As some of you may have heard, Father Ed admitted himself into the hospital late this week after experiencing chest pain and numbness in his right arm. Though the local hospital was able to make progress on his blood pressure, it was decided to send him to a larger facility for further evaluation & care. He is currently under their (excellent!) ministrations and is resting comfortably. Please continue to pray for him as he and his doctors work together to bring him back up to full strength.
For this weekend, we are temporarily adjusting our Mass schedule (below) so that both Father Gali and myself can offer at least one Mass in each region. At this time we will not be offering Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest at any locations: please plan on adjusting your weekend plans so that you can make it to one of the Masses. The chancery has arranged for priest assistance over the following weekend (March 8/9). We will consider our longer term needs and options as things develop from there.
Thank you to everyone who has reached out to express their solidarity with and support for Father Ed and for all of our staff & volunteers – your kindness is much appreciated. Let us continue to life Father up in prayer and place our trust in the providence & love of Jesus Christ.
Modified weekend Mass schedule (March 1st & 2nd)
East end (Port Townsend & Sequim)
Saturday
– 5 pm vigil Mass (Saint Mary Star of the Sea, Port Townsend)
– – – confessions at the normal time beforehand
Sunday
– 8:30 am Mass (Saint Mary Star of the Sea, Port Townsend)
– – – the 11 am Mass at Saint Mary Star of the Sea is cancelled
– 11 am Mass (Saint Joseph, Sequim)
– 1 pm Mass (Saint Joseph, Sequim)
West end (Port Angels & Forks)
Saturday
– 5 pm vigil Mass (Queen of Angels, Port Angeles)
– – – confessions at the normal time beforehand
– – – the 6 pm vigil Mass at Saint Anne is cancelled
Sunday
– 8:30 am Mass (Queen of Angels, Port Angeles)
– 11 am Mass (Saint Anne, Forks)
– – – the 8:30 am Mass at Saint Anne is cancelled
– – – the 11 am Mass at Saint Thomas the Apostle is cancelled
February 23 – Today is the memorial of Saint Polycarp. He had some amazing connections – he was a disciple of Saint John the Apostle and a friend of Saint Ignatius of Antioch. Of course, his sanctity wasn’t simply in being associated with the right people, it was his great faith in Jesus and dedication to evangelization. He was so powerful a witness that he was martyred despite being advanced in age even by modern standards – 86 years old! Read more about him at the Vatican News website.
February 25 – If you don’t know much – or anything – about Saint Nestor of Magydos, welcome to the club! It was easier to find an image of him than to come across a full paragraph about his life. Bishop of Magydos in Pamphylia, he was arrested and tortured before being crucified in 250 for refusing to make sacrifices to the gods. He is reverenced in both the East and the West for his witness of faith even to the death (we westerners may benefit from knowing that his title of ‘hieromartyr’ is a reference to him being a martyr who was a cleric). You can read a little about him at the Orthodox Church in America website.
February 27 – Today’s saint is Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows. Convinced from a young age that the Lord was calling him to religious life, he attempted to enter the Jesuits at the age of 16. He was eventually accepted by the Passionists and given his religious name. He was well-regarded by his fellows and superiors as devout, caring, and exacting in observing the Passionist rule. His in formation to become a priest was interrupted when he contracted tuberculosis just four years of being with the Passionist and he eventually succumbed to the disease at the age of 24. Read more about him at the Passionist website.
March 1 – We end this week with the celebration of Saint Felix III. The bishop of Rome from March of 483 until his death in 492, he was said to be an ancestor of Saint Gregory the Great. He became pope during a time of great division due to the Eutychian heresy (yes, I had to look that one up too!). Heretics, schisms, and political machinations plagued his pontificate, but did his best to do his part in naming error and proclaiming the truth. Read about him at Catholic365.
No pastor’s insert this last week (I was on vacation!)
Priests celebrating their anniversaries this week
- No anniversaries this week – pray for vocations!
Remembering our deceased priests
- Fr. Joseph P. Brennan (February 23, 1980)
- Fr. Gerald T. Moore (February 24, 2005)
- Bp. Augustin M. A. Blanchet (February 25, 1987)
- Fr. James F. Barrett (February 27, 1935)
- Fr. James Van Gogh (February 27, 1997)
- Fr. J. Paul Dalton (February 29, 2008)
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