Rev. Ron Nelson, Pastor 
Click Here for Fr. Ron’s presentation on the Kerygma.
Calling all men! Check out this wonderful video series: Into the Breach!
This is a video series (with study guides) sponsored by the Knights of Columbus inspired by the Apostolic Exhortation for Catholic men written by Bishop Olmsted of Phoenix to addresses the question of what it means to be a man and how to live as a man in today’s world. Click Here to access this wonderful resource.
Pope Francis has instituted the World day for Grandparents and the Elderly
PRAYER FOR THE FIRST WORLD DAY FOR GRANDPARENTS AND THE ELDERLY
I thank You, Lord, for the comfort of Your presence: even in times of loneliness, You are my hope and my confidence, You have been my rock and my fortress since my youth!
I thank You for having given me a family and for having blessed me with a long life. I thank You for moments of joy and difficulty, for the dreams that have already come true in my life and for those that are still ahead of me. I thank You for this time of renewed fruitfulness to which You call me.
Increase, O Lord, my faith, make me a channel of your peace, teach me to embrace those who suffer more than me, to never stop dreaming and to tell of your wonders to new generations.
Protect and guide Pope Francis and the Church, that the light of the Gospel might reach the ends of the earth. Send Your Spirit, O Lord, to renew the world, that the storm of the pandemic might be calmed, the poor consoled and wars ended.
Sustain me in weakness and help me to live life to the full in each moment that You give me, in the certainty that you are with me every day, even until the end of the age.
Amen.
It is NFP (Natural Family Planning) awareness week. (for July 25-30, 2021).
Click here for some resources from the USCCB website.
Click here for some courses through Northwest Family Services.
1st Friday of Lent 2021 – The “Equality Act”
(continued from Home Page)
The supporters of the act have brilliantly named the legislation: “Equality act” … who can have anything against equality? But it isn’t all about equality. You see, it is a Trojan horse. It looks and sounds great on the outside, but inside it is filled with war. The effects of this act will be far reaching. It denies natural law. And it is going to discriminate against religious institutions and an individual’s right to live according to his or her conscience.
My heart is heavy because here are some of the far-reaching consequences:
Medical professions will be affected. It will force hospitals and insurers to provide and pay for biological transition therapies.
Catholic hospitals will be forced to perform hysterectomies on otherwise healthy women who want to become male. There will be other drastic procedures as well. We can imagine the consequences for those who object.
Parents will be forced to allow their children with gender dysphoria to use puberty-blocking drugs and cross-sex hormones, and even transition surgery. The very rights of parents will be taken away from them to do what is best for their children; children, who are not yet fully intellectually, morally, psychologically, physically, and sexually matured, will be allowed to make permanent and life-changing decisions for themselves, with “special interest groups” urging them on.
Already there is censorship going on: The book: “When Harry became Sally” shows some of the harm cause by some of the public policies on gender identity, was removed from Amazon … nowhere to be found.
Psychologists and counselors will be, if not already are, prohibited from helping a person by going to the root of the problem – accepting themselves the way they are, the way that they were made.
There are other far-reaching effects we can imagine for adoption agencies and schools. Making it illegal to support and uphold and teach that biological sex has everything to do with one’s gender identity.
Any kind of protection for an individual’s conscientious objection is being systematically dismantled. Our religious freedom is on the line. The family, as the smallest fundamental unit of society, is under attack.
Common sense, the natural law, and the very reality of what it means to be human are being denied. We have one more instance of sin being legislated into law. Our first reading gives us a sober warning of the dangers of sin. How are we to speak the truth when the truth is being defined as discrimination? How are we able to turn the sinner away from his sin, when sin is being defined as equality? Confusion is being sown all throughout society.
Well, Father, you are painting a pretty bleak picture. Where is the Good News? The Good News is that that Church still stands as a bulwark against these dangerous ideologies. The Church still stand as a light, holding up the truth about what it means to be human. The Church still stands as the one protecting what has been revealed by God. The Church is the ship navigating the storms of life with Christ at the head of the boat.
