Why I'm Catholic: Church’s care for creation convinced him

A strong belief in the environmental movement led to Franciscan spirituality. That in turn introduced Pope Francis and the 2015 papal encyclical “Laudato Si’,” a document that pointed out the latticework of relationships on planet Earth.
Archbishop’s public schedule

Here’s Archbishop Sample’s schedule for the next few weeks:
New priests have Oregon experience

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Four new priests ordained for the Congregation of Holy Cross served in Oregon during their formation.
Virtuous and heroic forerunners, leading us to heaven

The road to heaven can be puzzling, but, luckily, great saints exist throughout history to show the way.
Mother Mary

Brenda Schwartz once found Catholic reverence for Mary unsettling. She wasn’t raised Catholic. It was her devout German Catholic father-in-law who took her aside and explained that Catholics don’t worship Mary but that she’s there to help.
LIFE: Feed the hungry

As Moses’ companion wanderers made clear, each of us needs food and water, daily bread to satisfy our hunger and to survive. On May 15, we celebrate the feast day of St. Isidore, the patron saint of farmers.
Professor: Pius XII issue used as a weapon in culture wars

A 1962 play penned by a lapsed German Protestant and produced by a communist activist planted a pesky misperception that Pope Pius XII was a tool of the Third Reich. On occasion, the old idea springs up as a noxious weed in the culture wars.
40 Days for Life campaign affected by movie

The 40th day of the 40 Days for Life campaign was a Sunday. That was when Jasmine Price and her mom, Audra, volunteered to hold signs outside the Lovejoy Surgicenter. The office was closed but the trio of volunteers, the Price women along with campaign organizer Therese Ruesink, stood outside praying, holding signs and smiling at passersby.
Vocations rally draws 500

Serra Club of Portland supported the 12th annual vocations rally, held this year at St. Anthony Parish in Tigard March 14. The rally provides sixth graders an opportunity to spend a day with priests, brothers and sisters
Archbishop Sample to speak on Mary

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio —The 25th annual St. John Bosco Conference for Evangelization and Catechesis is set for July 15 – 18 at Franciscan University here.
Annulment is not ‘Catholic divorce’

The Bible is clear about divorce, both Old Testament and New.
God hates it. “For I hate divorce, says the Lord, the God of Israel,” (Mal 2:16) wrote a prophet five centuries before Christ.
Stories of four new Catholics

About 750 people were initiated into the church this Easter in western Oregon. Each one seems to have a story about confusion followed by clarity. Their progression is an encouragement to everyone in the church. Here are the stories of four new Catholics.
An invitation to confession

One of the most challenging but richest parts of Catholic life is the sacrament of reconciliation, also known as the sacrament of penance or confession.
Entering the mystery

Catholics around western Oregon last month experienced the stunning story of the Paschal Mystery. Here is a taste of what happened here during Christianity’s holiest week.
Romero celebrated in Portland

As a boy walking the streets of San Salvador, Edilberto Valladares heard the pleading voice of Archbishop Oscar Romero sounding from radios in every home. In the late 1970s, the archbishop, once a bookish churchman, had evolved into a feisty advocate for El Salvador’s poor.
Scripture: God’s guiding love and encouragement

The Bible tells the story of God’s repeated attempts to form a link with humanity. For Catholics, the implication is that God continues to reach out to us now, out of pure love.
How we find the Risen One

"When we love, in the face of only searing hatred, we find Jesus, the Risen One,” Holy Cross Father Chris Brennan told worshippers Easter morning at Holy Redeemer Church in North Portland.
WATCH: Passion re-enacted

At St. Luke Parish in Woodburn, Hispanic faithful carried on the tradition of a realistic enactment of Jesus’ last hours and death. Parishioners dressed as Roman guards, apostles, Sanhedrin officials and the people of Jerusalem moved through the tragic story as hundreds of onlookers sat spellbound in gymnasium bleachers.
Prayer for Servants of the Church is a ministry of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. A day each month is set aside to pray for the name of a priest — along with a deacon, woman religious, seminarian or brother — serving in the Archdiocese of Portland. Please remember them, and all who serve the church, in your daily prayers.
Paschal musicals offered

The Sisters of Reparation provide an outreach ministry through paschal musical presentations. Meditations, music and liturgical dance plus a reenactment of the life of Christ are meant to enhance the journey during the Easter season.
Fr. Dave Pivonka to lead daylong retreat in Oregon City

