Dear Parishioners, In the Gospel reading we have this Sunday, we hear Jesus laying down his farewell commandment to his disciples. The time has come for him to go back to the father in heaven, but before he left he gave his disciples this commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you.” How did Jesus love his disciples? From reading the…

Dear Parishioners, Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers in our parish community. I would like to thank you for your love and devotion to your families. Your love for your children comes close to the unconditional love that God has for all of us. May the Lord continue to give you the strength you need in fulfilling the ministry you have…

Dear Parishioners, Playing volleyball at the Y, I get to see lots of different things outside of the church environment that I am so used to living in and my experiences interacting with people outside our church community are usually sources of reflections for me. One time there was a player with two injured fingers; he had tapes on his fingers but…

Dear Parishioners, Today we are celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday. It is good to be reminded that perhaps the greatest attribute of God is mercy. God is love yes, but love that stoops to weakness, poverty, suffering, and sinfulness is mercy. Because we are weak and sinful, the Lord shows his love to us as mercy. Jesus Christ never ceased to show mercy…

Dear Parishioners, He is risen, Alleluia! With Jesus Christ, let us rise up to new life responding to the Easter call of proclaiming the Good News to the ends of the earth. Jesus Christ showed us His great love for us when He died on the cross for us and when He resurrected to new life. Now it is our turn to…

Dear Parishioners, As we enter the Holy Week, let us be reminded that the week is called holy not because of the things that we do, but because of what our Lord did for us. It has always been about what God has done for humanity that makes this week holy and lets us allow the memory of God’s mercy to sink…

Dear Parishioners, Next week as we celebrate Palm Sunday, we are entering the week we call Holy. Yes, time really went fast and soon we will be celebrating Easter! But before we get there, let us take some time to reflect on how we are doing on our Lenten journey. I do hope that you feel some difference in your spiritual life…

Dear Parishioners, Next Sunday, (April 7) during the 11:30 a.m. Mass, a part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Ashland-Guanajuato Sister Cities will take place here in our parish community. For those who are not familiar with it, Sister Cities International is the world’s largest citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between thousands of cities in the US and…

Dear Parishioners, We are now on the third Sunday of Lent and I hope that we are still going Strong in our Lenten sacrifices on our way to the glorious celebration of Easter. If we find ourselves faltering in our Lenten practices, let us be encouraged by the gardener’s patience with the fig tree in our Gospel today. Our Lord’s patience and…

Dear Parishioners, We are now on the second Sunday of Lent and I hope that you are all doing well in our Lenten journey to Easter. This coming Thursday, the 21st of March, we will have our Lenten Reconciliation Service where four priests are coming to help. I hope that you can take advantage of this time to celebrate the Sacrament of…

Dear Parishioners, During the time of Lent, we are being reminded of the importance of prayers, fasting, and almsgiving. These are the three principal actions that help us deepen our relationship with God and with one another especially during the season of Lent. I hope that we take time to do those things as we journey towards the glorious celebration of Easter. When we pray, fast, and…

Dear Parishioners, A few days ago, I checked my calendar and reviewed the schedules that I have for this coming week. It’s good I checked because I  noticed that there is a scheduled appointment with an eye doctor that I already forgot about. I was thinking, if the doctor did not schedule it (after my last visit with him), most likely I would not have scheduled it at all…

Dear Parishioners, Today, throughout the Archdiocese of Portland in western Oregon, every parish is asking for their parishioners’ help to assist the parish-based ministries supported by the Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal. On behalf of Archbishop Sample, I thank all of you who gave last year. I assure you that the funds you gave helped provide ministry to those who would not have been touched without your support. When…

Dear Parishioners, Next weekend is Commitment Weekend for the Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal. During Mass we will watch a video from Archbishop Sample about the Appeal. If you received a personalized commitment card in the mail, please bring it to Mass with you as we join together to support our Catholic Church in western Oregon. If you did not receive a commitment card in the mail, pledge envelopes will be available during Mass.…

Dear Parishioners, This weekend is the awareness weekend for this year’s Archbishop’s Catholic Appeal, (ACA). In the next couple of weekends, we will be reminded of our responsibility to help in the mission of the Catholic Church here in Western Oregon. I would like to ask all of you to once again, prayerfully discern how much you can contribute to this appeal. Every amount you donate will go to the…