Thursday, February 26, 2009
Forgiveness
Join us each Wednesday in March (7pm in the Parish Hall) as we learn about Forgiveness as presented by Fr. Garry Cappleman, OP and Tara Simons. This promises to be a great series and is a great way to get into the spirit of Lent.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Happy Birthday, Fr. Gus!
Fr. Gus is going to be 80 soon! Come help him celebrate his special day! Join us in the Parish Hall on Sunday, March 8th at 7pm for a Spaghetti dinner. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share. Space is limited, so please RSVP to Tara Simons at 206.732.7345 or tsimons@bspwa.org
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Ash Wednesday
Happy Mardi Gras everyone! Hope everyone is celebrating well today!
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. It's not a Holy Day of Obligation, but it is a great way to prepare ourselves for Lent. As Fr. Michael Fones, OP reminds us on his blog:
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. It's not a Holy Day of Obligation, but it is a great way to prepare ourselves for Lent. As Fr. Michael Fones, OP reminds us on his blog:
The ashes traced on our forehead in the sign of the cross are a double reminder: first of all, of the cross traced on our forehead just before we were baptized. It is the sign that we have been claimed for Christ, the seal of the servants of God (Rev. 7:3). It reminds us that our life is not our own; that we have been purchased and at a price (1Cor 6:20). The ashes are also a jarring reminder of our mortality and the swift passing of our days: an annual "memento mori."Here's the schedule of Ash Wednesday Masses at Blessed Sacrament:
Friday, February 13, 2009
Light in the Darkness by Fr. Michael Fones, OP
On January 21, 2009 Fr. Michael Fones, OP, co-director of the Siena Institute, shared with us a great talk entitled "Light in the Darkness" - a discussion on how to share your faith with others. Unfortunately, Fr. Michael didn't make it through his entire talk, so he graciously offered to let us post his slides on his blog! Thank you, Fr. Michael!
Priesthood Discernment Meeting
Wednesday, February 18, 2009, 7:00 to 9:00 PM
St. Benedict Catholic Church (meet in Rectory behind Church)
Wallingford Ave N & N 49th St, Seattle, WA
Join us for prayer and discussion about the priesthood. This month's speaker will be Fr. Qui-Thac Nguyen, speaking about obedience.
Next month's meeting: March 18th.
Please RSVP or contact for more information: Rich Shively, at (206) 382-4595, or email at richs@seattlearch.org
St. Benedict Catholic Church (meet in Rectory behind Church)
Wallingford Ave N & N 49th St, Seattle, WA
Join us for prayer and discussion about the priesthood. This month's speaker will be Fr. Qui-Thac Nguyen, speaking about obedience.
Next month's meeting: March 18th.
Please RSVP or contact for more information: Rich Shively, at (206) 382-4595, or email at richs@seattlearch.org
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Fr. Tom Memories Website
Please take a moment to read this message below from Joseph Cyr, a friend of Fr. Tom's from Tempe, Arizona. He's putting together a great project in honor of Fr. Tom. Please consider sharing any photos, etc... you have.
**********************
To all Fr. Tom Kraft's family and friends,
My name is Joseph Cyr. I live in Tempe, Arizona and was a student at Arizona State University when Fr Tom was here at our Newman Center from 1986-1989. Before Fr. Tom left Arizona to move to the Newman Center at Salt Lake City I put together a video of some memories from Fr. Tom's time here in Arizona. I will be converting that VHS video to digital soon and putting it up on the internet for anyone to view.
Now what I would like to do is build a Fr. Tom Memories website with some photo slideshows, photo galleries, audio clips and videos highlighting some moments that people have captured of Fr. Tom's extraordinary life. I will also link to other sites with photo galleries or other media already in place. It will be an ongoing project that will continue to grow as I acquire more material. What I'm asking people for are any photos, video clips, audio or anything else they want to share for Fr. Tom Memories website. I will also produce some DVDs with the materials if I get enough media to make something interesting. I am a 3D animator and visual effects artist so I have access to high end production facilities to assemble all different kinds of media.
