T H E M A G A Z I N E O F T H E C AT H O L I C C H U R C H I N W E S T E R N WA S H I N G T O N

DECEMBER 2017 N WC AT H O L I C . O R G
VOL . 5 NO. 10

Why
Marian dogmas?
What the church’s teachings tell us about Mary,
about Jesus, and about ourselves

YOUR FAMILY MATTERS NOROESTE CATÓLICO CATHOLIC VOICES

The power of the El origen del Belén Alone on Christmas?
Theology of the Body o nacimiento Go to Mass!
PAGE 14 PÁGINAS 24–27 PAGE 30
2 Northwest Catholic  |  December 2017  |  NWCatholic.org
CONTENTS

In this issue
16

Master of the St. Lucy Legend, Mary, Queen of Heaven, National Gallery of Art
4 FROM THE ARCHBISHOP
The indignities of the
first Christmas

5 CATECHISM CORNER
Celebrating the mystery of
the Incarnation
SAINT OF THE MONTH
A Holy Roman Empress who
cared for the poor

6 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Encouraging Hispanic
Catholics to be parish leaders

8 THE FAITHFUL SERVANT

Like the Christ Child in
the manger, let down your
defenses

20 10 10 A CATHOLIC HOME
A comforting braise to
celebrate the coming of
Christ

12 ASK A BISHOP
What on earth is the
Courtesy CCSWW

kerygma?

Angela Kim
14 YOUR FAMILY MATTERS
The transformative power of
the Theology of the Body

Noroeste Católico 12 16 KNOW YOUR FAITH

What the church’s Marian
dogmas tell us about Mary,
24 DEL ARZOBISPO
Las contrariedades
Jesus and ourselves

de la primera Navidad 20 100 YEARS OF CARING

Catholic social teaching
25 RINCÓN DEL is the heart of Catholic
Shutterstock

CATECISMO Community Services

El misterio de la
Encarnación 28 NEWS AND EVENTS
Ways to prepare for
SANTA DEL MES Christmas, marriage and

26 DEL
Sta. Adelaida
OBISPO 30 confirmation

Navidad hoy 29 STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

From Seton Catholic and
27 PALABRA
SEMILLAS DE LA Kennedy Catholic

El origen del Belén 30 CATHOLIC VOICES

Why spending Christmas
Gabrielle Nolan

o nacimiento alone turned out OK

NWCATHOLIC.ORG | 206-382-4850 | EDITOR@SEATTLEARCH.ORG

PUBLISHER Most Reverend J. Peter Sartain, Archbishop of Seattle | ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/EDITOR Greg
Magnoni | ASSISTANT EDITOR Kevin Birnbaum | PRESENTATION EDITOR Ellen Bollard | MULTIMEDIA
EDITOR Anna Weaver | FEATURES EDITOR Jean Parietti | ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Keri Hake | ADVERTISING
The Magazine of the Catholic Church in Western Washington
SALES REPRESENTATIVE Ron Anderson | GRAPHIC DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Janis Olson | CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Copyright 2017
Sarah Bartel, Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, Angela Kim, Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg, Gabrielle Nolan,
December 2017 • Vol. 5 No. 10 Deacon Eric Paige, Mauricio I. Pérez, Mark Shea | COVER ARTWORK National Gallery of Art

Northwest Catholic (USPS 011-490) is published by Catholic Archbishop of Seattle, Archbishop J. Peter Sartain. Periodicals postage paid at
Seattle, WA, and at additional mailing offices. Northwest Catholic is a membership publication of the Archdiocese of Seattle, 710 Ninth Ave.,
Seattle, WA 98104. Published monthly except for combined issues: December and July/August. Subscription rates are $30 per year.
Individual issues are $3. Send all subscription information and address changes to: Northwest Catholic, 710 Ninth Ave., Seattle, WA 98104,
206-382-4850 or circulation@seattlearch.org. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Northwest Catholic, 710 Ninth Ave., Seattle, WA
98104. ©2017 Northwest Catholic, Archdiocese of Seattle.

3
 FROM THE ARCHBISHOP ( E N E S PA Ñ O L : PÁ G I N A 2 4 )

Shutterstock
The indignities of the first Christmas

Shutterstock
I t’s hard to imagine that there was sufferings sure to come his way. Not only was he
to fulfill the law — he was to fulfill it perfectly, so
once a time when one man, simply that it could be surpassed by a new one.
by decree, could order a census of the Luke gives another hint at Jesus’ mission as he
whole world. recounts what the angel said to the shepherds:
Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim
It’s hard to imagine that there was a time when,
to you good news of great joy that will
hearing such a decree, every man, woman and
be for all the people. For today in the city
child would gather their belongings and travel to
of David a savior has been born for you
the hometown of their ancestors to be enrolled.
ARCHBISHOP who is Messiah and Lord. And this will
No doubt there was grumbling and resistance, J. PETER SARTAIN be a sign for you: you will find an infant
and not a few folks who hid from the census
wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying
obligation, but most of the world obeyed.
in a manger. (Luke 2:10-12)
Can you imagine what it must have been like? Families
had to leave the places they had come to regard as home The Savior was “to you” and “for all the people” and “for
and go to the towns of their ancestors to take part in this you” — everything about him was to be a gift of love, a
census. It was not just a matter of packing for a simple trip: sacrifice, “for you” — that is, “for us.”
Provision had to be made for their animals while they were Perhaps this point will be clearer if we think of the words
away; for their homes and businesses; for their sick family Jesus spoke at the Last Supper, the very words we repeat in
members. Packing food and clothing would have been a every Mass:
major undertaking — and it had to be carried by man, “This is my body, which will be given up for you.”
woman, or animal, on the most wearisome of journeys. “This is the cup of my blood. … It will be shed for you.”
Some people would have had to take to dusty desert roads, This Advent and Christmas, let’s picture Mary and Joseph
such as they were, and no doubt others would have had to undergoing the hardship of the census journey for us. How
take to ships and cross the sea to reach their family place. many times have you made such a journey — gone out of
Can you imagine? Gathering your family, leaving your your way, borne hardships and anxieties — out of love for
home, and going to your ancestors’ place of birth … just for family and friends? Certainly you have done such a thing.
a census? Mary pondered, and Joseph wondered trustingly, as they
And can you imagine making such a trip if you were made that hard journey … humble, like their Son, following
pregnant, or if your wife was pregnant? What anxieties the law with its hardships and indignities.
would have flooded your mind? What physical discomforts? This was only the beginning, of course. As the years
What resentments? Who does Caesar Augustus think he is, would pass, Jesus would reveal what his new law was all
issuing such a ridiculous decree? about, just how far he would go “for us.”
And most unimaginable of all, can you picture Mary and Perhaps as Christmas approaches, it’s helpful to stop and
Joseph on this census journey, she having been told by an reflect on how they made that rough journey in wonder and
angel and he having been told in a dream that she was to worry, how no one had room for them, how Jesus was born
give birth to the Savior of the world? Yet off they went, from in a stable among the farm animals, and how Mary and
Nazareth to Bethlehem, the Savior of the world obeying the Joseph finally drifted off to fitful sleep on beds of hay. And it
decree of an earthly emperor. is helpful to stop and reflect that they endured all this for us.
Recounting this story, St. Luke teaches something critical The mighty Caesar Augustus, who claimed he was divine,
about Jesus: that from his conception, he subjected himself ruled by decree. Jesus, the Son of God, showed us from the
to human and Mosaic law and took part in every human beginning a different reign, another way to rule: by love, and
experience, except for sin. Though he was the Son of God, love alone. Ω
he did not exempt himself from such laws, or from the Send your prayer intentions to Archbishop Sartain’s Prayer List,
discomforts of traveling for a census, or from even greater Archdiocese of Seattle, 710 Ninth Ave., Seattle, WA 98104.

4 Northwest Catholic  |  December 2017  |  NWCatholic.org

C AT E C H I S M C O R N E R | S A I N T O F T H E M O N T H ( E N E S PA Ñ O L : PÁ G I N A 2 5 )

CATECHISM CORNER
At Christmas the church celebrates the birth of Jesus and
the mystery of the Incarnation. What does that mean?
Celebrate
461 Taking up St. John’s expression, “The Word
became flesh,” (John 1:14) the Church calls “Incarnation”
the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature in
order to accomplish our salvation in it. In a hymn cited by
St. Paul, the Church sings the mystery of the Incarnation:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in
Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did
not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but
emptied himself, taking the form of a
servant, being born in the likeness of
men. And being found in human form
he humbled himself and became
obedient unto death, even death
on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)
463 Belief in the
true Incarnation of
the Son of God is the

Christmas Mass
distinctive sign of
Christian faith. …

Excerpt from the English translation of the Catechism of during the night with Archbishop J. Peter Sartain
the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America.
Copyright 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. —
Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.
Broadcast at midnight, Christmas Eve, on KING 5 TV
Live at St. James Cathedral at 10 pm

St. Adelaide
Holy Roman
Empress cared
Tracy L. Christianson, portraitsofsaints.com

for the poor

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5
 I N C A S E YO U M I S S E D I T

Danica Delosreyes
Stephen Brashear
Hispanic Catholics encouraged to be
Candlelight service leaders in their parishes
marks 129 years in Nearly 200 members of the Archdiocese of Seattle’s Hispanic communities
newly expanded gathered Oct. 14 for a day of fellowship, reflection and conversation
Enumclaw cemetery as part of the V Encuentro process. “We recognize that the Hispanic
community among us is a blessing from God,” Archbishop J. Peter Sartain
In a tradition dating to 1889, said in Spanish as he welcomed the participants. Encuentro (Spanish for
members of Sacred Heart Parish in “encounter”) is an initiative of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in
Enumclaw placed candles on every response to the growing Hispanic community in the United States. Auxiliary
grave at Holy Family Cemetery at Bishop Eusebio Elizondo said the Hispanic community must be responsible
Krain on the evening of All Saints’ for helping parishes, and he noted the need for bilingual or Spanish-speaking
Day, Nov. 1. The cemetery, which staff at parishes. He encouraged participants to keep going and growing,
originally served a parish closed in noting that even when Jesus’ apostles worked slowly, they persevered. “The
the 1940s, was recently renovated main result of the Encounter is for you to be leaders,” he said. “If not, it will be
and added 150 new burial plots. just a nice event, and then goodbye.” Read more in the local news section at
Read more at NWCatholic.org. NWCatholic.org, where you’ll also find stories like these:
• When the Kelso High School Hilanders had home football games this fall, the
Knights of Columbus at next door Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish fired up
the grill for pre-game “tailgate” dinners, raising funds to help local youth.
• More than 200 parishioners, family and friends turned out to thank Kathy
Riley for her 38 years of service to Bellevue’s St. Louise de Marillac
Parish, where she helped adults rekindle their faith, families mourn the death
of loved ones, and the recently divorced maintain their connection to the
church.