I am calling on all Christians to pray and fast as this legislation moves to the senate. Contact your representatives. As our Gospel reminds us: We answer to a higher court. This legislation will cause untold harm.
We believe in the efficacy of prayer, so we lay all of these things are the foot of the Cross.
Fr Ron Nelson, Pastor
Links: The Equality Act (H.R. 5) at Congress.gov
Contact your Oregon Senators
Stewardship Report 2019-2020 (Haga clic aquí para ver en español)
Note: Paper reports and PDF version of the report will be available the weekend of Dec. 5-6
Click here to access a PDF version of the 2019-2020 Annual Stewardship Report
October 3, 2020
It is almost time to vote
Dear Parishioners: I want to take the opportunity to provide you with some resources on how to discern well for your voting. We recognize that our faith cannot be divorced from how we vote; in fact, our faith plays and important part in helping us to vote. So, here are are some resources to assist you:
Introductory letter for Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.
Document: Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.
I know that you have busy lives, so here are bulletin inserts that give a more focused view:
Summary of the Gospel of Life: Gospel of Life Insert. Haga clic aquí para español.
Priority at the polls document: Priority at the Polls. Haga clic aquí para español.
Document on serving moms in need: living out the Gospel of Life: Serving Moms in Need Haga clic aquí para español.
February 13, 2020
Eucharistic Desecration —
Profanación-de-la-Eucaristía
Parishioners: We have been finding Consecrated Hosts on the floor in the Church. We have reviewed our security of footage but have been unable to determine who is responsible.
Please read Fr. Ron’s letter, inserted in the February 23 Bulletin, addressed to everyone’s attention regarding this serious matter of desecration of the Sacred Host and its consequences. Available here in English and Spanish.
August 18, 2019
“Mass Intentions” Special Letter to Parishioners
Have you ever wondered how Mass Intentions are scheduled? How does the Church decide whose names should be published in the Sunday Bulletin? Fr. Ron has addressed these questions and more in a letter that was inserted in the August 18th St. Mary bulletin.
Abortion-related Homily for 8th Sunday in OT 2018
Several parishioners have requested a copy of my homily in which I spoke about recent Abortion related legislation. Click HERE for a copy of that homily.
An Important Message from our Shepherd, Archbishop Sample, on the Crisis Scandal:
Messages regarding Clergy Abuse Scandal in the Church
Some talking points for parents to their children in the midst of the latest abuse crisis in the Church:
Dear parents of St. Mary: We know that you and perhaps your children have many questions regarding the recent charges of abuse by clergy in the Church that have recently come to light. The following is an effort to supply some points that you might discuss with your children when they have questions:
Some might be wondering: Why is this happening again? Didn’t we just go through this in 2002?
I do not in any way want to minimize how terrible these cases of abuse are, but keep in mind that context is important. It is important to understand that our Church is divided up into geographical areas. The United States is divide up into dioceses and Archdioceses. In our geographical area of the Archdiocese of Portland, we went through our own abuse crisis in 2002. This crisis made manifest the many cases of abuse that happened in our own Archdiocese over about a 70 year period. All the records were opened to courts and there was an open invitation to anyone who was a victim of abuse to contact the courts and the Archdiocese. All of our dirty laundry, so to speak, is out there. Our crisis has happened, and regulations were implemented in order to insure the safety our youth.
Some of these other geographical areas (diocese and archdiocese) in the United States have not gone through this same scrutiny that we have in the Archdiocese of Portland, and that is what we are seeing now. This is not a new crop of clergy abusers. Think of this as an extension of what happened to us in 2002. Some of those cases go back perhaps 70 years.
