I know a lot of people have a troubled relationship with the sacrament of penance. It is a sacrament that has fallen off rather dramatically the last several decades. There perhaps are many reasons for this, but one is what St. Pope Paul IV noted in the 70’s as a loss in our society of a “sense of sin.” A sense of Sin does not mean we have to go around feeling guilty all the time but it does mean we know and understand ourselves to be broken and sinners and always standing in need of God’s forgiveness and mercy. 

    Confession is where we experience the love and mercy of God. Confession is a chance to be honest with oneself, and our Father, about who we really are — resentful, impatient, angry, selfish, judgmental, etc. We go to confession to hear our God remind us that he is exactly none of those things. And that he is none of those things towards us personally.

    What we get from the experience of confession is not a kind of superhuman strength to change oneself, but the supernaturalgrace to experience the reality of God’s love, and touch a vital truth about who and what we are: a beloved child of God. The sacrament isn’t a kind of spiritual therapy, it’s medicine (grace), properly speaking. Something which won’t heal itself is healed. Confession can, and does, give a stillness and a patience that doesn’t come from ourselves, and it cools the sinful impulses we all have. 

   I would encourage everyone to make a confession during this time of Lent before Easter. There are ample opportunities to make a confession. Every week there are confessions Wednesday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. And, on March 30 at 6:30 p.m. we are going to have a special Penance Service. There will be a short Liturgy of the Word and examination of conscience and then the opportunity for personal confession. I have invited two other priests to join us to help hear confessions that evening. The last opportunity to go to confession before Easter is April 5 (Wednesday in Holy Week) at 4:30 p.m.

Stations of the Cross are every Friday at 5:30 pm followed by a soup and bread supper, which is provided by several different parish ministries. This week, March 17, Stations is on St. Patrick's Day, which the Bishop has granted special dispensation from the obligation to abstain from meat. The Altar Ministry Volunteers will be providing this week's soup supper and next week (March 24) will be Faith Night catechists and participants, coordinated by Emily Garner.

Holy Ghost hosts a breakfast potluck every Second Sunday of each month. Everyone is invited to bring something to share after 8 am mass this Sunday, March 12.

Anyone who wants to be involved with our music ministry, lead by Director Brianna Snyder, is invited to a meeting on Monday, March 13 at 6 pm at St. Mary's. With Holy Week coming up, we would like to build a pool of volunteers that can sing or accompany during St. Mary's and Holy Ghost masses, or special events like weddings and funerals. If you feel like you have a musical talent to share, please come and help us enhance our liturgical music. If you would like to attend but are not available, please let the office know so we can find a way to get you involved.

All-Parish Faith Night during Lent features a 7-week program for adult formation (in St. Mary's parish hall) on the Meaning of the Mass. This week is Part 3: The Offertory Rites. As usual, confessions are available at 5 pm with mass at 5:30 pm and dinner at 6 pm. For this week's meal, everyone is encouraged to bring a dish from a country you've visited or wanted to visit.

The Chewelah Faith Resource Group, an ecumenical group consisting of representatives from several local faith and resource organizations, will be hosting a free community community dinner at St. Mary of the Rosary on Thursday, March 16 beginning at 5 p.m. in the parish hall. The entire community is invited to enjoy warm beef stew, biscuits and brownies. Please come eat with us or let us know if you would like to volunteer in any way. Contact the parish office with questions.

One of the important penitential elements of Lent is the obligation of abstinence from meat on Friday. By this practice, we share in some small way in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. This year, the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day happens to fall on Friday, March 17. For many of the faithful of eastern Washington, there is a spiritual and emotional connection with this 5th century Apostle of Ireland. He is the patron saint for a number of our parishes and we have a long history of being served by the Irish clergy. For these reasons, I have judged it would serve the spiritual good of the faithful to grant a dispensation from the obligation to abstain from meat on March 17, 2023. This dispensation applies to all the faithful of the Diocese of Spokane as well as any visitors who may be present in the diocese on that day. In keeping with the spiritual contributions of St. Patrick, as well as the tone of the season of Lent, I encourage the faithful to attend Mass on St. Patrick’s Day and/or to undertake some act of charity or penance during the Third Week of Lent. In Christ, Bishop Daly

Please donate to our parish food collections during Lent! St. Mary's is collecting food for the Chewelah Food Bank and Holy Ghost is collecting food for the Valley Food Pantry each Sunday as well. Think about donating 40 items for 40 days of Lent - you can bring it every week or all at once. Monetary donations are always welcome as well! Thank you! 

St. Jerome Library at St. Mary's is now open to parishioners during office hours and masses, and other parish events. Parishioners are welcome to come read a book or check one out using our simple system. Each week our librarian Ed Grim will share a short synopsis or review to highlight a book in our collection. This week is "For the Love of My People I will Not Be Silent: The Church in China" by Cardinal Zen. Cardinal Zen has been on EWTN many times discussing the state sponsored and the underground church in China. He is very frail now yet stands up to Communism publicly.

Tuesday, March 14 & Tuesday, March 21 at 5:30-6:15 pm at Sacred Heart Parish Hall - 219 E Rockwood Blvd, Spokane, WA 99202. Social and light snacks will follow.