QUOTABLE
“Advent is a time for encounter
Courtesy Theresa Lirette

between the old and the new, between

promise and fulfilment, between our
insufficiency and God’s fullness. It’s
Nurses take the pulse of the season for recalling the perfect fit
physical, spiritual needs made possible as God poured forth his
in their parishes love in Jesus Christ. It’s the opportunity
Nurse Dana Castro provides foot
care for community member Cliff
for joyfully rediscovering our need for
Waetze at a health event at Sacred salvation.”
Heart Parish in Lacey. Castro is a
faith community nurse for Sacred ARCHBISHOP J. PETER SARTAIN, from his
book An Advent Pilgrimage: Preparing Our
Heart as well as St. Michael Parish Hearts for Jesus
in Olympia. Similar health ministries
are now active at an estimated 80 IN MEMORIAM
Visit NWCatholic.org and pages
parishes around the archdiocese.
28–29 for more news and events. Providence Sister Lois Murray, Oct. 5
Read more at NWCatholic.org.

6 Northwest Catholic  |  December 2017  |  NWCatholic.org

Cornerstone conference calls Catholics
to work for life and justice issues
By Morningstar Stevenson
TACOMA – More than 1,000
Catholics were called to a new
way of seeing their faith and their
neighbors during the Cornerstone
Catholic Conference Oct. 20–21.
“Oftentimes we pick and choose
our neighbors based on how
comfortable we are,” said Ralph
McCloud, director of the U.S.
bishops’ anti-poverty Catholic
Campaign for Human Development.
Instead, he said, Catholics need
to go outside their comfort
zone, asking not just, “Who is my
neighbor?” but also, “What does my
neighbor need?”
Sponsored by the Washington
State Catholic Conference,
Cornerstone drew Catholics of all
ages from around the state to hear

Janis Olson
prominent Catholic speakers and
their bishops talk about pro-life and
social justice issues, from the death
Bishop Robert Barron poses for a selfie with Diana Jorda (left), pastoral
penalty and supporting single moms,
assistant for youth and young adult ministry at St. Anthony Parish in Renton,
to immigration and human dignity.
and Celyn Albino, of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish in Tacoma, at the
“Our responsibility to care for all
Cornerstone Catholic Conference Oct. 21.
God’s people springs from our faith,”
Archbishop J. Peter Sartain said Catholics who are concerned with broken up,” Bishop Elizondo said
in his opening remarks on Friday social justice issues and those who in an interview. “Every single time
night. “These two days are about advocate for family and marriage we don’t raise our voice,” he said,
discipleship,” he said. “Once we’ve issues. “people will think it’s OK.”
been formed, we can go forth.” “The changes that take effect in During a session where Archbishop
One of the conference’s big draws the world start in the sanctuary,” Sartain and the state’s four other
was Bishop Robert Barron, an he said. The Mass brings together bishops spoke about life and justice
auxiliary bishop of the Los Angeles people from different backgrounds issues, Yakima Bishop Joseph Tyson
Archdiocese who is well-known for and walks of life to worship together, highlighted the Prepares program
his Word on Fire ministry. he said, a reflection of the community that was introduced at the first
The Mass, Bishop Barron told those being called out from the world into a Cornerstone conference, in 2014.
gathered, is key in bringing together “whole new way of being.” An initiative of the bishops,
Discipleship and the Christian call Prepares supports families in need
to love all people, at all stages of life, from pregnancy to the child’s fifth
were recurring themes of the two- birthday. Today, Prepares has more
day conference. than 700 volunteers in 113 parishes
“We have the radical and beautiful across the state, serving some 5,000
imperative to give every person families, Bishop Tyson said.
you meet that look of love you “We’re privileged to walk the
crave,” said Friday keynote speaker journey with these women,” he said,
Helen Alvaré, a law professor and “because they are helping us to
consultant to the U.S. bishops’ pro- become the persons God meant us
life committee. to be.”
Advocating for immigrants was In an interview, Archbishop Sartain
Janis Olson

the topic of several speakers, expressed the hope that those

including Seattle Auxiliary Bishop attending Cornerstone “will be
Camille Pauley, president and CEO of Eusebio Elizondo. “Every day we motivated in whatever they feel called
Healing the Culture, with the state’s delay in advocating for immigrants to. The simplest of involvement can
bishops at the Cornerstone Catholic and refugees, they are dying in still have a profound impact,” he said.
Conference Oct.21. the desert and families are being Read more at NWCatholic.org. Ω

7
 T H E FA I T H F U L S E R VA N T

The vulnerability of God

Like the Christ Child in the manger, let down your defenses

S t. Francis of Assisi responded to

our Lord’s command, “Rebuild
my church,” by traveling far and wide
done things we shouldn’t have, and this leads to
hurt feelings. This is where our temptation to be
self-serving can work against us.
There are situations, such as abuse and addic-
proclaiming the Gospel. During a tion, that require us to act in self-preservation to
pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Francis protect ourselves or the ones we love. However,
there are many, many times when we compromise
was deeply moved by the humble our relationships with those we love out of a desire
circumstances of Jesus’ birth. When he to protect our self-image. Someone said something
DEACON that embarrassed or upset us and now we don’t
returned to Italy in 1223, he organized ERIC PAIGE want to go to their house for a Christmas party.
a live Nativity scene in Greccio. Francis Or maybe we did or said something that, in our hearts, we
used the scene to communicate how, when the know we shouldn’t have. Now we feel awkward going to a
author of creation came to dwell among us, he party because we know that the person we have wronged is
came as a child utterly vulnerable and defenseless, going to be there.
This is where we need to take a look at the Nativity scene
resting in a manger — a feeding trough for and follow our Lord’s example. Like the father who joyfully
animals. embraces the prodigal son before he can offer an apology,
Jesus takes the initiative to restore his relationship with us
We shouldn’t let the familiarity of this part of the Nativity without any assurance that we will respond well. That’s the
story deprive it of its astonishing power. From the manger to only way that wrongs are made right and relationships are
the cross, Christ communicates the depth of his love through restored. Someone must be vulnerable, acting first without an
expressions of vulnerability rather than power. assurance that the other party will be gracious in response.
Whether we’re talking about the first century or today, In many ways, this is the spirit of Christmas: a willingness
our Lord’s way of approaching us in vulnerability contrasts to approach God and one another in the same way that Jesus
sharply with our human tendencies. Fear makes us averse to came to us. There is no assurance that others will respond
vulnerability. So does the desire to impress. well to our vulnerability. If we admit we don’t know an
At work, our aversion to vulnerability makes us want to answer at work, a know-it-all colleague might give us a hard
present ourselves in the best possible light. We want people time. But he would probably do that regardless. If we apolo-
to think we know the answer, even if we don’t. We want gize to a family member for something we did wrong, our
to avoid the blame for mistakes or bad outcomes. Though apology might be rejected. We haven’t really lost anything,
understandable, these anxieties can lead us to some pretty though. She was mad at us before and she’s mad at us now.
unproductive behavior. Failing to acknowledge that we don’t All we lost was a little of our self-regard. We could all do
know the answer prevents us from asking the questions that with a little less of that.
help to learn the answer. Similarly, a failure to recognize In contrast, what we could gain by accepting vulnerability
when we made a mistake can damage our relationships with and doing the right thing is of great value. Genuine, hon-
co-workers who know we did something wrong and want to est conversations in the workplace that lead us to be better
know why we won’t just admit it. workers and colleagues. Restored relationships with those
This human tendency toward defensiveness can prove even we love. Those are rewards well worth the risk. Ω
more costly in our relationships with family and friends. Deacon Eric Paige is the Archdiocese of Seattle’s executive
The Christmas season is a great time to be together. Unfor- director for evangelization, formation and discipleship. Contact
tunately, every family has problems. Real problems. We’ve him at eric.paige@seattlearch.org.

St. James Cathedral, M. Laughlin

8 Northwest Catholic  |  December 2017  |  NWCatholic.org

C at holic Communit y Serv ices
C at hol ic Housing Serv i ces
of W e s t e r n Wa shin g ton

9
 A C AT H O L I C H O M E

Advent and the power of patience

A comforting braise to celebrate the coming of Christ

A dvent sneaks up on me every year, patience and waiting — from braising.

Braising is an ancient technique of slowly cook-
embraces me in its quiet stillness and ing tough cuts of meats and vegetables in liquid
invites me to wait patiently with Mary over modest heat, resulting in tender, succulent
for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. and supremely comforting foods. It is an exercise
of patience and faith, coaxing things raw, fibrous
In the season’s sudden embrace I am at once and difficult to their supple and yielding potential,
a child gently tethered to the apron of our Holy in hope and anticipation of something glorious. It
Mother as she kneads, stirs and fans the embers is worthwhile and beautiful work.
for cooking. Under Mary’s loving gaze, the glut- ANGELA KIM Celebratory and special, a thoughtful braise
tony of Thanksgiving gives way to remorse and would make a welcome main course to share with
resolve, and constant busyness yields to mindful loved ones before Christmas Eve Mass, or for
waiting and joyful preparation. Christmas dinner with sparkling company.
In the kitchen, sheltered from the rain and chill that have I wish you joyful cooking and happy eating! Ω
encamped for the winter, my gastronomic senses seek the Angela Kim is a chef and a member of Seattle’s Blessed
savory comforting deep flavors and textures that are born of Sacrament Parish.

