Mary's. Contact Pat Taylor, PREPARES regional coordinator, 509-942-9592.