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Adoration

The Synod on Synodality Pt 3: Synodal Primer: Scriptures & Questions

The Synod on Synodality Pt 3: Synodal Primer: Scriptures & Questions

Dear Parishioners,


We are just under a month until we host our synodal gatherings (see last two week’s bulletins for details). As such I would like to share with you the Scriptures and questions upon which we will be pondering. These will be the focus of our prayers in adoration as well as our reflections in the discernment time which will follow. This is just a primer so that you can bounce these scriptures and questions around in your heart, asking the Holy Spirit to help you be open without any agenda, have an openness to the synodal process, and be given a joy of anticipation for our time together.


SCRIPTURE 1
John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

Question 1: What in the church fills me with life? How is the Holy Spirit working in my life to deepen my faith and inspire me to be a better disciple and witness of Christ’s love to others?


SCRIPTURE 2

Hebrews 10:21-24: Since we have “a great priest over the house of God,” let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works.

Question 2: As a community of believers, what experiences of the Catholic Church have brought joys or revealed wounds? And how can these experiences help us grow together in faith and offer the hope and healing of Christ to the greater community in which we live?

SCRIPTURE 3

1John 1:1-4: What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life — for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us — what we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.

Question 3: As a Catholic community, we are expressly enjoined to invite others into a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ. When we dream about how best to accomplish this, what steps is the Holy Spirit inviting the Church in western Oregon to take?


All participants will be given a handout with these Scriptures and questions as well as guidelines for the “Table Conversations.” So, you will not need to remember these items or bring a copy of this letter to the Synodal gathering you choose to attend. Again, my hope is that you would use these for prayer and preparation in the Holy Spirit until we gather together on March 3rd or 12th.


Blessings,


Fr. William Holtzinger

Pastor

Adoration Chapel

Dear Parishioners,

Among the many wonderful things about our parish, one that stands out is our Adoration Chapel. It was started 18 years ago today with the blessing of Fr. Karl Schray under the leadership of Vernon Snyder. Since then, countless hours of prayer have been offered, many done with great sacrifice with regards to the late-night time slots. Having my office right next to the chapel has been a blessing. Not only is it convenient to go prayer there even if for a few minutes, but I have been blessed by seeing the constant flow of traffic which always inspires me.

For years, Rex Titus, who just passed away, had been leading the Adoration Committee. He heroically would not only help people find substitutes when they couldn’t make their assigned time slot, but would personally take their place if no substitute could be found. This quickly became such a burden that he couldn’t continue doing that. He also desired to step down, but nobody wanted to take his place with the responsibilities that Rex assumed. Many slots were hard to fill and people continued to struggle to find a substitute. After many meetings with Rex about this situation, I proposed and commissioned the creation of a tabernacle that would house the monstrance for adoration. This special tabernacle not only was a work of art, but a work of prayer with icons written on its doors by Patti Sorge. Now, if someone cannot find a substitute, the adorer prior to that empty time slot can choose to add another hour or close the tabernacle doors and leave.

Today, I would like to make all aware of what is currently going on and how some of the issues therein are being met. First of all, with Rex’s blessing, the affirmation by many, and my own encouragement and blessing, Michael Bird has stepped up to be the chair of the Adoration Committee. In addition, new piece of software is being set up which will allow for accurate and easy scheduling to be done, akin to our liturgical ministers scheduling software. With this software, the latest schedule will always be easily found online at our website. If one needs a substitute, one will be able to request help by a simple online request which will blast out an email to those whose system profiles might be available to fill in. Once someone receives the email, a simple click of a link in the email will secure the substitute for the needed position. We are seeking out the use of an iPad which will be secured outside of the chapel for anyone to check the schedule and/or request a substitute or respond to a substitute request. We have a computer on the counter in the parish office which also is available for this purpose. The Adoration Committee consisting of Steve Voehl, Christine Murphy, and Rosemary Monette will be meeting with Michael Bird to get familiar with this new system and plan for a campaign for new volunteers to spend time in the Adoration Chapel.