This whole project depends on the amount of media I acquire, so it will truly be a collaborative effort. Hopefully this site will help people relive some great memories and remember how wonderful it was to have the gift of Fr. Tom. I will gladly reference anyone who sends photos, etc. if they wish.
What I am asking for is the media to produce the above mentioned items:
1. Original high resolution digital photos. These can be put on CD and mailed to me, or delivered through the internet.
2. Photo prints that can be scanned to make them digital. Again, these can be put on CD and mailed to me or delivered through the internet.
3. Video clips
4. Audio clips.
5. Any ideas of music for the photo slideshows/DVDs. If you have recorded any video of Fr. Tom during concerts, retreats, jam sessions or any other times, those will work great too.
4. Anything else you think is appropriate to share.
Any digital format will work for me. If you have something other than digital, contact me and we can figure out how to convert the media.
To deliver files digitally, please try Yousendit.com. It is free for up to 100mb per transfer. Please compress all files into one zipped file. Send that one file through Yousendit.com. If you have over 100mb of material, try breaking up into smaller sets and send each set through Yousendit.com separately.
Any questions, please contact me through email.
Thanks for any help,
God Bless,
Joseph Cyr
P.S. If you would like me to send an email to you when the memories site is online, please send me a note and ask to be put on the contact list.
Dominican "Come & See" Vocations Weekend
Have you thought about entering religious life or studying for the priesthood?
Come to the Dominican Vocations Weekend at St. Albert's Priory in Oakland, CA!
(3pm Friday, March 6 – 1pm Sunday, March 8.)
St. Albert's is the house of studies for the Dominicans in the Western US. Meet the brothers studying for the priesthood, visit the school and novitiate, listen to presentations on the religious and priestly life, and spend time in prayer. For more information or to register contact Fr. Steven Maekawa, OP. (510) 596-1821, vocations@opwest.org
Come to the Dominican Vocations Weekend at St. Albert's Priory in Oakland, CA!
(3pm Friday, March 6 – 1pm Sunday, March 8.)
St. Albert's is the house of studies for the Dominicans in the Western US. Meet the brothers studying for the priesthood, visit the school and novitiate, listen to presentations on the religious and priestly life, and spend time in prayer. For more information or to register contact Fr. Steven Maekawa, OP. (510) 596-1821, vocations@opwest.org
Monday, February 9, 2009
Holy Hour Reading and Reflection
We're starting a new tradition! Following our monthly Holy Hour of adoration, the reading (which is always the Gospel reading for the following Sunday) and reflection (which will be written by a different Young Adult each month) will be posted here. Here is the reading and reflection from the February Holy Hour. (Make sure to check back after each Holy Hour for new readings and reflections!)
On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.
When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.
Rising very early before dawn, he left
and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you."
He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come."
So he went into their synagogues,
preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.
Last November Fr. Daniel said in one of his homilies that, “everything, everything is open to the healing power of the Lord”. His statement gave me, and everyone who heard it, so much hope. Fr. Daniel is correct. Everything, especially as demonstrated in tonight’s reading, is open to the healing power of the Lord, but only if it is His will. Still, I must admit that this reading presented me with quite a challenge. My first thought, which took me quite a while to shake, was, “Well, Jesus, you went around curing people in the area of Galilee. You cured Simon’s mother-in-law. Why didn’t you cure Fr. Tom?” Admittedly, it’s a question we won’t be able to fully answer. And yet, we can look to Fr. Tom’s own words for guidance. On the feast of the Epiphany this year, Fr. Tom wrote, encouraging us to look to Jesus, our Christ “who shows us how to live life, in simplicity and holiness, always focusing our thoughts on the Lord and doing His will as we serve others.”
And truly, that gentle reminder to follow the “will of the Lord as we serve others” is the example incarnate in this evening’s reading, both in the action of Jesus, and in the action of Simon’s mother-in-law.