Cabernet-braised Cover pan with lid or tight-

beef shoulder fitting foil and transfer to the
oven for 2 to 2½ hours, or
2 tablespoons olive oil
until beef is tender. Remove
 ½ pounds beef
3 lid and return to oven for 20
shoulder roast to 30 minutes, or until brown
salt and pepper and braising liquid is slightly
thickened. Transfer to a deep
2 onions
dish for serving and garnish
2 carrots with parsley.
2 celery stalks
5 large cloves garlic
Kitchen notes
2 rosemary sprigs Choose a handsome roast
with nice shape and body,
5 thyme sprigs good marbling and a modest
2 bay leaves layer of fat on the outside.
Feel free to render chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
bacon before adding the
1 cup (or glass) red wine vegetables, sauté an anchovy
 cups beef, chicken
3 filet or two (you won’t taste
or vegetable stock it, but it will add a wonderful
umami element), caramelize
Angela Kim

 cup flat-leaf parsley,

¼
the vegetables for longer until
hand-torn to garnish
deeply brown. You may also
Preheat oven to 350 supplement beer for wine.
degrees. Set rack in the lower third position. A braised roast would be perfectly situated atop
Heat olive oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan over mashed potatoes with garlic and cream, slow-ovened
medium-high to high heat. Season the beef with salt polenta with pecorino Romano, steaming pasta tossed
and pepper and sear in the hot pan, turning once, 9 in brown butter, or whatever you prefer to soak up the
to 12 minutes or so. Transfer to a plate. braising sauce.
Chop the onion, carrot and celery into ½-inch In our house, we enjoy pairing a savory braise with
crosswise pieces and add to the pan. Cook over clean honest flavors like crisp bitter greens with bits of
medium-high heat for 7 minutes, stirring occasion- fresh citrus and shaved fennel, lightly dressed in olive
ally, until vegetables start to become tender. oil and champagne vinegar. Or we might roast parsnips,
Gently crush garlic using the palm of your hand carrots and Brussels sprouts with a good pinch of salt
on a flat surface and add to the pan, along with the and a shower of fresh herbs and garlic, finished with a
rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, tomato paste and red lacy drizzle of wild honey. A salty smoky cheese and
wine. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and let juicy ripe pear are a lovely start to any occasion, and
wine reduce slightly. Return beef to the pan, add you can never go wrong with a finale of dark chocolate
beef stock, and quickly bring to a simmer. anything.
10 Northwest Catholic  |  December 2017  |  NWCatholic.org
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N W C A T H O L I C . O R G | M A R C H 2 0 1 7 | V O L. 5 N O. 2 N WC AT H O L I C . O R G JUNE 2017 | VOL . 5 NO. 5 N WC AT H O L I C . O R G

SEPTEMBER 2017
VO L. 5 N O. 7

Faith,
Family,
Football
Q-and-A with Seattle
Seahawks tight end
Luke Willson

Portrait of Ordinations AS K A B I S H O P

COMPASSION
Bishop Mueggenborg

2017
answers: What are the
F R O M TH E A R CH BI S H O P How an athlete, an ‘gnostic gospels’?
This Lent, surrender engineer, a punk and a PAG E 1 2
to God’s mercy in the huge nerd became the
Seattle nurse Mary Larson honors
sacrament of penance
her homeless patients with portraits Archdiocese of Seattle’s YO U R FA M I LY M AT T E R S
PAG E 4 Parents beware: A pervasive
next four priests
toxin is attacking our kids
PI L L A R S O F L ENT PAG E 1 4
Practical weekly
suggestions for prayer, N O R O E ST E CATÓ L I CO
fasting and almsgiving La gran paradoja: Tener
PAG E 2 2 menos por querer tener más
PÁG I N AS 2 8 –3 1
NO R O ESTE CATÓ L I CO F R O M THE ARCHBISHOP NE W BISHOP NOROE STE CATÓLICO
La discreción nos permite Saying ‘Yes’ to God Q-and-A with Bishop Postgrados en el Espíritu
vivir una cuaresma en PAGE 4 Mueggenborg PÁGINAS 36–39
intimidad con Dios PAGE 22
PÁG I NAS 24–27

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Archdiocese of Seattle primarily through tuition
Fulcrum Foundation | 710 Ninth Avenue | Seattle, WA 98104
assistance grants, school partnership grants, and
info@FulcrumFoundation.org | 206.219.5826
grants for transformational leaders.

11
 ASK A BISHOP ( E N E S PA Ñ O L : N W C AT H O L I C . O R G )

Spirit into our hearts so that we can

be formed as his mystical body in the
communion of the church where he
continues to speak his word to us and
to feed us with his very self (body and
blood) in the Eucharist.
The forces of sin and death no longer
have the last word for those who accept
and respond to what Jesus has done for
us in God’s plan of salvation. Rather,
Christians who share fully in the life of
grace are drawn deeply into an eternal
communion of life and love with the
Father, through the Son, and in the
Holy Spirit.
That’s a very powerful message! And
it is a message we must accept and
respond to.
We accept and experience that mes-
sage through the sacraments, especially
baptism. We regularly accept that mes-

kerygma?
sage through the profession of the creed
and the reception of Communion at
What is the

Shutterstock
Mass. Saying “Yes” to the message of
Jesus’ death and resurrection reorients
our entire life in every possible way. This

Q
reorientation of life is called conversion.
 Every now and then I’ll hear someone use the word Responding to the message of Jesus’
  kerygma, but I’ve never really understood what it means. death and resurrection can be chal-
So, what is the kerygma? lenging because there are enormous

A
implications for our lives, which Paul
Many Catholics are not familiar with the term kerygma, speaks well about in his letters to the
and so they can be perplexed when they see or hear it. early Christians.
 Kerygma is a Greek term that basically means “preaching” Accepting and responding to a new
and is used to describe the content of the apostolic message life in the Risen Christ has moral impli-
of Jesus. St. Paul reminds us in Romans 10:14 that preaching is cations as we are called to live as Chil-
essential for people to believe in Jesus and be saved. dren of God. Accepting and responding
to the Lordship of Jesus means that we
When Paul referred to humanity to live with him in seek and follow God’s guidance in every
preaching the kerygma, a communion of peace and decision. Living in the communion of
he was referring to a very love. the Holy Spirit as the body of Christ
specific message, not just a This original state of grace means that we are active members of the
general homily on any aspect was lost through disobedi- church who celebrate our Lord in word
of faith. Paul preached first ence which disrupted our and sacrament and become his presence
and foremost the message of communion with God and in the world as missionary disciples.
Jesus’ death and resurrection others and resulted in a state To learn more about how the death
and their saving significance. of alienation and dishar- and resurrection of Jesus (kerygma)
Paul also preached on the mony. God’s original plan should be affecting our lives every day,
response required of us in BISHOP DANIEL for our lives was obscured by I encourage you to read the letters of
order to accept and live out MUEGGENBORG the darkness of sin. Human- Paul in the New Testament. Everything
this saving action of Jesus. ity was in a fallen state from in our Catholic faith is based upon
The content of Paul’s preaching may which we could not save ourselves. this essential truth. Maybe the letters
seem simple, but it should be under- In the fullness of time, God sent his of Paul can speak to you in a new way
stood as the foundation upon which only Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Savior and help you come to a renewed ap-
everything else is based. All other from the forces of sin and death. Jesus preciation of what God has done for us
Christian teaching depends on and restored our right relationship with in Jesus and of how we experience our
flows from the truth of our Lord’s sav- God the Father through the reconcili- Lord’s life in a uniquely intense way
ing death and resurrection. ation (peace) of his cross. He opened through active participation in the life
To understand the impact of Paul’s the gates of heaven to us through of the church which leads to greater
preaching, we have to place it in the his resurrection and ascension. Jesus personal holiness. Ω
context of the larger story of salvation. reigns eternally as Lord of heaven and Daniel Mueggenborg is an auxiliary bishop
It’s important to remember that God earth with the Father and the Holy of the Archdiocese of Seattle. Send your
created the world good and intended Spirit. Moreover, he has sent his Holy questions to editor@seattlearch.org.

12 Northwest Catholic  |  December 2017  |  NWCatholic.org

 YO U R FA M I LY M AT T E R S

Vitruvian Man, Leonardo da Vinci, Luc Viatourbe

The incarnational power of the
Theology of the Body
C hristmas celebrates the gift of the
Incarnation: the Word made flesh,
God himself taking on a human body
chastity is the way to prepare to make that gift
fully and authentically.
Kristine Mauss brings the TOB message to
teens, RCIA classes, engaged couples and general
to reveal his love to us. The body is so audiences through her speaking ministry, Theol-
important in Christianity. The body ogy of the Body Northwest. “The Theology of
the Body is truly life-changing and will draw
matters. The body speaks. Its language hearts and souls closer to Christ and the Catholic
reveals to us our call to be a total self-gift Church,” she said. When people learn that sexual
in love. That is the central insight of St. SARAH BARTEL union is meant to be the body language of their
wedding vows, bonding husband and wife as well as bring-
John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, a series of ing forth new life, they understand that prohibitions against
teachings on man, woman and love which he gave artificial birth control, premarital sex, pornography and
in the early years of his pontificate. other sexual sins are not so much a “No” to the body, but a
“Yes” to its true meaning.
“The body … alone is capable of making visible what is St. John Paul II said, “If we live according to the truth of
invisible: the spiritual and the divine,” the pope wrote. In our sexuality, we fulfill the very meaning and being of our
masculinity and femininity, we discover the revelation of existence.” Kristine elaborates: “If we understand and live
God’s image, the call to authentic love, and the true meaning who we are, as created in the image of God, we fulfill who
of our sexuality. The implications of this insight have been we are as persons.”
life-changing for many. When we reflect on our sexual differentiation and ponder
I was privileged recently to catch up with two local young its meaning, we discover not only the truth of ourselves, but
women who have been teaching the Theology of the Body. also the truth about who God is. We discover our eternal
Lauren White is the head of the theology department at destiny with him. As Kristine says, “God created the union
Bishop Blanchet High School in Seattle, of man and woman to image the union of the Trinity, to
where she has recently begun offering a foreshadow our union with him in heaven.”
Theology of the Body elective. Kristine This is a high calling with the power to change the way men
Mauss is a popular speaker who has and women relate to one another. Learning to view the body
been bringing the message of the Theol- as a gift heals the damaging view of the body as an object,
ogy of the Body to parishes in Western which can leave men and women feeling empty and used.
Washington and beyond for more than “TOB has the capability to transform lives and relationships
10 years. in a way that can ultimately transform this world,” Kristine
Both women first encountered the said. “I truly believe it will be at the forefront of a new spring-
Theology of the Body through their time within the Catholic Church as we rediscover our call to
Lauren White involvement at the Newman Center at love in and through the body.” What a gift indeed! Ω
Western Washington University during Sarah Bartel, a member of St. Andrew Parish in Sumner,
their college years. holds a doctorate in moral theology and ethics from The
For Lauren, it opened her eyes to Catholic University of America, where she specialized in
what she called “the why behind the marriage, family, sexual ethics and bioethics. She blogs at
what,” the beautiful vision behind the www.drsarahbartel.com.
church’s moral code. It helped her see
church teaching about chastity before
marriage not so much as an arbitrary RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
rule to follow out of a sense of duty, Pope John Paul II, Man and Woman He Created Them:
but as a powerful witness to the truth A Theology of the Body
of the nuptial meaning of the body. Christopher West, Theology of the Body for Beginners
Kristine Mauss
If we are made as male and female so Kristine Mauss, Theology of the Body Northwest
that husband and wife can give themselves to one another (tobnw.org)
in marriage in a way that is total, faithful, fruitful and free,
14 Northwest Catholic  |  December 2017  |  NWCatholic.org
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National Galery of Art

