In May of this year, Archbishop Etienne wrote a pastoral letter to the archdiocese: "Learn from Me for I Am Meek and Humble of Heart". It is a lovely letter, particularly in pointing not only to the heart of Jesus but also opening his own heart to us, his flock. I was touched by his sharing of his family practices of faith during his childhood and his own devotion to the heart of Jesus.

It is towards the end of his letter that the archbishop offered a particular exhortation to us all to embrace a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, for clergy to lead by example in drawing from the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, for parishes and all the faithful "to reclaim the First Friday devotion, rooted in participation at Mass and reception of holy Communion in a spirit of reparation and love"  while also himself entrusting our archdiocese to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

This has been a bit of a kick in the pants for me, as I have never had a particular devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (as such, I mean) nor to First Friday devotions. If I'm perfectly frank, my exposure over the years to practices around these devotions has often been in the context of insistent demands made of us priests by those to whom they are dear or angry outbursts by those same folks when something goes sideways (say, a Mass or adoration cancellation on a Friday). Framed as it has been in experiences of conflict, this hasn't fostered much enthusiasm in my own heart to pursue it myself! On the contrary, I struggle not to immediately remember those negative experiences whenever the topic comes up 🙁

Before going into that, I want to take a beat to sing the praises of our parochial vicars. Father Gali and Father Ed both have prioritized from the beginning First Friday devotions in their respective locations. Admittedly, all of us have Masses on Fridays, but they were quick to point out the need to safeguard them from schedule changes when we were initially planning our monthly priest get-togethers, ensuring that our priestly fraternity did not take away from the devotional practices of parishioners. As a result, we have consistently had First Friday Masses in each region from the very beginning of our coming together as a parish family.

At the same time, there has been something of a lacuna in the central region - Port Angeles & Sequim. Yes, we have a Friday morning Mass - with our school children, no less, during the school year - but there hasn't been much in the way of organized effort within or across our parishes to lean into a devotion to the Sacred Heart. In addition to the Friday Mass, there has been an on-again off-again period of adoration after Mass until noon, but attendance has been super lean - often with the same 3-5 people coming (including the leaders!). In fact, we were questioning whether or not to continue it after the summer break (taken due to the leaders going on vacation).

It is in the context of all of this that the Archbishop drops several not-so-subtle directions:

• • "to families, I say: Let the Sacred Heart reign in your homes."
  • "I encourage families and individuals to enthrone an image of the Sacred Heart in their homes"
  • "I also commend to all the daily Morning Offering"
  • "I urge parishes and the faithful to reclaim the First Friday devotion"
  • "(t)o priests and deacons, I offer particular exhortation. . . . . I ask you to lead by example, drawing from the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus the charity, patience and humility that sustain pastoral ministry. In a time of complexity and strain, return often to the Heart from which your vocation flows."
  • "(t)o the young, the poor, the sick and all who carry heavy burdens: Know that the Heart of Christ is open to you"

Whelp. Guess I - or more accurately, we all - better do something about this!

Undoubtedly this is a devotion that can be deepened throughout our parish family, but given that the central region was in the most need of (re)capturing it, I put together a survey to try to figure out where and how best to do so. We ran the survey for about two weeks, with invitations in the bulletin and Mass announcements asking folks to take time to fill it out. Of the roughly 500 Sunday Mass-goers in the central region, about 77 folks (some undoubtedly speaking for their whole household!) responded. It took some major finagling (the survey site has no built-in way to export the summary), but you can review those results by clicking this sentence.

I'm loath to say that the survey wasn't helpful - I always find feedback to be revealing of where people are at and what they are thinking & feeling. On that front, the survey was a roaring success. But as for having a definitive 'this is what we should do' and/or 'this is where it should be'....well, not so much. What seemed to be most clear is that mid-evening (5 or 6 pm) was the most desirable of times and that the devotion - more than a particular form of the devotion - was most important. That said, exposition and adoration of the Eucharist was by far the most desired form of of devotion.

The end result - which you likely already know, since we started this month - is that I decided to focus on having a singular First Friday evening celebration that alternates within the central region between Saint Joseph and Queen of Angels. On the even months (August, October, December) it will be at Saint Joseph and on the odd months (September, November) it will be at Queen of Angels. After five months of doing this, I am hopeful that we will have a better idea of how things are going and what - if any - changes might need made.

For the actual First Friday evenings, we will start at 6 pm with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and a half hour of silent adoration, concluding with solemn benediction at 6:30 pm and immediately followed by Mass - ideally a votive Mass to the Sacred Heart, but that'll be dependent on the seasons & feast days that land on First Fridays (devotional votive Masses are generally only permitted on weekdays in Ordinary Time - see GIRM 373 & 375).

At the end of the day, devotional practices success - or fail! - based on the actual practice of devotion on the part of the community in which they exist. I am happy to report that our first First Friday adoration & Mass was quite well attended, with 50+ people coming for the whole thing (adoration and Mass)! 

I'd like to close with the words of our archbishop, from the beginning of his letter, with the prayer that his encouragement might animate us all to allow these devotions to truly bring our hearts closer to Christ's:

The purpose of this devotion is not emotional consolation, but transformation. The goal is that the heart of Jesus and the human heart become one. The love of God for the world is clearly demonstrated through his Son, Jesus. This revelation of Christ’s love leads to salvation. Our reception of this precious gift of the love of the Sacred Heart draws us into this love – and love always seeks a response – of love.

In the Church, devotions like the Sacred Heart are not just prayers to say: These devotions are meant to be lived. They are meant to draw us to greater union with Christ and, through him, to grow in the divine life of grace and holiness.

Recommended reading

• Learn from Me for I Am Meek and Humble of Heart (Pastoral letter), Archbishop Paul D. Etienne - https://www.archbishopetienne.com/pastoral-letters/learn-from-me-for-i-am-meek-and-humble-of-heart
• 2026 First Friday devotion survey results, Central region of the Catholic Communities of the Olympic Peninsula - https://fathermaurer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2026-First-Friday-devotion-survey-OPC-central-region.pdf

Resources for building a devotion to the Sacred Heart

• Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in one's home, The Mission of the Sacred Heart Enthronement Network - https://welcomehisheart.com/home-enthronement
• Morning Offering (from the Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers), Father François-Xavier Gautrelet (1844) - https://www.usccb.org/prayers/morning-offering
• Novena to the Sacred Heart, Carmelite Sisters - https://carmelitesistersocd.com/sacred-heart-novena/
• Novena to the Sacred Heart, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops - https://www.usccb.org/resources/novena-sacred-heart
• The Life of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Bishop Émile Bougaud - https://tanbooks.com/products/books/the-life-of-saint-margaret-mary-alacoque/