Bob Jensen

We will be welcoming Fr. Bill McKee as our new pastor on July 1^st.  He is currently the pastor of St. Vincent de Paul parish in Federal Way.  He grew up in Longview, WA and was eight years behind me in the seminary.  Right now he is on sabbatical in Tucson, AZ and will be returning to the Northwest at the end of May.  He is immersing himself in Spanish and also the Strengthfinders program.  He is a quiet man, whose number one strength is Deliberative.  He likes to think things through.  He is attracted to our parish because of our emphasis on social outreach and advocacy.  He lives in Federal Way and will commute here for the time being.  I can’t think of a better pastor for our parish than Fr. Bill.  Please pray for him.

This weekend we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday.  John uses the image of the Good Shepherd to explain what it means to be a faith community.  It is about our shared trust in Christ who put his life on the line to take care of his flock and keep them secure.  It is about a flock that can be opening and welcoming to others without fear for its safety, because the one who laid down his life for them has taken it up again as the Father commanded.

It is only fitting that on this weekend at all the masses I will be announcing the name of our new shepherd as pastor.  In my retirement beginning July 1^st, I hope to continue to be a presence to this community which I love so dearly

Normally at this time I would be presenting my spring reading list but I’m still plugging along with the winter literature.  Much of my selections come from four reference books.  I really enjoy the suggestions from Seattle librarian Nancy Perl’s Book Lust series.  I’m currently in her second book More Book Lust, focusing on Science 101.  I will choose one book she recommends from that sections as I’ve done for all her sections.  I also like 1000 Books to Read Before You Die by James Mustich.  I’ve read 279.  And going alphabetically by author I’m up to Voices from Chernobyl by Svetland Alexievich.  The third book is Great Books of the Century which are New York Times Book Reviews of the 20^th century.  I’m up to A Passage to India by E. M. Forster written about a hundred years ago.  Finally there is The Top Ten edited by J. Peder Zane.  He asked 25 leading British and American writers to “provide a list, ranked in order of what you consider the ten greatest works of fiction of all time- novels, short stories collections, plays, or poems”.  He received 544 separate titles.  He gave ten points to each writer’s number one selection and one point to their tenth.  From this he came up with the top ten list.  Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, and War and Peace were the top three.  I’ve read 166 of the list.  I’m up to Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens which is number 68.  If you have any references you draw from let me know.  Happy spring reading!

We welcome Fr. Chuck Palluck as the presider at our masses this weekend. He is a senior priest of the Archdiocese. Fr. Chuck and I go way back. He taught me and my classmates the Art of Celebration in my last year in the seminary. He taught us how to celebrate mass as well as all the sacraments-baptism, weddings, the rite of penance, anointings, funerals, etc. After that year (1975) he served as pastor of St. Barbara’s in Black Diamond for thirty five years. May the Lord bless him in every way.

“He is risen, even as he said”. Alleluia! Resurrection is more then a new phase of the old life. Jesus invites followers to rise with him into a strange, upside-down world where apparent irreversible are reversed: life, defeats death, love trumps evil, weakness means power, humility wins out, last comes first, and “nothing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1:37). We are beginning to experience new life     emanating from this difficult time of COVID-19. May we know the joy of the Risen Christ.

I will be taking time off this coming week and next weekend. Part of the time I will be staying with friends in Bellingham. It will be the first time I will spend a night away from my home in more than a year. Fr. Chuck Palluck will be here next weekend. Have a blessed Easter season.