16 Northwest Catholic   |  December 2017  |  NWCatholic.org

K N O W YO U R FA I T H
Why
Marian dogmas?
What the church’s teachings tell us about Mary,
about Jesus, and about ourselves
By Mark Shea
great deal of confusion surrounds So the Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431) reasserted the basic

A
apostolic teaching that Jesus is true God and true man —
the four Marian dogmas, not only that is, it taught 1) that Jesus had two natures (divine and
concerning the meaning of Mary, but human) united in one person, and 2) that Mary was the
also concerning the meaning of dogma. mother of that person. The math was extremely simple and
biblical: Jesus is God, and Mary is Jesus’ mother. Therefore,
Dogma does not meant the forbiddance of thought, but we ought to go on doing as we have done for centuries and
the conclusion — it’s what you get when you have thought hail her as Theotokos.
something through to the end. So, for instance, when the In short, the point about the Theotokos is that the point
question of just exactly who Jesus was arose in the fourth is not about the Theotokos, but about Jesus. And indeed,
century (archangel? little-g godlet? big-G God? something that is the pattern for every Marian dogma: The thing about
else?), the church at the Council of Nicaea looked at its Mary is that the thing is never really about Mary. Every
tradition, both written and unwritten, and stated clearly Marian dogma protects some truth crucial to understand-
what it had always believed but never expressed with perfect ing who Jesus is, and therefore who we are. For, as Pope St.
clarity: that Jesus was not a creature like an archangel, but John Paul II points out, Jesus does not just reveal the Father
“God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, to us, he reveals us to ourselves.
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father.”
The church has done the same thing over time with vari-
ous other data given to her via the written and unwritten
tradition handed down by the apostles. And that tradition
— the common life, common worship and common teach-
ing of the church — concerns not simply Jesus Christ, but
also the Blessed Virgin Mary. For she is one who, by her
freely chosen “Yes,” gave to God the Son the human flesh
by which he wrought the salvation of the world, and it is she
who is the first guardian of the faith, the icon of the church
and the model disciple.

Mother of God
That the incarnation of the Word made flesh binds Mary
to Jesus is best seen in the story of Nestorius. He was a fifth-
century bishop and theologian who disliked the fact that the
Word really and truly became flesh. Zealous for the holiness
and purity of God, he developed a theory that portrayed Je-
sus as basically two people occupying the same head. One of
them was the spiritual Logos: God the Son. The other was Peter Paul Rubens, The Virgin as the Woman of the Apocalypse,

an ordinary guy named Jesus who was more or less occupied

by the Logos as gas fills a balloon.
Accordingly, Nestorius said the man Jesus took his hu-
manity from Mary. But the Logos had nothing to do with
Mary. Therefore, Nestorius forbade the immemorial practice
of hailing Mary as Theotokos (meaning “God Bearer” or
“Mother of God”). Instead, he insisted she be called Chris-
totokos, or Christ Bearer.
The problem with this theory, as the church saw, is that
J. Paul Getty Museum

Jesus becomes unable to save us since he’s no longer the

God-Man, bearing our sins to the cross and rising to give us
his divine life. If Jesus does not share the divine nature, he
cannot share it with us.

17
 K N O W YO U R FA I T H

fact that Jesus, in his final moments of earthly life, gives the
widow Mary into John’s care — an act that makes no sense
if Jesus had siblings. (John 19:26-27)
Mary’s perpetual virginity is the extension of the Virgin
Birth, a “sign” (Isaiah 7:14) of God’s gracious love for her (and
us) and of her (and our) total consecration to God — for
Mary is, as St. Ambrose said, a “type of the church.”
Mary’s virginity bespeaks both God’s initiating power in
salvation and the purity of her consecration to him. It shows
that salvation is God’s idea, not ours, and that this is due not
to human desserts, but to God’s love that saves us despite
our sinfulness. Moreover, it testifies to something else:
Mary’s welcome of that grace (which was, itself, the fruit of
grace). As the icon of the church, she embodies the complete
love and stainless beauty of the bride of Christ just as he
embodies the complete self-offering of the bridegroom. The
virginity of Mary, as the prophet Isaiah said, is the sign that
in our Lord Emmanuel, God is with us.

Bernard van Orley, The Marriage of the Virgin,

National Gallery of Art

The perpetual virginity of Mary

Many people find the perpetual virginity of Mary incred-

Juan de Valdés, Virgin of the Immaculate Conception with Sts. Andrew and
ible. After all, James, Joseph (or Joses, depending on the
manuscript), Simon and Judas (Jude) are consistently named
as “brothers” of Jesus. But elsewhere James and Joseph are
specifically called children of “the other Mary.” (Matthew
27:61) John concurs, telling us that “Standing by the cross
of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the
wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala.” (John 19:25) That
is, James, Joseph, Jude and Simon are Jesus’ cousins, not
siblings. That’s why, as the early church historian Eusebius
records, James’ successor as bishop of Jerusalem was none John the Baptist, Louvre, Paris

other than “Symeon, son of Clopas.” In short, there’s no

there there when it comes to evidence against Mary’s per-
petual virginity.
There is, however, evidence for it.
Consider: Why does a betrothed woman like Mary marvel
at the prospect that she shall have a son? (see Luke 1) She
speaks, in fact, like a woman who had already decided to
remain a virgin throughout her life.
Joseph, likewise, behaves like a man afraid Mary’s story is The Immaculate Conception
true, not like a man who doubts her. When the angel speaks The Immaculate Conception means that “The most
to him in his dream, he does not say “Don’t suspect Mary of Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her
adultery” but “Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty
your home.” (Matthew 1:20) In short, the angel reminds Joseph God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of
that this task has been appointed to him by God, despite the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original
Joseph’s sense of unworthiness. This is also borne out by the sin.” (Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus)

18 Northwest Catholic   |  December 2017  |  NWCatholic.org

 The whole point of Christ’s salvation is to repair and glo-
rify our damaged human nature. In preserving Mary from
all sin, God has given us a sort of miniature figurine of the
church and, in turn, of the completely saved human person.
In this we see the dignity of our origins as creatures who
come from love, are redeemed completely by love, live by
love and are destined to love.
It would be wonderful to be able to say that the 19th cen-
tury understood all this and heeded it once the dogma was
formulated in 1854. But it was, tragically, not to be — neces-
sitating the most recent Marian dogma.

The Assumption
Pope Pius XII defined the dogma of the Assumption in
1950 this way: “The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever
Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life,
was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.” (Munificen-

Stephen Brashear
tissimus Deus)
What evidence is there for the Assumption?
To begin with, we have Revelation 12, which already
takes for granted the image of Mary as a cosmic heavenly
figure by roughly A.D. 90 (“a woman clothed with the sun,
Juan de Valdés Leal, The Assumption of the Virgin,

with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of
twelve stars”). In addition, there is a curious lack of relics for
Mary in the early church, alone out of all the New Testa-
ment figures. This is telling given that her relics would be
prized most of all. Were the Assumption a later myth, those
relics would already have been in circulation.
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, assumed into heaven,
National Gallery of Art

turns up in tomb art as far away as Spain as early as 312,

indicating it was already a long-settled matter by the time
it crossed the Mediterranean. In 373, St. Ephraem records
a tradition that the Virgin was assumed — and nobody
rebukes this as an unheard-of novelty, because it is already
universally taken for granted. And when the Eastern church
The seeds of the teaching are already present in Luke 1:28, promulgates the feast of the Dormition in the fourth century,
which records the greeting of the angel Gabriel to our Lady: there is simply no controversy. That’s the surest evidence the
“Kaire, Kecharitomene!” (“Hail, Grace-Filled One!”). Many tradition was already ancient: When you are looking at a
ask, “How can it be that Mary is without sin?” But the very feast you are seeing the tip of an iceberg whose bulk is noth-
same fathers of the church who insist most strongly that we ing other than the common belief of all normal Christians at
are afflicted with original sin (including Augustine, who the time.
coined the term) likewise take it for granted that Mary is So why did the pope define this commonly accepted point
without sin, that she is “immaculate,” “all holy,” “spotless” of faith as dogma in 1950? Developments of doctrine are
and without any minutest stain. commonly responses to challenges from the culture. The
Essentially, what the church arrived at was the under- mid-20th century screamed that our destiny was the oven,
standing that Jesus saves from sin in two ways, just as a mass grave, concentration camp, gas chamber, trench, frozen
doctor saves from sickness in two ways: cure and prevention. Siberian waste, anonymity of the cubicle, anonymous pro-
Mary was prevented from contracting original sin in the duction line, dereliction of the nursing home, or abortuary
moment of her conception by a singular act of grace through dumpster.
Christ. In her we see not the absence of Christ’s saving grace But as the Immaculate Conception affirms the dignity of
but its fullest expression. Hence she is “full of grace” and our origins, so the Assumption is the sign of our destiny.
praises “God my savior.” (Luke 1:47) Mary shows not only how to follow Christ, but the reward
Paradoxically, the cry “But Mary has to be a sinner or awaiting those who do. God wills to grant us, as he has
she’s not human!” leads to the point of the dogma. For when already granted her, the ecstatic glory of complete union —
we pass from saying “Sin is normal” (which is what the body, soul and spirit — with himself in eternity. Ω
doctrine of original sin teaches) to saying “Sin is natural” we
make a deep and fundamental error. For God is the author
of nature, and he does not create sin. (see James 1:13-14) So
original sin, while normal, does not constitute our nature
but instead corrupts it.