Tonight we are presented with Jesus’ first healing miracle that we read about in the Gospel of Mark. In this passage alone, we hear a reference to Jesus healing many others in Capernaum, and in the rest of the region around Galilee. Why did Jesus heal these people? Well, it was done out of deference to the will of the Father. He had, after all, just left the synagogue, which incidentally was right next door to Simon’s home, and surely he had spoken with the Father there. Jesus was, and is, in constant communion with the Father. The healing, too, was also done out of tenderness and love. Mark doesn’t tell us that Jesus ordered the fever to leave Simon’s mother-in-law. Rather, it says that Jesus took her by the hand and helped her up – a true act of mercy, one borne out of tenderness and love – a tenderness and love that can only come from the Father, through his will.
After Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law, he healed more people in Capernaum. The next morning, he woke up early, “left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.” This action further highlights how we too (as Fr. Tom said) must "focus our thoughts on the Lord and doing His will". It also offers a response, in some sense, to the question of not understanding Fr. Tom's death. Shortly after Christmas, Fr. Tom wrote, “My duty is to subject my life totally to the Lord in prayer and service and He will do the rest; Jesus is my only desire.” And so it should be for us as well. Fr. Tom asked that we turn to the Lord and offer our lives in the service of others, just as Jesus does in this evening’s reading through his own example of prayer and service. Only by answering that call to holiness will we be able to let go of the questions and anxieties that often plague us and keep us from living with peace and joy.
Let’s look now at Simon’s mother-in-law. The moment the “fever left her”, “she waited on them”. It is a beautiful action. Here is a gravely ill woman who was bestowed a beautiful gift – the gift of life. Her gratitude is simply stated in the words of Mark “she waited on them”. She served Her Lord and Saviour and his disciples too. We also are called to follow in the example of Simon’s mother-in-law. For, we too have been given the gift of new life though our baptism with the Lord. And every time we receive the Eucharist, we are also receiving Christ, (as He is before us now) – the gift of new life, Christ dwelling within us. Like Simon’s mother-in-law, we are called to give thanks to that gift of life, to honour our Christ by serving Him (through our service of others) in our thoughts, words, and actions in every facet of our lives.
And so, as we adore the Eucharist this evening, let us like Simon’s mother-in-law, and like Fr. Tom so often did, “focus our thoughts on the Lord and [on] doing His will as we serve others” so that we, too, may live our lives in the “simplicity and holiness” and peace of Christ.
********************************
Mk 1:29-39On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.
When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.
Rising very early before dawn, he left
and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you."
He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come."
So he went into their synagogues,
preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.
Last November Fr. Daniel said in one of his homilies that, “everything, everything is open to the healing power of the Lord”. His statement gave me, and everyone who heard it, so much hope. Fr. Daniel is correct. Everything, especially as demonstrated in tonight’s reading, is open to the healing power of the Lord, but only if it is His will. Still, I must admit that this reading presented me with quite a challenge. My first thought, which took me quite a while to shake, was, “Well, Jesus, you went around curing people in the area of Galilee. You cured Simon’s mother-in-law. Why didn’t you cure Fr. Tom?” Admittedly, it’s a question we won’t be able to fully answer. And yet, we can look to Fr. Tom’s own words for guidance. On the feast of the Epiphany this year, Fr. Tom wrote, encouraging us to look to Jesus, our Christ “who shows us how to live life, in simplicity and holiness, always focusing our thoughts on the Lord and doing His will as we serve others.”
And truly, that gentle reminder to follow the “will of the Lord as we serve others” is the example incarnate in this evening’s reading, both in the action of Jesus, and in the action of Simon’s mother-in-law.