There is a very good article on the psychology today website by Thomas G. Plante Ph.D., ABPP entitled “Separating Facts about Clergy Abuse from Fiction.”1 He makes some important points in order to keep things in perspective. Although this is an emotionally charged topic, it is important to separate fact from fiction. Dr. Plante lays out four important facts to keep in mind:
- No empirical data suggests that Catholic clerics sexually abuse minors at a level higher than clerics from other religious traditions or from other groups of men who have ready access and power over children (e.g., school teachers, coaches).
- Clerical celibacy doesn’t cause pedophilia and sexual crimes against minors.
- Homosexual clerics aren’t the cause of pedophilia in the Church.
- The Church has used best practices to deal with the issue since 2002.
Dr. Plante goes on to say: “The Catholic Church in 2002 put in place best practices in child protection that are clearly working.” So, I encourage you to read the article yourself which is in the footnotes below.
So this hopefully gives you some background in order to keep things in their proper context. So here is a recommendation of how you might speak to your younger children at an appropriate level: You might just say to your child: “Don’t worry, right now God is cleaning out the Church, and allowing things to be known so that we can better protect the children.”
What are we doing to insure the safety of our children? In our Archdiocese, as alluded to above, we have implemented the Dallas charter put together by the USCCB (the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops). It is from this charter that we have implemented the background checks and the mandatory videos for clergy, parents, volunteers for “Called to Protect” training. It seems to me that few organizations today are currently using such means as rigorously to ensure the protection of our children. We are all working to be part of the solution to wider systemic problem in our society.
What other things should we do to protect our children? You as parents, have an important role, and should let your children know that they can tell you anything. Create an environment where your children feel safe to tell you if anyone has made them feel uncomfortable. I encourage you to look at the talking points in the link below in the footnote. This is from the Committee for Children from CFChildren.org.2
In Christ,
Rev. Ronald Nelson
1. //www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/do-the-right-thing/201808/separating-facts-about-clergy-abuse-fiction
2. //www.cfchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/resources/child-abuse-prevention/hct-conversation-guide.pdf
Other Messages regarding the Clergy Abuse Scandal
Read Fr. Ron’s letter in response to the revelations concerning Cardinal McCarrick and the abuse of minors at the hands of clergy in Pennsylvania.
Pope Francis’ letter about the abuse scandal:
Archbishop Sample’s response:
Archbishop Alexander Sample’s Homily – Healing Mass August 26th
Listen online or download a personal copy from a selection of resolutions.
Diocese of Baker Bishop Cary’s response:
August 14 USCCB Response to PA Grand Jury report:
Click here to read the joint statement by Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo and Bishop Timothy L. Doherty.
USCCB Justice for Immigrants
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement condemning the current US immigration policy by which children are being separated from their parents when they try to enter the country illegally. Read the statement made by the bishops and the letter they addressed to Congress. In addition, USCCB has created a document, 5 Ways You Can Stop Family Separation, available for download as a PDF.
Weekday Prayer Service instead of Communion Service
Read Fr. Ron’s letter on the changes pertaining to weekday communion services. The letter outlines the Archbishop’s directive regarding Communion Services being no longer permitted when a priest is not available to offer weekday Mass.
The Office of Divine Worship has created a Weekday Prayer Service booklet for the faithful to use when they gather to pray together. The booklets are available in the church when Prayer Services are held.
Kneeling after the Lamb of God: New Archdiocesan Guidelines for Mass
From Archbishop Sample:
“A more reverent celebration of the Eucharist will be aided by the faithful kneeling after the Lamb of God. By kneeling at that time, the faithful prepare for the moment when the priest presents to them the Sacrificed Lamb.”
Though it officially goes into effect June 3, Fr. Ron would like us to start the practice the weekend of May 5th. See Fr. Ron’s letter in the April 29 Bulletin for more details.
New Guidelines for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
New Archdiocesan guidelines for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC) went into effect June 3, 2018. All EMHCs have now been trained in the new guidelines and have signed an EHMC Agreement. Those who have not been trained under the new guidelines are no longer able to participate in this ministry. This is a very important ministry in the Parish and we want to be sure that each EMHC is ready to follow the Archbishop’s lead.