19
 100 YEARS OF CARING

Grounded in compassion

Stephen Brashear
Catholic social teaching is the heart of Catholic Community Services,
our state’s largest nonprofit social services agency
By Jean Parietti

L ast December, Heather Scribner

was struggling — she had unpaid
utility bills, no Christmas tree and
still was short $600 on the deposit.
And Scribner couldn’t get the
utilities turned on until she paid the
no gifts for her two young kids. bill from her old apartment.
Then, on Christmas Eve, she got an Out of the blue, a parishioner at
eviction notice. Immaculate Conception/Our Lady
But Sheila Davis had her back. of Perpetual Help in Everett (where
“I was calling around to find out if Davis coordinates the Prepares
she could go to one of these shelters ministry) donated $800, telling Davis
because she has kids,” said Davis, a to use it for whatever was needed.
volunteer with Prepares, a program “At that very moment I just thought
of Catholic Community Services of the Holy Spirit is totally wanting
Sheila Davis

Western Washington. that situation to come out good,”

As Davis was scrambling on that Heather Scribner and her said Davis, a mother of four who
end, Scribner managed to get a one- children had a tree and gifts has been a Prepares “companion”
last Christmas, through the to the 34-year-old Scribner since
week extension on her eviction. She help of Prepares companion
soon found a new apartment, but Sheila Davis (above).
September 2016.

1918 1923 1936 1937

Seattle Bishop Edward The Catholic Welfare Bureau Bishop Gerald Shaughnessy Catholic Children’s Services
O’Dea establishes the organizes in Tacoma to assist forms Catholic Charities of Catholic Charities opens
Seattle Council of Catholic homeless and orphaned of the Diocese of Seattle offices in Seattle. The Seattle
Women to aid orphaned and children and single mothers to coordinate the works of Council of Catholic Women
abandoned children. under the auspices of the charity in the diocese. becomes the Association for
Catholic Women’s Club. Catholic Childhood, with a
mission of supporting and
raising funds for Catholic
20 Northwest Catholic   |  December 2017  |  NWCatholic.org Charities.
 Prepares, launched in 2014, is an initiative of Washing-
ton state’s bishops to “walk the journey” with parents and LEARN MORE
families who lack a support network. Assistance — available Read more about Prepares at NWCatholic.org/prepares.
as needed from pregnancy through the child’s fifth birthday
The Association for Catholic Childhood is celebrating
— can range from diapers and clothing to the emotional its 100th anniversary in March 2018. Learn more at
support of a companion like Davis. forthechildrenww.org.
“She’s always been there to help anytime I have any prob-
lem or anything,” Scribner said. Davis checks in regularly to
see how she’s doing and provide encouragement. “It’s helped it worked closely with religious orders, the city and other
out a lot, really. She’s awesome.” organizations.
Active in nearly 50 parishes in the Archdiocese of Seattle, Some of the council members welcomed children into their
Prepares had served nearly 1,900 individuals and families in own homes, while other children were placed in temporary or
the archdiocese as of July 2017, said Erin Maguire, Prepares’ adoptive homes in the Seattle area and eventually in far-flung
Western Washington coordinator. cities like Bellingham, Longview, Yakima and Toppenish.
Prepares is just a part of the effort by CCS and Catholic The council even ran an employment agency in Seattle during
Housing Services to help the poor and vulnerable in commu- the Depression.
nities throughout Western Washington, “to respond where In Tacoma, a similar mission to help homeless and or-
others just won’t go,” as CCS President Michael Reichert says. phaned children and single mothers got under way in 1923,
Today, nearly 100 years after organized Catholic outreach when the Catholic Women’s Club organized the Catholic
began in Seattle, CCS/CHS offers more than 170 programs Welfare Bureau.
and is the state’s largest nonprofit social services agency. But a major change was on the horizon: After Bishop
Rooted in the Gospel, its compassionate service and support O’Dea died in 1932, Bishop Gerald Shaughnessy became
embraces the homeless, elderly, veterans, families, immi- leader of Western Washington’s flock. In 1936, he created
grants, the mentally ill and those with addictions. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Seattle to coordinate
all charitable works in the diocese, and hired professional
The power of women Catholic caseworkers.
The origins of CCS can be traced back to 1918, after World “That’s how CCS really began,” Lynch said.
War I and the influenza epidemic left children orphaned and
abandoned. Ten prominent Catholic women in Seattle formed Embracing the poor
a social welfare organization to help find homes for these In the seven decades since, Catholic Community Services
children, as an alternative to crowded orphanages. has responded to needs throughout the archdiocese, adding
The Seattle Council of Catholic Women was formed in
1918 with the blessing of Seattle Bishop
Edward O’Dea. Lilly Peabody, a mother ARRAY OF SERVICES
of 10 (including two who died as in- Throughout Western Washington, services offered by
fants), was the first president. Catholic Community Services and Catholic Housing
Services include:
“It’s amazing that these women saw
the need and did something,” said Sue Housing Seniors
Lynch, a member of Assumption Parish Homeless shelters Meals
in Seattle. Lynch and JoAnne King,
Affordable transitional and Home care
also an Assumption parishioner, co- permanent housing
authored For the Least of These, a book Volunteer services
Sue Lynch about the early history of the council Housing with supportive
Transportation
services
(now called the Association for Catholic African American Elders
Childhood). “Nobody set any rules of how you do this,” Families
Lynch said. “They just did it and it just Specialized services
Foster care
kind of came from their heart.” Adoption
Immigration Legal Services
The organization grew, with members Supportive Services for
holding teas, garden parties and other Pregnancy/parenting
Veteran Families
support
fundraisers to support Catholic children, Project Rachel
with the help of parishes around the Youth tutoring program
Mental health
area. In those days, Lynch explained, Addiction recovery
Catholic homes were sought for chil- Family behavioral health
Outpatient treatment
dren who had Catholic backgrounds. Community mental health
Matt Talbot Center
The council wasn’t the only group in Wraparound programs
Seattle focused on helping children, and JoAnne King Spirit Journey House

1939 1940 1942 1957

Catholic Charities in Catholic Charities of the Catholic Charities opens Catholic Charities opens
Whatcom County opens Diocese of Seattle is offices in Everett. offices in Vancouver.
offices in Bellingham. incorporated.
Catholic Charities in Tacoma
is founded from the Catholic
Welfare Bureau and the
Catholic Women’s Club.

21
 100 YEARS OF CARING

a wide range of services, from home- Catholic Housing Services, which didn’t exist when
less shelters to children’s mental health Reichert came on board, manages 56 affordable housing
services (see a list on page 21. sites (some with supportive services) for single adults, fami-
“We embrace the preferential option for lies, seniors and people with special needs. It is the largest
the poor,” said Reichert, the CCS presi- nonprofit provider of affordable farmworker housing, and
dent. “We are following [Pope] Francis operates 23 year-round and seasonal homeless shelters, many
and the bishops in Francis’ call to be in in partnership with parishes.
solidarity with our sisters and brothers.” In addition to 3,500 employees, CCS relies on more than
When Archbishop Raymond Hunt- 10,000 volunteers like Davis, the Prepares companion, to
hausen hired Reichert in 1979, his task Michael Reichert help their neighbors in need.
was consolidating the archdiocese’s As CCS begins its second century, a new initiative is
individually operating Catholic agencies. Today, CCS has a under way to create a “Catholic collaboration network” in
budget of $161 million, with 75 percent of its revenue com- the archdiocese, Reichert said. In response to Who Is My
ing from government fees and contracts for services provided Neighbor?, the state bishops’ pastoral letter on poverty, CCS
to the community. Another 10 percent comes from dona- is assigning staff members in each region to work specifically
tions, including the CCS Week fundraiser each December. with parishes and deaneries. The aim is being “as responsive
Through its three regional offices and dozen family cen- as they can be to the needs around them,” Reichert said.
ters, CCS partners with communities, parishes and deaneries CCS is just a piece of the Catholic outreach story, Reichert
to respond to localized needs. Its Long Term Care System said, supplementing the good works done by the Society of
provides home care services throughout the archdiocese, as St. Vincent de Paul and the parishes of the archdiocese.
does the Family Behavioral Health System, which provides “The poor need the whole Catholic Church,” he said, “not
specialized services to children at high risk, especially those just Catholic Community Services.” Ω
in foster care, Reichert said.

CCS HOME CARE AIDES MAKE LIFE EASIER FOR GIG HARBOR COUPLE
These days, Maxine Alexander can see only light and dark. Despite what she’s lost, Maxine feels lucky to have her
But with the encouragement of Edith, a home care aide from family, her knitting and audiobooks, and her CCS caregivers.
Catholic Community Services’ Long Term Care program, “If it wasn’t for the [CCS] services, I’d probably be a lot further
Maxine can still knit up a storm. behind than I am,” she said.
Both women have been knitting for decades, so “we can sit
and talk about something that we both know something about,”
said Maxine, who lives in Gig Harbor with her husband, Garry.
In the last couple of years, Maxine has donated more than
100 knitted hats for the homeless. She is especially proud of a
lavender sweater, the first one she made after her vision finally
failed due to a hereditary condition. Recently, she completed a
sparkly green sweater from a pattern designed by Edith.
For nearly two years, Edith has been coming to the
Alexanders’ home, providing friendship and helping with
household chores, meal preparation and mobility assistance
for Maxine, who also has pulmonary fibrosis. In 2016, CCS
provided home care services to nearly 27,000 people like
Maxine.
The Alexanders, married 59 years, both benefit from having
caregivers five mornings and three afternoons each week,
giving Maxine the assistance she needs and Garry a needed
break from caregiving and household duties.

Courtesy CCSWW
As Maxine’s vision slowly declined over the years, she had to
give up her hobbies — including needlepoint, counted cross-
stitch and sewing. “When you can’t do something that you’ve
always done, it’s depressing,” she said. “You’ve gotta have
something to fall back on.”
She is working to strengthen her legs so she can once again Maxine Alexander, right, gets encouragement and help
ride on the back of Garry’s motorcycle, something they’ve with her knitting from Edith, a home care aide from
enjoyed for years. “It just feels so good, free, especially since I Catholic Community Services’ Long Term Care program.
can’t see it anymore,” Maxine said.

