Diocese Weekly 01.20.12

January 20, 2012

Dear Father:

I came across a rather witty letter to the editor in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal.  David Chanoff was writing a response to Father James Martin’s Op-Ed piece in the January 12th Wall Street Journal:  “Does God Care Who Wins Football Games?” 

The catalyst was – of course – the famous Denver Broncos Quarterback Tim Tebow who kneels in praise to God every time he scores a touchdown.

David Chanoff’s letter pointed out that many men in sports at many times have called upon prayer for their teams.  “When Mr. Tarkenton played for the Giants, the devout Catholic owner, Wellington Mara filled the locker room with priests.”  Philadelphia Eagles owner Bert Bell, he pointed out, did the same in the 1930s he rotated different denominations into the locker room trying to hedge his bets.  When George Halas’ Monsters of the Midway defeated the Giants, Halas reportedly told Bell, “The only thing you haven’t done is hire a good football team.”

In our years of theological training and formation, we all heard the adage that “Grace builds on nature,” meaning that no amount of grace and no amount of prayer will change the nature of what is in front of us – be that a less than talented football team or a less than perfect professional life.  God’s grace does not eliminate our need to respond, to engage in the rigors of spiritual exercises that intentionally build up our moral and spiritual stamina.    Daily life is a kind of strength-testing, building up our response to God’s grace so active in our lives.

As a former pastor with three Catholic schools I’d often use these snow days as an analogy to explain God’s grace.  One of my favorite places to bike is near Leavenworth around Icicle Creek.  In the summer, the trees along the winter are solid color of evergreen.  But in the winter, when I’ve cross-country skied on that same mountain trail, the snow highlights each branch so that it stands out in bold relief.  Grace is like snow.  It helps us see differently.

This sense of grace, in turn, might help us see the profound human meaning behind the miracles about which we hear these consecutive Sundays in St. Mark’s Gospel.  I am always struck by the fact that so often, Jesus tells those he heals that it is their “faith” that has healed them.  Even as God’s very self, Jesus seems quite careful to build the grace of his miracles upon the very fabric – dare I say – nature of the person’s faith.  Might this be a point of meditation as we anoint the sick and visit the homebound?

No, God may not care who wins football games.  But God intimately cares about the quality and meaning of our life.  He deeply wants to help us see his presence charging and highlighting our daily activities and the lives of those we touch as priests.  Thanks for being instruments of God’s grace.

Fraternally yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Joseph J. Tyson

Bishop of Yakima

With all this said, here are the items I’d like to highlight for you this week.

 Marriage Statement and Bulletin Announcement

…by Bishop Tyson

Dear Father:

Attached you will find our joint statement on the redefinition of marriage.  You will also find a prayer for marriage that can be printed for use in your parishes.  You might want to consider using this prayer after the communion prayer as well as other various parish leadership settings.  Besides the bulletin insert there is also a short bulletin announcement.  As you know, last week I sent out a notice in the weekly mailing alerting you to this special mailing on Tuesday.  Kindly download this statement in the appropriate language and stuff in the bulletin for the weekend of January 21st and 22nd 2012.  Know that all the bishops are working together to ensure that all the parishes across the state receive this insert on this same weekend.  I will be providing supportive links in this Friday’s mailing to support your catechetical efforts.

I am also asking St. Joseph parish in Yakima to print sufficient numbers both in Spanish and in English so that these can be distributed on Saturday afternoon during the Mass in honor of the Santo Nino on Saturday evening, January 21st 2012 at 4:30 p.m. with the Filipino community in the Diocese of Yakima.

St. Paul Cathedral will also be printing extra copies in both Spanish and English so that they can be distributed during the Walk for Life this coming Saturday January 21st 2012 at 1:00 p.m.  and the Mass for Life this coming Monday evening January 23rd 2012 at 6:00 p.m.

I might also add that we are all grateful for Bishop Sevilla's review of the Spanish translation for use across the state.  You might wish to consider doing the same in printing extra copies so that they are readily available for parishioners’ reading during subsequent weekends in your parish.

Click here for the bulletin statement insert in English:

Click here for the bulletin statement insert in Spanish:

Click here for the prayer in English:

Click here for the prayer in Spanish:

Click here for bulletin announcement in English: 

Click here for bulletin announcement in Spanish:

In advance I thank you for your extra efforts as well as the additional assistance of your parish staff and volunteers in getting this statement out.

Blessings,

Bishop Joseph Tyson

Earthen Vessels Marriage Retreat for Diaconate Couples of the Diocese of Yakima at Campbell’s Lodge, Lake Chelan WA

…by Deacon Bob Schrom

Dear Deacon Community:

Happy 2012! You are in our thoughts and prayers and we look forward to sharing time, thoughts, and prayers with you during the coming year.

