Welcome to our Catholic Church, East of Seattle, in the Snoqualmie Valley!

FROM THE DESK OF THE PASTOR

July 1, 2022

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today is the feast of St. Junipero Serra, the
founder of the California Mission and patron of vocations to the priesthood. Pope Francis said of him at his canonization:

Today we remember one of those witnesses who
testified to the joy of the Gospel in these lands,
Father Junípero Serra. He was the embodiment of
“a Church which goes forth”, a Church which sets
out to bring everywhere the reconciling tenderness
of God. Junípero Serra left his native land and its
way of life. He was excited about blazing trails,
going forth to meet many people, learning and
valuing their particular customs and ways of life.
He learned how to bring to birth and nurture God’s
life in the faces of everyone he met; he made them
his brothers and sisters. Junípero sought to defend
the dignity of the native community, to protect it
from those who had mistreated and abused it.
Mistreatment and wrongs which today still trouble
us, especially because of the hurt which they cause
in the lives of many people.

Father Serra had a motto which inspired his life and
work, not just a saying, but above all a reality which
shaped the way he lived: siempre adelante! Keep
moving forward! For him, this was the way to
continue experiencing the joy of the Gospel, to
keep his heart from growing numb, from being
anesthetized. He kept moving forward, because the
Lord was waiting. He kept going, because his
brothers and sisters were waiting. He kept going
forward to the end of his life. Today, like him, may
we be able to say: Forward! Let’s keep moving
forward! POPE FRANCIS

The Gospel this weekend reminds us of the need to
pray in particular for vocations. As Jesus appointed

72 men to go out ahead of him to preach the
kingdom, he said:
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.”
This has always been the case from the earliest
days of the church. So, since our blessed Lord
especially reminded us of our need to pray for
vocations, let us make sure to do so. At the same
time ,we need to encourage vocations in our own
families and parish: Tell young people that they
would make a good priest or religious. When
teenagers and college age kids are trying to figure
out what to do for a career or what college to go
to, encourage them to pray about it. Help them to
ask the question: “What does God want me to do
with my life?” … instead of: “What do I want to do
with my life?” We were created to serve God and
our neighbor, not for our own self-interest. Asking,
“How can I serve?” and, “How can I help build up
God’s kingdom?” leads to a better and more
fulfilled life because we are aligning ourselves with
the one who came to serve and not be served… the
one who gave us live and loved us so much that he
gave his life on the cross for us.

After this weekend I will be on vacation for the
next two Sundays. Fr. Patrick and some guest
priests will be covering and we will have a more
limited Daily Mass schedule while I am away.
Please know that I will be keeping you in my
prayers. Please pray for me too! I will look
forward to seeing you again rested and
rejuvenated. Once of the things I most enjoy while
being on vacation is the ability to attend Sunday
Mass in different places. I hope that as you travel
this Summer you will make it a point to participate
in Sunday Mass where-ever you are. It reminds us
of the universality of the Church and of shared faith
with so many other in different places.

Wishing you every blessing!
Fr. Johnson