1977 1979 1988 1990

Archbishop Raymond The Archdiocesan Housing Catholic Charities becomes The corporation gets a new
Hunthausen establishes the Authority is founded and a separate corporation with name, Catholic Community
Office of Catholic Charities incorporated. a board of trustees under Services of Western
as an umbrella group to the direct leadership of the Washington, to ensure a
administer the archdiocese’s Seattle archbishop. consistent image throughout
social programs. the archdiocese.
193

22 Northwest Catholic   |  December 2017  |  NWCatholic.org

 Courtesy CCSWW
The Eyes of Mercy, by Tacoma artist Mary Mann, was commissioned by Catholic Community Services of Western
Washington as a tribute to the women who organized the Catholic Welfare Bureau in Tacoma in 1923. Hanging in
CCS’ Nativity House shelter in Tacoma, Mann’s mural depicts the corporal works of mercy: feed the hungry, give drink
to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, care for the sick, visit the imprisoned and bury the dead.

CCS BY THE NUMBERS

1.96 million hours of in-home care provided 14,058 clients received counseling and mental health services
1.38 million meals prepared and served 5,372 clients received addiction services
505,694 hours donated by 10,273 volunteers 4,272 clients received permanent housing
239,927 nights of shelter for the homeless Source: CCS 2016 Annual Report

CCS SHELTER, SUPPORTIVE HOUSING ‘SAVED MY LIFE’

Just released from the county jail in downtown Kent, He has volunteered at Seattle’s Solanus Casey Center (a
Dennis Bateman was at a crossroads. joint effort of CCS and St. James Cathedral) and serves on
He could walk one direction and return to life on the the board of the Fremont Neighborhood Council. Recently,
streets. Or he could head the other direction, toward the he landed a job working at a
state community supervision office, and a new existence with homeless shelter in Seattle’s
the help of Catholic Community Services. University District.
That day, Bateman realized “I wasted my whole life just “Without God this
surviving.” He suffered abuse in foster homes after his never would have
mother abandoned him and his four siblings, and began happened,” Bateman
living on the streets at age 13. Over the years, Bateman said. “It’s been quite
turned to property crimes and drugs, spent time in prison a ride for me. It’s like
and jails, and saw some of those closest to him die. I’m ready to just take
“I said, ‘OK, God, I’m done. I’ve tried all my life to do it on the world now.”
myself, and look where I’m at.’”
Trusting God, he took that walk to the community
supervision office. An hour later, he was in an overnight
shelter operated by CCS, hosted that month at Holy Spirit
Parish in Kent. “Getting into CCS and going to these [host]
churches, it kind of stirred my spirit up,” Bateman said.
A year later, in January 2014, Bateman was approved to
move into Patrick Place Apartments, a supportive complex
for the chronically homeless, operated by Catholic Housing
Services in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood.
The transition wasn’t easy — the first few nights, Bateman
returned to the familiarity of the shelter in Kent. But since
then, the services available at Patrick Place have helped
Bateman, now 64, overcome his past, get clean and set
positive goals as he forges a new path.
Courtesy

“They saved my life,” he said. “I will advocate for CCS

until I die.”
Bateman has spoken at the local, state and national levels
CCSWW

about the difficulty ex-felons have getting jobs and housing.

2002 2005 2009 2011

The Catholic Charities Archbishop Alexander The Archdiocesan Housing With the sponsorship of
Foundation is established Brunett appoints an Authority gets a new name Archbishop J. Peter Sartain,
to promote and support Episcopal Vicar for Catholic — Catholic Housing Services CCS/CHS partners with
the work of CCS and AHA. Charities to lead the CCS of Western Washington the Washington State
board. — and a redefined focus: Catholic Conference and
developing and managing the Intercommunity Peace
affordable permanent & Justice Center to launch
housing with supportive Dialogue for Justice with
services throughout Western the goal of strengthening
Washington. Catholic advocacy on behalf
of the poor and vulnerable. 23
 D E L A R ZO B I S P O ( I N E N G L I S H : PA G E 4 )

Las contrariedades de la primera Navidad

Shutterstock
E s difícil imaginar que hubo una vez
en que un hombre, solo por decreto,
pudo ordenar un censo del mundo entero.
con perfección para que pudiera ser rebasada por
una nueva.
Lucas da otro indicio de la misión de Jesús al
recordar lo que el ángel dijo a los pastores:
Es difícil imaginar que hubo un tiempo en
que, atendiendo tal decreto, cada hombre, mujer No teman, porque les traigo una buena
y niño tomarían sus pertenencias y viajarían noticia, una gran alegría para todo el
al pueblo de sus ancestros para empadronarse. pueblo: Hoy, en la ciudad de David, les
Sin duda hubo quejas y resistencia y no pocos ha nacido un Salvador, que es el Mesías,
se ocultaron de la obligación del censo, pero la el Señor. Y esto les servirá de señal:
ARZOBISPO encontrarán a un niño recién nacido
mayoría del mundo obedeció. J. PETER SARTAIN
¿Puedes imaginar cómo pudo haber sido? Las envuelto en pañales y acostado en un
familias tuvieron que dejar los lugares que consideraban su pesebre. (Lucas 2,10-12)
hogar e ir a los pueblos de sus antepasados para tomar parte El Salvador era “para ustedes” y “para todo el pueblo”.
en el censo. No era solo cuestión de empacar para un simple Todo acerca de Él iba a ser un don de amor, un sacrificio
viaje: había que dejar provisiones para sus animales mientras “por ustedes”, es decir, “por nosotros”.
se encontraran fuera; para sus hogares y sus negocios; para Quizás este punto sea más claro si pensamos en las
sus familiares enfermos. Empacar alimento y vestido debió palabras que Jesús pronunció en la Última Cena, las mismas
ser una tarea mayor y tenía que llevarse a cabo por hombres, palabras que repetimos cada Misa:
mujeres y animales en el más desgastante de los viajes. “Este es mi cuerpo, que será entregado por ustedes”.
Algunos tuvieron que tomar caminos polvosos en el “Este es el cáliz de mi sangre… Será derramada por ustedes”.
desierto y sin duda otros tuvieron que embarcarse a través Este adviento y Navidad imaginemos a María y José
del mar para llegar al lugar de origen de su familia. enfrentando los desafíos del viaje del censo por nosotros.
¿Te puedes imaginar? Reunir a tu familia, dejar tu casa y ¿Cuántas veces has hecho un viaje tal — saliendo de tu forma
marcharte al lugar de nacimiento de tus antepasados ¿solo de ser, tus privaciones y tus preocupaciones — por el amor
para un censo? a tu familia y a tus amigos? Ciertamente que has hecho algo
¿Y puedes imaginarte hacer tal viaje estando encinta así. María meditaba y José se preguntaba con confianza
o si tu mujer estuviera encinta? ¿Qué preocupaciones mientras realizaban el difícil viaje … humildes, como su Hijo,
inundarían tu mente? ¿Qué incomodidades físicas tendrías? siguiendo la Ley con sus contrariedades y su indignidad.
¿Qué resentimientos? ¿Quién se cree César Augusto que es, Claro está que esto fue solo el comienzo. Los años
emitiendo tan ridículo decreto? pasarían y Jesús revelaría en qué consistía su nueva ley, qué
Y lo más difícil de imaginar de todo, ¿puedes imaginarte tan lejos llegaría “por nosotros”.
a María y a José en este viaje para el censo, ella habiendo Tal vez al acercarse la Navidad sea de ayuda detenernos
escuchado de un ángel y él habiendo escuchado en sueños y reflexionar sobre la forma en que ellos realizaron el arduo
que ella daría a luz al Salvador del mundo? Sin embargo, viaje con dudas y preocupaciones, sobre cómo nadie tenía
se fueron de Nazaret a Belén, el Salvador del mundo un cuarto para ellos, sobre cómo Jesús nació en un pesebre
obedeciendo el decreto de un emperador terrenal. entre animales de granja y cómo María y José finalmente
Haciendo el recuento de esta historia, Sn. Lucas enseña se desviaron para tomar un sueño irregular en lechos de
algo crítico sobre Jesús: que desde su concepción, se sujetó paja. Y es de ayuda detenernos y reflexionar acerca de que
a sí mismo a la ley humana y mosaica y tomó parte de aguantaron todo esto por nosotros.
cada experiencia humana, excepto el pecado. A pesar de El poderoso César Augusto, quien aseguraba que era un
que era el Hijo de Dios, no se exentó a sí mismo de tales ser divino, gobernaba por decreto. Jesús, el Hijo de Dios,
leyes ni de las incomodidades de viajar para un censo, o de nos mostró desde el principio un reino diferente, otra forma
sufrimientos todavía más grandes a causa de tales leyes, o de gobernar: por el amor y solo el amor. Ω
de las incomodidades de viajar para un censo, o incluso de Envíe sus intenciones de oración a la Lista de Oración del
sufrimientos más grandes que habrían de cruzarse en su Arzobispo Sartain a: Archdiocese of Seattle, 710 Ninth Ave.,
camino. No solo Él iba a cumplir la Ley, la iba a cumplir Seattle, WA 98104.