Tonight we are presented with Jesus’ first healing miracle that we read about in the Gospel of Mark. In this passage alone, we hear a reference to Jesus healing many others in Capernaum, and in the rest of the region around Galilee. Why did Jesus heal these people? Well, it was done out of deference to the will of the Father. He had, after all, just left the synagogue, which incidentally was right next door to Simon’s home, and surely he had spoken with the Father there. Jesus was, and is, in constant communion with the Father. The healing, too, was also done out of tenderness and love. Mark doesn’t tell us that Jesus ordered the fever to leave Simon’s mother-in-law. Rather, it says that Jesus took her by the hand and helped her up – a true act of mercy, one borne out of tenderness and love – a tenderness and love that can only come from the Father, through his will.
After Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law, he healed more people in Capernaum. The next morning, he woke up early, “left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.” This action further highlights how we too (as Fr. Tom said) must "focus our thoughts on the Lord and doing His will". It also offers a response, in some sense, to the question of not understanding Fr. Tom's death. Shortly after Christmas, Fr. Tom wrote, “My duty is to subject my life totally to the Lord in prayer and service and He will do the rest; Jesus is my only desire.” And so it should be for us as well. Fr. Tom asked that we turn to the Lord and offer our lives in the service of others, just as Jesus does in this evening’s reading through his own example of prayer and service. Only by answering that call to holiness will we be able to let go of the questions and anxieties that often plague us and keep us from living with peace and joy.
Let’s look now at Simon’s mother-in-law. The moment the “fever left her”, “she waited on them”. It is a beautiful action. Here is a gravely ill woman who was bestowed a beautiful gift – the gift of life. Her gratitude is simply stated in the words of Mark “she waited on them”. She served Her Lord and Saviour and his disciples too. We also are called to follow in the example of Simon’s mother-in-law. For, we too have been given the gift of new life though our baptism with the Lord. And every time we receive the Eucharist, we are also receiving Christ, (as He is before us now) – the gift of new life, Christ dwelling within us. Like Simon’s mother-in-law, we are called to give thanks to that gift of life, to honour our Christ by serving Him (through our service of others) in our thoughts, words, and actions in every facet of our lives.
And so, as we adore the Eucharist this evening, let us like Simon’s mother-in-law, and like Fr. Tom so often did, “focus our thoughts on the Lord and [on] doing His will as we serve others” so that we, too, may live our lives in the “simplicity and holiness” and peace of Christ.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Praise and Worship Night in Memory of Fr. Tom
The Sundays at Seven choir group from the Newman Center is dedicating an evening of prayer and song to Fr. Tom Kraft, OP. Please join us on Wednesday, February 18th at 7:00pm at the Newman Center as we remember our beloved priest and friend and give thanks to God for his life and ministry. Mass will follow at 9:00 p.m.
As many of you know, Fr. Tom loved good music and was a great supporter of the Sundays at Seven choir. They recently recorded a CD for Fr. Tom and gave it to him for his birthday in December. Some of that music will be featured at this Praise and Worship night. Come, help the Sundays at Seven choir celebrate the life our dear Fr. Tom.
Young Adult Dinner
Join us, this upcoming Sunday, February 8th, after the 5:45pm Mass at Blessed Sacrament for our monthly Young Adult Dinner. Meet us in the back of the church and then come out with us to Eastlake Bar and Grill for a relaxed evening, food, drinks, and the best of company.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Young Adult Holy Hour
"In a world where there is so much noise, so much bewilderment, there is a need for silent adoration of Jesus concealed in the Host. Be assiduous in the prayer of adoration and teach it to the faithful. It is a source of comfort and light, particularly to those who are suffering."
Holy Hour--Friday, Feb. 6th at 7:00 p.m. (Newman Center)
-Pope Benedict XVI
Holy Hour--Friday, Feb. 6th at 7:00 p.m. (Newman Center)
Join us for an hour of quiet prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, meditative song and rosary recitation at the Newman Center at UW (4502 20th Ave NE). Father Steven Maekawa, OP will be joining us for drinks afterwards at The George & Dragon Pub in Fremont (rated by GQ magazine as one of the top ten places to watch the World Cup). Also, If you are interested in helping with the music for a future holy hour, please let us know.
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