Dear Families,
Today, we had a beautiful Mass for the Solemnity of All Saints. The seventh grade processed in with their kindergarten buddies who presented their colorful pictures of the saints. They all prayed and read beautifully. Fr. Crispin told us about the different categories of Saints, those who are canonized and recognized by the church and then there are those saints, all our friends and relatives who passed on and are in heaven are also saints. Last year on this Feast Day, Pope Francis stressed that the saints are not “supermen” who are “born perfect,” but rather are ordinary people who followed God “with all their heart.” “They are like us, they are like each of us, they are people who before reaching the glory of heaven lived a normal life, with joys and griefs, struggles and hopes,” the Pope said. “They spent their lives in the service of others, they endured suffering and adversity without hatred and responded to evil with good, spreading joy and peace,” he said.
Let us respond as the saints did. Let us pray and send those prayers out to the families of our Jewish brothers and sisters who mourn the loss of loved ones. Let us pray and resolve to stand up against evil, bigotry and all forms of hatred. Let us pray and commit to having the courage to act for peace and for the common good. Fr. Crispin told us that we can all be saints by being kind, doing good and caring for others. As Mrs. Jessup would say, “We are all saints in the making!”
At Mass, Fr. Crispin called Evie to the altar and he led the children in a rousing, “Thank you, we love you, Evie!” He then gave her a special blessing which he sang in Swahili. Evie, Mrs. Evelyn Pinkerman, Parish Administrative Assistant is retiring today! Along with her dedication and hard work, we will all miss her welcoming smile, her gracious support and her warm sense of humor.
Congratulations to the eighth-grade students who competed in the Math Games at Seattle Prep last Saturday. You made Mr. Tice and St. John proud! Catholic schools represented in force, with 176 eighth-graders from 22 different schools. St. John was one of the top three scoring teams! Way to go, Math Eagles! This weekend, our mathematicians compete at Bishop Blanchet High School.
On Saturday, the eighth-grade boys and the seventh-grade girls soccer teams compete for the championships at their levels. Both games are at Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien. The girls play at 11:00am and the boys play at 2:00pm. Don’t forget to go to Mass and give thanks for all this good news! The State of the Parish will be presented at all masses. All parish school families are expected to attend.
Monday is another conference day. The teachers report that they are pleased with how the conferences are progressing. Thank you again for your patience and flexibility. Please note for Monday–the City will be working on 79th street and we are expecting much of the street to be closed to traffic. We will work to have the parking lot open for conferences. You will likely need to enter and exit the lot from 80th St. Thank you.
Beannacht,
Bernadette O’Leary