24 Northwest Catholic  |  December 2017  |  NWCatholic.org

R I N C Ó N D E L C AT E C I S M O | S A N T O D E L M E S ( I N E N G L I S H : PA G E 5 )

RINCÓN DEL CATECISMO Haga crecer su negocio

La Iglesia celebra en Navidad el Nacimiento de Jesús y el
con nosotros.
misterio de la Encarnación. ¿Cuál es su significado? Anúnciese con nosotros y llegue a
más de 125,000 hogares católicos
461 Volviendo a tomar la frase de Sn. Juan (“El Verbo en el Oeste de Washington
se encarnó”: Juan 1,14), la Iglesia llama “Encarnación”
Para ver su anuncio en la siguiente edición
al hecho de que el Hijo de Dios haya asumido una de Northwest CatholiC, comuníquese
naturaleza humana para llevar a cabo por ella nuestra con Keri al 206-382-2075 adverstising@
salvación. En un himno citado por Sn. Pablo, la Iglesia seattlearch.org www.seattlearchdiocese.
org/advertising
canta el misterio de la Encarnación:
“Tened entre vosotros los mismos sentimientos que tuvo
Cristo: el cual, siendo de condición divina, no retuvo
ávidamente el ser igual a Dios, sino que se despojó de sí A D V E R T I S I N G

mismo tomando condición de siervo,

haciéndose semejante a los hombres y
apareciendo en su porte como hombre;
y se humilló a sí mismo, obedeciendo
hasta la muerte y muerte de cruz.” Llámenos si necesita un banquete
(Filipenses 2,5-8) 425-228-6180
463 La fe en la
verdadera encarnación
del Hijo de Dios es el
signo distintivo de la fe
cristiana. …
Fragmento de la traducción al español del Catecismo
de la Iglesia Católica para su uso en los Estados Unidos. The Landing, Renton | 920 N 10th St | 425-228-6180
Copyright 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. —
Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Con la debida autorización. www.toreros-mexicanrestaurants.com
Benson Center, Renton | 10707 SE Carr Rd | 425-227-9104

Sta. Adelaida Comparte

Santa emperatriz
romana se
un regalo de fe.
preocupaba por Haz un donativo
Tracy L. Christianson, portraitsofsaints.com

de fin de año, deducible de impuestos,

los pobres
a la Colecta NOROESTE CATÓLICO.
931–999 T H E M A G A Z I N E O F T H E C AT H O L I C C H U R C H I N W E S T E R N WA S H I N G T O N T H E M A G A Z I N E O F T H E C AT H O L I C C H U R C H I N W E S T E R N WA S H I N G T O N T H E M A G A Z I N E O F T H E C AT H O L I C C H U R C H I N W E S T E R N WA S H I N G T O N

Fiesta: 16 de N W C A T H O L I C . O R G | M A R C H 2 0 1 7 | V O L. 5 N O. 2 N WC AT H O L I C . O R G JUNE 2017 | VOL . 5 NO. 5 N WC AT H O L I C . O R G

SEPTEMBER 2017

diciembre
VO L. 5 N O. 7

Faith,
Hija del Rey Rodolfo II Family,
Football
de Borgoña, Adelaida fue Q-and-A with Seattle
Seahawks tight end

prometida en matrimonio
Luke Willson

Portrait of Ordinations AS K A B I S H O P

COMPASSION
Bishop Mueggenborg

2017
answers: What are the

cuando tenía solo 2 años, a un hombre llamado Lotario,

FRO M T H E ARCH BI SH O P How an athlete, an ‘gnostic gospels’?
This Lent, surrender engineer, a punk and a PAG E 1 2
to God’s mercy in the huge nerd became the
Seattle nurse Mary Larson honors
sacrament of penance
her homeless patients with portraits Archdiocese of Seattle’s YO U R FA M I LY M AT T E R S
PAGE 4 Parents beware: A pervasive
next four priests

hijo y heredero del enemigo de su padre, Hugo de

toxin is attacking our kids
P I LLARS O F LENT PAG E 1 4
Practical weekly
suggestions for prayer, N O R O E ST E CATÓ L I CO
fasting and almsgiving

Provenza. Tras la muerte temprana de Lotario, Adelaida

La gran paradoja: Tener
PAGE 22 menos por querer tener más
PÁG I N AS 2 8 –3 1
NO RO EST E CATÓ LI CO FRO M T H E ARCH BI SH O P NEW BI SH O P NO RO EST E CATÓ LI CO
La discreción nos permite Saying ‘Yes’ to God Q-and-A with Bishop Postgrados en el Espíritu
vivir una cuaresma en Mueggenborg

fue perseguida por varios reyes y nobles y finalmente

PAGE 4 PÁGI NAS 3 6–39
intimidad con Dios PAGE 22
PÁGI NAS 24 –27

desposada con Otón el Grande de Alemania, quien NOROESTE CATÓLICO es un regalo de fe para todos
invadió Italia. Cuando su hijo, el Emperador Otón II,
los hogares católicos del Oeste de Washington.
murió, su hijo Otón III, apenas un niño, se convirtió en
el emperador. En 991, Adelaida fue investida como la ¡Tu donativo lo hace posible!
regente del imperio y empleó su poder como emperatriz Dona en línea en seattlearchdiocese.org/NWCC
para aumentar los esfuerzos de evangelización, en especial
al norte de Europa, y construyó muchos monasterios e
iglesias. También ayudó mucho a los pobres. Murió en el
monasterio de Seltz en Alsacia y fue canonizada en 1097
por el Papa Urbano II. Ω
Catholic News Agency
25
 DEL OBISPO ( I N E N G L I S H : N W C AT H O L I C . O R G )

Navidad hoy
Parto inducido
Se llegó el tiempo de dar a luz
nuestro interior al perdonarnos. Nos pide hacer

D espués de nueve meses de lenta

gestación, toda madre está lista para
dar a luz, porque el bebé en su vientre
nacer alegría; la alegría que engendró en nuestra
existencia al salirnos al encuentro un cierto día de
nuestras vidas. Él desea que tengamos un parto de
ternura; la ternura con la que Él nos rescató de la
ya está maduro para nacer. Algunas soledad en que vivíamos.
circunstancias hacen que el parto no
llegue y entonces los médicos deben En riesgo de abortar
“Hijos míos, por quienes padezco otra vez
intervenir para provocar el nacimiento o OBISPO EUSEBIO
dolores de parto, hasta que Cristo esté formado
ELIZONDO, M.SP.S.
practicar una cesárea pues peligran las en ustedes.” (Gálatas 4,19)
vidas de ambos. Dios, nuestro Padre, que nos ha regalado la
libertad y nos ha preparado largamente para dar a luz a
Navidad es tiempo de parto para nosotros, los creyentes Jesús en nuestras vidas, se arriesga a que abortemos a su
en Jesús. Dios ha ido preparando el corazón de cada uno Hijo. Nuestro corazón tiene ya contracciones a causa de
de nosotros, los bautizados, como el vientre sagrado donde la injusticia, de la codicia, del egoísmo y de tantos otros
crezca el Emmanuel, Dios con nosotros. En alguno de contaminantes en el vientre de nuestras almas. Él quiere
nosotros, Dios ha tenido muchos años de gestación que Él que nuestro interior se dilate para poder nacer llorando a
mismo ha pacientemente respetado para que Su vida llegara a todo pulmón por nuevas formas de unidad y de fraternidad.
madurar. Desea que se dilate nuestra alma y deje nacer nueva vida de
Llegan los dolores; hay que inducir el parto o corremos ternura y de perdón. Jesús quiere nacer desde nuestro interior
el riesgo de dejar morir en nuestro buscando un abundante pecho donde saciar su hambre de
corazón la vida de Dios que debe pureza, donde colmar su sed de paz, de libertad, de integridad
nacer a través de nosotros. Odio, y de unidad.
masacres, violencia, hambre, Arrodillado en el fondo de nuestra alma, Jesús sabe que
injusticia, racismos, guerras, está en riesgo de ser abortado en cualquier momento. Él
corrupción, son los agudos siente las contracciones de nuestra alma. Él sabe muy bien
dolores que nos hacen descubrir que queremos darlo a luz, que queremos traerlo a este
la urgencia de una cesárea en mundo, pero también siente y entiende nuestras angustias y
nuestro interior para que salga temores ante el futuro.
a la luz la única vida que puede Desde el fondo de nuestro preñado corazón, Jesús nos
traer un cambio en el mundo; el grita que el trae esperanza y alegría para el mundo que
nacimiento de Jesús, el Hijo de camina en tinieblas. Que Él será vida eterna para todo aquel
Dios en nuestra carne humana. que lo deje nacer en Él, pero que tiene que ser un parto
Los dolores de parto nos deseado. Un parto doloroso y con sangre, pero portador de
llenan de confusión; el gozo de nueva vida.
experimentar esa nueva vida María supo dejar al Espíritu Santo dilatar su cuerpo y
brotando en nuestro interior, y su alma para parir esperanza, para dar a luz una nueva
al mismo tiempo el miedo del humanidad, una nueva raza que se hermana con todo aquel
futuro. Los cambios y desafíos que trabaja por la paz, por el perdón, por la justicia, por la
que esa vida trae en nuestra dignidad de toda mujer y hombre que viene a este mundo.
vida diaria y la incertidumbre María se dejó preñar por el poder de Dios ante el cual nada hay
de nuestra capacidad para imposible y gracias a ella tenemos a Dios con Nosotros: Jesús.
enfrentar las sorpresas y Celebremos con toda la Iglesia litúrgicamente el nacimiento
novedades que trae consigo. de Jesús, pero al mismo tiempo dejemos que siga induciendo Su
La sabiduría infinita de parto en nuestras vidas para entregarlo como regalo a nuestro
Dios que nos ha llamado alrededor; en nuestra familia, en nuestro trabajo, en nuestra
a la vida y nos ha escogido Iglesia, en nuestra sociedad.
como discípulos de su Hijo Miles de hombres y mujeres creyentes han dado a luz a
Jesús, no se equivoca jamás Jesús en el mundo a lo largo de los siglos haciendo posible
y no nos pedirá algo que Él que hoy estemos aquí. Nos toca hoy a nosotros dar a luz a
sabe que no somos capaces Cristo para los que vienen detrás de nosotros. Aunque sea
de hacer. Él nos pide dar a luz un parto inducido, siempre trae vida y vida en abundancia.
misericordia. La misericordia Que tengan un santo y gozoso parto. ¡Felicidades! Ω
que Él ha hecho nacer en Eusebio Elizondo, M.Sp.S., es obispo auxiliar de Seattle y
Shutte

vicario para el ministerio

rstock

hispano.