By now you should all have 2012 calendars.  Hopefully you have transferred the retreat dates of March 23, 24 & 25 to your calendars and talked to your employers and priests about the need to be there,

 This is a very special retreat focused on diaconal marriage and geared toward couple time.  With Bishop Tyson’s emphasis on the importance of marriage and marriage preparation, this weekend will give us some time to gather thoughts and to be a future resource for Bishop Tyson as he solidifies policy for marriage preparation in the Diocese.

Also, our presenter Brother Cyril is developing this retreat program targeted at Deacon couples, and will be speaking with those of us who have indicated interest in being presenter couples in the program, as well as giving information to others of us who might be interested  in the future.

The Deacon Retreat is an integral part of our diaconal formation as are the education days. Please make every effort to attend.

We currently have rooms booked for everyone. We have until January 27 to turn rooms back without being charged a penalty. 

Please call or e-mail your confirmation by January 25. 

Day 1: Friday, March 23; 7:00 pm - 9:15 pm

3:00 PM Cyril departs PDX – stopover in Seattle – arrive 5:40 PM E. Wenatchee  on Alaska Airlines 1 of 4 possible diaconate couples will meet Cyril at airport and drive Cyril to site

4:00 Check-in starts at the Lodge – retreatants pick up keys, following the Yakima Diocese procedure

4:15 Peñas begin to drive from Hillsboro, OR; ETA at retreat site: 9PM – 10PM

5:30 (Optional) Dinner in the restaurant at the Lodge 

[If possible: Br. Cyril: Dinner with Mount Angel Abbey Oblates

 6:15 – 6:45 Cyril will give a talk to oblates on peace.]

7:00 Evening Prayer by assigned deacon

7:15 Introduction & welcome, “housekeeping” issues

7:30 Paschal Mystery & Palm Sunday Talk

Br. Cyril, in person Peñas, via video presentation

8:15 Personal Reflection

8:30 – 9:00 Small group sharing

9:00 Night Prayer by assigned deacon

after Night Prayer, optional social time

Day 2: Saturday, March 24, 8:00 am - 8:30 pm

8:00 Morning Prayer by assigned deacon

8:10 Breakfast

9:00 Earthen Vessels Reflection Process Talk

9:45 Sharing

10:15 Holy Thursday Talk

10:45 Personal Reflection

 11:15 Mass by Fr. Ricardo Villareal or his substitute

Readings of the Day; brief homily on a Eucharistic / Holy Thursday theme

12:00 Lunch

2:00 Good Friday Talk

2:45 Individual Personal Reflection

3:00 “Giving our pain to God” spiritual exercise

until 4:30 Silent Individual Reflection

4:45 Easter Talk

5:30 Couple Reflection

6:00 Dinner with Bishop Tyson, if he is available.

6:45 Evening Prayer by assigned deacon

7:00 Introduction to topic: Bringing this experience to marriage and to ministry

7:30 Discussion of Topics Raised by Participants   

8:00 Sharing Time

8:30 (Optional) Social Time

Day 3: Sunday, March 25, 8:00 am - 1:00 pm

8:00 Morning Prayer by assigned deacon

8:10 Breakfast

9:00: Mass of the Holy Spirit with Bishop Tyson at the local parish church (St. Frances de Sales) a 5 minute walk from Campbell’s Lodge assigned deacon reads Gospel bishop is asked to preach on a Pentecost / going forth theme after 10:00 clean out the private rooms before the 11:00 check out

10:45 Pentecost Talk

11:20 Small group sharing

11:35 Large group sharing

12:00 Complete the Evaluation Form

12:15 PM Lunch, as a Festive Meal, then most retreatants depart for home

Marriage Statement: Catechetical Resources

…by Bishop Tyson

Dear Father:

On Tuesday you received an e-mail blast regarding the joint statement by the bishops here in Washington State about our state leaders’ legislative proposal to change the definition of marriage along with a bulletin announcement urging our people to contact their state legislators on this important matter.  Thank you so very much.

Here are a few resources you might want to consider using in any special program you might have for young adults and faith enrichment that support the Church teaching and understanding of marriage.