A Franciscan friar who has become famous for reminding Catholics about the reality and power of the Holy Spirit will lead a daylong retreat in Oregon City Saturday, June 1.
High hopes for Archdiocesan Liturgical Handbook

KEIZER — Msgr. Gerard O’Connor believes that if western Oregon Catholics increase devotion and reverence at Mass, overall zeal might return to the local church.
Palm Sunday offerings

The public is welcome as friends and Donnes of Reparation gather with the Sisters of Reparation for Palm Sunday. Stations of the Cross begin at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 14. Father Jon Buffington will bless braided palms and offer Mass at 3 p.m.
Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women to hold annual conference

The Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women will hold their 2019 conference Saturday, April 13, at The Grotto in Portland. All are welcome. The morning session will feature Father Jon Buffington, who will share his knowledge of church heroes, modern and ancient.
Palm Sunday Stations set for winery

Lady Hill Winery in Champoeg hosts a musical Palm Sunday Stations of the Cross Sunday, April 14, at 5 p.m.
Capirotada: A culinary remembrance of the Passion

MILWAUKIE — As Rosa Sanchez stands in her mother’s kitchen, her extended family roams the home talking, playing and just being together. Sanchez stands behind the kitchen island, a host of ingredients laid out in front of her.
Archbishop Sample’s public schedule

Here’s where Archbishop Alexander Sample will be in the next few weeks.
One in the heart of Christ: Celebrating vocations to the priesthood

EUGENE — A decade ago, a small group of about 40 friends gathered here for a dinner and fundraiser to help support Mount Angel Seminary. Though their numbers were small, they lit a fire of enthusiasm and dedication and the dinner has continued to grow. On March 4, the gathering included close to 400 people in the Hotel Eugene, celebrating and pledging support for seminarians.
Lenten family resource available

The Archdiocese of Portland is using Lent as a time to encourage families to energize their relationship with Christ by prayer, dialogue and action.
Couples enrich marriage with fellowship, prayer

Couples for Christ Oregon, Seattle and Tri-Cities recently held a regional Marriage Enrichment Retreat (MER), drawing 60 attendees.
LIFE: Instruct the Ignorant

The Spiritual Works of Mercy guide us to help our neighbors with their spiritual needs. Therefore, it is vital that we elevate "Instruct the Ignorant" above imparting knowledge and raise instruction to its natural conclusion, namely, forming disciples in morals and our faith.
The chapel at a Beaverton retreat center now has stained glass as a help in prayer

BEAVERTON — Nine new stained-glass windows offer holy images high on the walls of the renovated chapel at Our Lady of Peace Retreat here. The aim, say the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows, is to remind people that there is beauty beyond this world.
Sisters celebrate 60 years as congregation

SALEM — Thirteen women religious from the Missionary Sisters of the Rosary of Fatima gathered at St. Joseph Parish here March 18 for a Mass of thanksgiving to mark the 60th anniversary of the congregation’s founding.
‘Humbled my soul’: Fasting is a way to participate in Christ’s saving path

Catholics around western Oregon fasted on Ash Wednesday and will do so again on Good Friday. According to the U.S. bishops’ regulations, to fast is to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal.
Pilgrimage: A priority both new and ancient

Msgr. Patrick Brennan, pastor of St. Mary Cathedral in downtown Portland, first visited the Holy Land in 1977. “When the smell of orange blossoms hit me, I have an overwhelming experience of the presence of God,” he says.
Sacrament of matrimony celebrated at cathedral

The threat of snow did not keep Glynn and Mary Alice Roberson and a dozen other couples away from St. Mary Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Northwest Portland for a Feb. 9 Mass celebrating marriage.
Christian in the World Lecture Series

ST. BENEDICT — Mount Angel Abbey’s 2019 Winter/Spring lecture series, The Crucifixion and the Christian Life, offers the fourth of four presentations Saturday, April 6, in the Mount Angel Abbey Library.
Running religious

MOUNT ANGEL — Darkness covers the pathway leading away from Mount Angel Abbey. It’s 3 a.m. Not much is happening in town yet. But Benedictine Brother Justin Gilligan is awake. He runs down the abbey trail and into Mount Angel, collecting several miles before he begins his day as a monk. Brother Justin doesn’t run with music. “It’s my time to think and be with God in a different way.”
Lenten spiritual opportunities

Ash Wednesday was March 6, opening the church’s great season of spiritual growth and conversion, directed toward Easter on April 21. Here are some Lenten spiritual opportunities offered by local retreat and spirituality centers. Email and phone numbers are included for registration.
Sacred liturgy: The mind and heart of the post-Vatican II church