26 Northwest Catholic  |  December 2017  |  NWCatholic.org

S E M I L L A S D E L A PA L A B R A ( I N E N G L I S H : N W C AT H O L I C . O R G )

El origen del
Belén o en el bosque, cerca de nuestra ermita,

nacimiento
encontrarás una gruta: allí dispondrás
un pesebre con heno y también un buey
y un burro, tal como en Belén. ¡Ojalá
al menos una vez pudiera ver con mis
ojos cómo el Divino Niño descansó en
el establo, cómo el Señor se sometió al
desprecio y a la extrema pobreza por

St. Francis of Assisi in the scene of the Nativity, Convento de Capuchinos, Spain, Shutterstock
amor nuestro!”
Juan Velita accedió gustoso y
Francisco, habiendo ya obtenido la
autorización de la Santa Sede, erigió
un altar con la ayuda de los hermanos
e invitó a la gente de los alrededores.
Hacia la medianoche llegaron
numerosos grupos de personas con
antorchas en la mano, mientras los
frailes rodeaban la gruta con velas
encendidas.
Iniciada la santa misa, “cuando llegó
el momento del canto del evangelio
— recuerda Celano — Francisco se
presentó revestido de diácono. Con
profundos suspiros, sintiendo el ardor
de la devoción y radiante de alegría
interior, el santo se colocó ante el
pesebre y su voz se elevó por encima de
la muchedumbre para enseñar dónde
hay que buscar el sumo bien. Habló
con inefable dulzura del Niño Jesús, del
Conoce quién inventó el nacimiento y cómo Gran Rey que se dignó asumir la forma
montó el primero en la historia humana, del Cristo nacido en la ciudad
de David. Y a cada instante, cuando

E s la más santa costumbre

en Navidad asistir a
medianoche a la Misa de Gallo,
El origen del nacimiento se remonta
al siglo XIII. Su iniciador fue Sn.
Francisco de Asís.
pronunciaba el nombre de Jesús, la
llama interior de su corazón le ponía
en sus labios las palabras: ‘El Niño de
Refiere Tomás de Celano que la Belén’; y esta expresión adquiría en sus
una de las cuatro eucaristías Navidad era siempre para Francisco un labios una fascinación extraordinaria.
distintas que se ofrecen para día de particular alegría. “Si conociese Estaba frente al pueblo como el
al Emperador — solía decir — le rogaría cordero de Dios en toda la santidad de
celebrar el nacimiento del Niño que diera la orden de esparcir, en su sacrificio.
Dios: la vigilia, la de gallo, la de aquel día, trigo para todos los pájaros, “Terminado el rito, todos se fueron
la aurora y la del día. especialmente para las golondrinas, con el corazón lleno de gozo celestial.”
y que ordenara a todos aquellos que (Vida Primera 80)
Es costumbre tienen animales en los establos que Fue esta la primera misa de
también colocar dieran a sus animales, en memoria del medianoche frente al primer “pesebre de
en las iglesias y nacimiento de Cristo en un pesebre, Belén”. Los franciscanos, a imitación de
en los hogares un alimento más abundante. Desearía su Padre seráfico, difundieron por toda
un Belén o también que en aquel día solemne ¡todos la tierra este gozoso modo de venerar al
nacimiento: los ricos de este mundo acogieran a los Niño Jesús.
José y María, el pobres en su mesa!” Que al contemplar en casa nuestro
Niño recostado (Vida Segunda 151, Speculum Perfectionis 124) nacimiento esta Navidad, sepamos,
en un pesebre, En Greccio, un amigo del santo, Juan como Francisco, constatar cómo Jesús
MAURICIO I. PÉREZ una mula y un Velita, le había ofrecido para vivir un se sometió al desprecio y a la extrema
buey, pastores terreno alto recubierto de bosques. pobreza por amor nuestro.
que representan Mientras Sn. Francisco moraba allí, ¡Apasiónate por nuestra fe! Ω
al pueblo de Dios y los Magos que con ocasión de la Navidad de 1223, Mauricio I. Pérez, miembro de la Parroquia
vinieron de Oriente. No falta el ángel llamó a su amigo y le dijo: “Mira, de Sta. Mónica en Mercer Island, es
mensajero y la estrella de Belén. quisiera celebrar contigo el día de escritor y periodista católico. Su sitio web
¿De dónde procede esta costumbre? Navidad. Se me ha ocurrido esta idea: es www.semillasparalavida.org.

27
 NEWS & EVENTS

Marian day
Holy of recollection
days of In preparation
for Christmas,
obligation the Eastern
Catholic Holy
Friday, Dec. 8, the feast
Theophany
of the Immaculate
Monastery in
Conception, which
Olympia will
celebrates the Virgin
host a day of
Mary’s preservation
prayer, study
from original sin, is a
and reflection
holy day of obligation,
on the Mother
meaning Catholics are
of God Dec.
required to attend Mass.
9, beginning with Divine Liturgy
Christmas is also a holy
at 9 a.m. and concluding with
day of obligation. Jan. 1,
Great Vespers at 5:30 p.m.
the feast of Mary, Mother
A $30 donation includes lunch.
of God (see page 16),
Register at 360-491-8233 or
is usually a holy day
htheophany@earthlink.net.
of obligation, but the
obligation is abrogated
Shutterstock

this year, since it falls on a

Monday. Check with your
parish for Mass times.

Upcoming retreats
“Habits of a Very Loving Marriage” will be the theme of a married couples’
enrichment retreat led by Father Pat Freitag Feb. 16–18 at the Archbishop
Brunett Retreat Center at the Palisades. Register at palisadesretreatcenter.
org. Other upcoming retreats include:
Jan. 19–21: Retreat for engaged couples led by Sarah and Nathan Bartel
Feb. 16–18: Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing led by Father Stephen
Rowan

Simbang
Gabi celebration
The archdiocesan Simbang
Gabi commissioning Mass will
be celebrated Saturday, Dec. 9,
at 11 a.m. at Seattle’s St. James
Cathedral. Simbang Gabi is a
Filipino tradition of nine Masses
leading up to Christmas.

Christmas Eve Mass

Archbishop J. Peter Sartain will
Confirmation retreats
celebrate Christmas Eve Mass at The Archdiocese of Seattle will
10 p.m. at St. James Cathedral. The hold two weekend retreats for
Mass will be broadcast on KING-TV those preparing to receive the
at midnight. sacrament of confirmation, Jan.
12–14 and Jan. 19–21, at Camp Don
Bosco in Carnation. For more
information, visit oyyae.org/
confirmation.

Visit NWCatholic.org
and pages 6-7
M. Laughlin

for more news and events.

28 Northwest Catholic  |  December 2017  |  NWCatholic.org

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29
 C AT H O L I C V O I C E S

The Mass:
Home away
from home

GlimmerGlass Photography
How being alone on Christmas reminded me of the true meaning of the season
necessary task to be completed on Christmas was,

I t was my first Christmas away from

my family, and I was alone. I had just
moved to the big, loud city of Seattle
in fact, to go to Mass. Our culture often leaves
Christ out of Christmas, but of course the two are
inseparable: Without Christ, there is no Christmas.
Without Christ’s birth, there would be no Mass.
from my small hometown nestled in the Christmas is not about spending time with
foothills of the Appalachian Mountains family, though that is a great gift and a blessing.
in northern Georgia. I was away from Christmas is not about baking your favorite cook-
ies or trimming the tree, though those can help us
my family, my friends and my parish — celebrate the season. And Christmas is not about
and I was alone on Christmas Day. But GABRIELLE NOLAN receiving gifts (though the little ones might dis-
you know what? It was OK. agree with me on this).
We must remember that, ultimately, the feast of
In November 2015, I had moved to Seattle to work at the Christmas is about welcoming our savior, Jesus Christ, into
archdiocesan retreat center. Kevin, my then-boyfriend (now our lives and loving him. Christ is born! We have a savior
husband), was working for Amazon, and after more than who wants to share his divine life with us, forgive our of-
a year of long-distance dating, I’d found a job that would fenses and be with us always — until the end of time.
bring us closer together. Months before I had secured my It is through Jesus that we find true charity, joy and
job, however, Kevin had already bought tickets to fly back peace to share with our families, on Christmas
to Tennessee for Christmas — so the only person I knew in Day and all throughout the year. And even
Seattle was going to be thousands of miles away. I would be though there is a physical distance between
celebrating Christmas with Kevin’s dog, Murphy. me and my family, I can always unite my
My family and friends felt sorry for me. “You’re spend- prayers to the Holy Family — asking that
ing Christmas alone? Poor girl!” I will admit, it was bizarre St. Joseph, the Virgin Mary, and the
to wake up on December 25 and not hear the comforting Child Jesus intercede for us.
sounds of siblings laughing or A Charlie Brown Christmas If you ever find yourself alone at Christ-
playing over the speakers as our parents made breakfast. mas, do not despair. Go to Mass. You will be
Instead, the apartment was quiet and still. united with your family through the mystical
I was thankful at least to be able to connect with my fam- body of Christ. Let the Christ Child draw
ily via technology — a Skype call with my parents, a phone you near to his heart, and there you will find
call with my grandmother. I ate breakfast and opened pres- all you truly need to celebrate the great feast
ents that had been mailed to me. I took Murphy outside, and of Christmas. Ω
there was no one around. It was a desolate scene — until I Gabrielle Nolan is a marketing coordinator
drove to Mass at St. Alphonsus Parish in Ballard. for the Archdiocese of Seattle and a
The sanctuary was beautifully decorated with poinset- member of Seattle’s Blessed Sacrament Parish.
tias, lighted Christmas trees and a Nativity scene. As Mass
began, the congregation joyfully sang the classic Christmas LET YOUR CATHOLIC VOICE BE HEARD
hymns and my spirit brightened. Although I was sitting by
Send your column (650 words or less) to editor@
myself, I was comfortable in the familiarity of the Mass, and seattlearch.org, and include “Catholic Voices” in the
I felt at home. subject line. If we publish it, we’ll send you $100.
I realized in the beauty of the liturgy that the only truly

30 Northwest Catholic  |  December 2017  |  NWCatholic.org

 May you have the gift of Faith
the blessing of Hope and the peace of His

Love at Christmas and Always

 give a gift to your family 

b p -p y y
re c c
lanning with our atholic emetery

ASSOCIATED CATHOLIC
CEMETERIES
1-888-784-8683

* Associated Catholic Cemeteries counselors who speak Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Tagalog are available by appointment.
www.MyCatholiCCeMetery.org

31
A publication of the
Archdiocese of Seattle

710 Ninth Avenue

Seattle, WA 98104
www.NWCatholic.org

Like the shepherds of Bethlehem,

may we too, with eyes
full of amazement and wonder,
gaze upon the Child Jesus,
the Son of God.
– Pope Francis