The first is an English language resource sponsored by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops titled “For your marriage.”  It’s a great resource that you’ll want to explore and has many easily downloadable videos, audios and print materials.  Even the television ads on the front web page could be faith sharing starters at your pastoral and finance council meetings.  Here’s the English language link: http://foryourmarriage.org/

The second is a parallel web page resource in Spanish.  I stress parallel because the material is different and pointed to the Hispanic community.  Right now, for example there’s a fairly substantial reflection titled La SagradaFamiliaInmigrante drawing parallels to the migratory beginnings of Jesus and his family with the immigrant struggle with which we are all so familiar for so many of our Spanish-speaking folks.  I might add that the radio spots from this website have been carried by Radio KDNA, La Voz del Campesino.  Some of these resources are great faith-sharing starters that can be used in your routine cycle of parish meetings in Spanish as well as core catechetical content in parish prayer groups.  Here’s the Spanish language link: http://www.portumatrimonio.org/

Perhaps the most robust web site directly addressing why – for society – marriage ought to remain defined as a bond between men and women is the USCCB website titled “Marriage:  Unique for a Reason.”  One of the real challenges is that our people – especially our youth – swim in a culture that defines basic human identity as “gay” and “straight.”  This web site uplifts the deeper and richer understanding of human identity as “male” and “female.”  There are fine videos on this site that you can download for free and use in adult education and youth presentations.  I’d also suggest using these as discussion starters for your regular parish gatherings.  If you lack the bandwidth or find yourself a bit challenged on the technology know that I have some of these videos in my office so give Cathy Fritch or I a call and I’d be happy to send them out through the regular lending library process.  The web link for this website is: http://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/

Know that the February Executive Committee of the Presbyteral Council will be discussing this topic and reviewing these resources so if you have any thoughts, be sure to give your regional representative a call or send an e-mail to the president of the council, Father Tom Kuykendall at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Again, I thank you, your parish staff and core volunteers for making the extra effort to download and print our joint statement on marriage as well as our bulletin announcement urging our people to contact legislators in Olympia.

 Difficulties and Hopes of the Catholic Church in America

VATICAN CITY, 19 JAN 2012 (VIS) - Today in the Vatican Benedict XVI received a group of prelates from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (Regions 4 and 6), at the end of their "ad limina" visit. Extracts from his English-language remarks to them are given below.

  "At the heart of every culture, whether perceived or not, is a consensus about the nature of reality and the moral good, and thus about the conditions for human flourishing. In America, that consensus, as enshrined in your nation's founding documents, was grounded in a worldview shaped not only by faith but a commitment to certain ethical principles deriving from nature and nature's God. Today that consensus has eroded significantly in the face of powerful new cultural currents which are not only directly opposed to core moral teachings of the Judeo-Christian tradition, but increasingly hostile to Christianity as such.

  "For her part, the Church in the United States is called, in season and out of season, to proclaim a Gospel which not only proposes unchanging moral truths but proposes them precisely as the key to human happiness and social prospering. ... With her long tradition of respect for the right relationship between faith and reason, the Church has a critical role to play in countering cultural currents which, on the basis of an extreme individualism, seek to promote notions of freedom detached from moral truth. ... The Church's defense of a moral reasoning based on the natural law is grounded on her conviction that this law is not a threat to our freedom, but rather a 'language' which enables us to understand ourselves and the truth of our being, and so to shape a more just and humane world".

  "The Church's witness, then, is of its nature public: she seeks to convince by proposing rational arguments in the public square. The legitimate separation of Church and State cannot be taken to mean that the Church must be silent on certain issues, nor that the State may choose not to engage, or be engaged by, the voices of committed believers in determining the values which will shape the future of the nation.

  "In the light of these considerations, it is imperative that the entire Catholic community in the United States come to realize the grave threats to the Church's public moral witness presented by a radical secularism which finds increasing expression in the political and cultural spheres. The seriousness of these threats needs to be clearly appreciated at every level of ecclesial life. Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion. Many of you have pointed out that concerted efforts have been made to deny the right of conscientious objection on the part of Catholic individuals and institutions with regard to cooperation in intrinsically evil practices. Others have spoken to me of a worrying tendency to reduce religious freedom to mere freedom of worship without guarantees of respect for freedom of conscience.

  "Here once more we see the need for an engaged, articulate and well-formed Catholic laity endowed with a strong critical sense vis-a-vis the dominant culture and with the courage to counter a reductive secularism which would de-legitimize the Church's participation in public debate about the issues which are determining the future of American society. ... In this regard, I would mention with appreciation your efforts to maintain contacts with Catholics involved in political life and to help them understand their personal responsibility to offer public witness to their faith, especially with regard to the great moral issues of our time: respect for God's gift of life, the protection of human dignity and the promotion of authentic human rights".

  "No one who looks at these issues realistically can ignore the genuine difficulties which the Church encounters at the present moment. Yet in faith we can take heart from the growing awareness of the need to preserve a civil order clearly rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition, as well as from the promise offered by a new generation of Catholics whose experience and convictions will have a decisive role in renewing the Church's presence and witness in American society. The hope which these 'signs of the times' give us is itself a reason to renew our efforts to mobilize the intellectual and moral resources of the entire Catholic community in the service of the evangelization of American culture and the building of the civilization of love"