There is a misconception among some that those who desire an elevated experience of the sacred liturgy want to turn the clock back to the 1950s. This is not the case. My view is that we can achieve a more reverent, more beautiful and more prayerful experience of the liturgy just by applying the current universal norms and directives of the post-Vatican II church.
LIFE: Admonish the Sinner

The Spiritual Works of Mercy guide us to help our neighbors with their spiritual needs. Unless you enjoy finger wagging and “tsk tsking” at the faults of others, “Admonish the Sinner” is the most difficult work of mercy to appreciate. Its value lies in being properly understood.
Prayer for Servants of the Church

Prayer for Servants of the Church is a ministry of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. A day each month is set aside to pray for the name of a priest — along with a deacon, woman religious, seminarian or brother — serving in the Archdiocese of Portland. Please remember them, and all who serve the church, in your daily prayers.
St. John Vianney relic to be venerated in Oregon

The incorrupt heart of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, will be available for veneration in the Archdiocese of Portland on Tuesday, March 5, and Wednesday, March 6 (Ash Wednesday). The saint’s heart was removed 45 years after he died and remains incorrupt.
'In prison and you visited me'

The walls at Columbia River Correctional Institution in Portland were recently painted, the floors newly waxed. The scene was set Dec. 7 for Archbishop Alexander Sample to celebrate Mass here and to welcome a new Catholic into the faith.
The Crucifixion and the Christian Life

ST. BENEDICT — Mount Angel Abbey’s 2019 Winter/Spring lecture series, offers its third of four presentations in the current series on Saturday, March 9, in the Mount Angel Abbey Library.
Dina Marie to give Lenten presentations

Former Mater Dei Radio host Dina Marie Hale, who one year ago stepped away from the headphones to embrace her next calling, seeks to inspire the faithful at parishes across western Oregon this Lent.
Should I use artificial birth control?

Some Catholics complain that church morals and ethics focus too much on the bedroom. That’s likely because the secular media get particularly fired up over matters sexual; church moral teaching actually covers all parts of human existence, including economics, politics, poverty, technology, transportation and warfare, among others.
LIFE: The weak

The Gospel reading for Sunday February 17 is Luke's "Sermon on the Plain." Unlike Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount," Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain” emphasizes Jesus coming among His disciples in the ordinary.
Faith knowledge the name of this game

BEAVERTON — When the Sassy Saints Squad from Holy Trinity School arrived at Valley Catholic High School Jan. 25, they were prepared for battle — a battle of faith knowledge.
Tapestry available to borrow

Mary, “Our Lady of Good Counsel,” is the patroness of The National Council of Catholic Women and the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. In western Oregon, the ACCW has for several decades made the image on a tapestry so it can be available for parishes, schools, meetings and special family events.
Marian retreat, movie and reflection offered

The Sisters of Reparation in Southeast Portland will host a Marian retreat Saturday, Feb. 9, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Celebrant for Mass and confessions is Father Bob Barricks, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Southeast Portland.
LIFE: Valentine and marriage

What can be better than young love? Old love that has weathered life’s trials.
Using technology in faith

Want to pray the rosary on the go? There’s an app for that. Want to stream educational material on the faith while your kids are at practice? There’s an app for that. Or maybe you want uplifting reading material to walk with through Advent and Lent. There are apps for that, too.
Sacristans: Holding the keys to the tabernacle

Sacristans, those behind-the-scenes volunteers, ensure neither the celebrant nor worshippers have to think about all the physical parts of Mass.
Archbishop Sample’s pastoral letter encourages worship music that is truly sacred — and he gives objective criteria

Archbishop Alexander Sample on Jan. 25 released a pastoral letter to the Archdiocese of Portland on sacred music for Mass, seeking to highlight “perennial truths”: sanctity, beauty,and universality.
When love, not faith, align: Challenges, gifts of mixed-faith marriages

Their holiday gatherings may bring a deluge of relatives’ earnest questions about one faith and harsh judgments about the other. Large chunks of each Sunday might be spent at two services, with hours shushing small children.
Abbot Peter Eberle speaks at Mount Angel

Mount Angel Abbey’s 2019 lecture series, “The Crucifixion and the Christian Life,” offers its second of four presentations on Saturday, Feb. 9, in the Mount Angel Abbey Library, St. Benedict. Benedictine Abbot Peter Eberle, O.S.B., former abbot of Mount Angel Abbey (1988-1997) will give all the presentations. Abbot Peter ha