I want to encourage you, especially if you have never been to our chapel, to spend some time in quiet prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. We all need more quiet time in listening prayer before our Lord. With all the busyness about us, it is hard to settle our hearts and minds. But, I believe you will find it a rewarding experience. Even if you cannot commit to an hour in the adoration schedule, maybe you could sign up to be an on call substitute through the new software. I frequently see adorers come to the chapel and spend just a few minutes, then go on with their day. What a wonderful thing, no? Keep your eyes and ears peeled to more announcements about the goings on of our Adoration Chapel as well as a sign-up drive. Thank you to all who have given so selflessly in prayer for our community and the needs of others via this amazing ministry in our parish.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Year of Faith Challenge


Dear Parishioners,

Happy new year!  I pray that 2013 will bring with it an increase in faith and a renewed sense of mission in the Gospel for each one of you.  It is a time of resolutions and new beginnings.  In that line of thought, I would like to bring forward something special for your prayerful reflection for the new year.

In the forthcoming Catholic Sentinel, Archbishop Vlazny will be offering us a challenge in his personal column.  That challenge begins after the Christmas season and continues until the end of our observance of the Church’s Year of Faith.  Simply put, it is a call to prayer. 

In light of the times, that is the threats to human life, marriage, and religious liberty, the Archbishop desires that we all make personal commitments that will help us have the “spiritual stamina” to be “effective and joyful witnesses of faith, hope, and charity as agents of the new evangelization.”  His strategy has five parts:

  1. Daily rosary
  2. Monthly Eucharistic holy hours
  3. Special Prayers of the Faithful at all Masses
  4. Fasting and abstinence on Fridays
  5. A second Fortnight for Freedom in the summer.

The reason for such a recipe of prayer is for us all to more deeply encounter our Lord so as to become better witnesses of God’s law of love of our society.  Fundamental Christian morality has been ignored or even outright violated which is serving to unravel some of our society’s most basic covenantal unions,  threaten more innocent life, and threatened our ability to freely practice our faith in its fullness.  The Archbishop will more fully explain these in his forthcoming article.  But, I felt it necessary to pre-empt his letter with this encouragement to learn more and read his article when it is published.

We, as a parish and two missions, will do our best to implement all of these directives and will publish the details of these plans once they are fleshed out amidst our current schedule of ministry activities.  In the meantime, I want you to bring to prayer your own personal preparation for this forthcoming program.  A docile spirit and openness to our Archbishop’s pastoral challenge is a good thing for us all.  May we allow ourselves to be “all-in” for this exercise of faith.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

New Adoration Tabernacle Coming

Dear Parishioners,

As of this writing, the structure of the tabernacle for our Adoration Chapel has been completed by Dick Zahniser, and the final touches are being put on the icons which were the labor and prayer of Pati Sorge.  Once the tabernacle is ready (which may be the case by the time this go to press), we will install it immediately.

Why have we built a tabernacle for the Adoration Chapel you might ask?  Well, it is very simple.  Sometimes, people on the schedule for adoration are late and even sometimes miss their slot, leaving the person assigned for the hour prior to them in a dilemma.  Should they stay or go?  Often people have stayed an extra hour and even sometime two extra hours.  Also when there is a need for a substitute and one cannot be found, Rex Titus has personally taken their spot, a saintly thing to do, but something that nobody should ever have to do.  So, with the installation of the tabernacle a person can simply close the doors at the end of their hour of adoration and leave if the next person didn’t show up.  Once the next person arrives, they simply approach the tabernacle and open the doors.  Of course the recommended gesture prior to approaching the tabernacle with the Blessed Sacrament is that of a simple genuflection.  

With this new tabernacle installed, a whole lot of stress will be taken off Rex and his successor in the process of keeping the chapel open 24-7 for our community.  Please keep your eyes peeled to the bulletin for more information about the tabernacle’s icons and their meaning and purpose.  Thank you Pati for your iconographic skills and Dick Zahnizer for the construction of the tabernacle.  It has been a long process, but one that has been a labor and prayer of love.  Thank you!


Blessings,


Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor