News - Reflections by Father William Heric

Dear Friends in Christ, The autumn season officially began this past week. This is my favorite time of the year, as the various foliage on our trees and bushes is in full bloom before they start to fall away in late October and early November. The neighborhoods that make up our NE Seattle Catholic Community are naturally beautiful, made more so by the many gardens that adorn our homes and parks. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, We have sadly seen another increase in gun violence in recent weeks that has led to more tragic deaths. The most recent one was a well-known political activist, a young man with a wife and two small children. His controversial views have led to a firestorm of divisive rhetoric on both extremes of the political spectrum, yet another indication of the deep divisions in our country. At times like this, as Catholics, we must strive to come together to promote reconciliation and unity. One of the ways we do that is to acknowledge the good things also happening in our midst, and to celebrate them for the positive gifts they offer us. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, One of the important goals of the “Partners in the Gospel Planning Process” is to renew Catholic life by sharing resources to help us more effectively proclaim the gospel of Christ. Within our family of parishes, we are blessed with numerous material resources, including churches, halls, and schools. Our most important resource, however, is the People of God, called and gifted for a variety of ministries in our life as a faith community. Within our overall community, I would like to highlight the role of women in various parish ministries. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, My bulletin reflection last week looked forward with hope and optimism to the learning opportunities waiting for everyone as we begin a new school year. That tone was shaken on Wednesday, August 27th with the horrific reports of a gunman opening up fire on the community at Annunciation Catholic School in Minnesota as they gathered for their first Mass of the year. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, The new school year is upon us, and with its commencement, students are turning their attention to the various opportunities they will have to learn about life through literature, history, composition, math, drama, art and music, science, health and leadership, community and service. Continue reading...

The Catholic Church has been in the news of late with the early evaluation of our new Pope Leo XIV, and more locally, the second year of the Partners in the Gospel plan to merge parishes. In the midst of all these variables, I think it’s important to keep focused on the essential purpose of the church. The late Pope Benedict XVI helped by identifying the following three basic tasks to guide us: (continue reading)

Dear Friends in Christ, One of the things we do every year is to file an annual report to the archdiocese that describes the metrics of our life as a Catholic Community. In working on this report for Fiscal Year 2024-205, I discovered that we celebrated a total of 11 weddings in our four parishes. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, We are now in our second year as a family of parishes, in the process of becoming a single parish through the Partners in the Gospel program. There is a wide range of people’s understanding of what this means, so it seems like a good opportunity to remind you what we are about in this process. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, I confess that I spend a little time most days scrolling through the Instagram social media site. Today, I came upon a beautiful version of Bob Dylan’s 1964 song “The Times They Are a-Changing” made popular by the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary. The choir singing their version of the song on Instagram was young men and women in their late teens and early twenties who were not even born when the song was first released. The words to the song speak to them as they still do to me after all these years.

Dear Friends in Christ, One of the things you will probably notice in the next week or so is the various advertisements encouraging us to prepare to go “Back to School!” I like the one that shows two parents happily preparing their kids to return to classes while the song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” plays in the background. Planning ahead to resume learning opportunities also applies to our Catholic lives. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, My family commemorates two things in July, the first being the death of our father, Irv, on July 3, 2013. The more recent commemoration for us is the first anniversary of our mom Patty’s death on July 17th, 2024. As both are buried at Holyrood Cemetery, July affords us the opportunity to visit their graves and remember them as not only our parents, but as people. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, One of the acclamations we offer in the Eucharistic prayer of the Mass goes like this: "We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again." This is a poignant reminder of a mystery that is a regular part of our human experience. That suffering and death are part of life, but God will always bring forth new life from these harsh realities. This is no abstraction but a part of everyday people’s lives. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, In July 2024, the Archdiocese of Seattle formed 60 parish families from 136 parishes. This was a milestone in the Partners of the Gospel strategic pastoral planning process focused on reenvisioning parish life. As a parish family, we have begun asking ourselves: How can we look at the resources we have – people, properties, finances – and use them to support the mission of Jesus Christ: to go make disciples? Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, Tuesday, July 1, will mark the one-year anniversary of our coming together as a family of parishes in the “Partners in the Gospel” plan to renew Catholic life in Western Washington. We will complete the first year of a three-year process, eventually becoming one canonical parish in NE Seattle. Next week, I will reflect on some of the highlights of this first year, but for now, let me offer some thoughts about our main ministry, which is to gather for the celebration of the Eucharist every week.

Dear Friends in Christ, Let me start by thanking you from the bottom of my heart for your kind greetings and gifts as I celebrated my 70th birthday this past Tuesday, June 17. Your thoughtfulness means the world to me… as do all of you. I am particularly grateful for sharing this time in my life and ministry with all of you in our NE Seattle Catholic Community. Best I know at this point, I will retire after my time serving you concludes. Here’s to several more years of collaboration! Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, The academic year is ending for schools in the area, including our three parish schools. I want to take the opportunity to offer my thanks to all our faculty, staff, and parent volunteers who make our schools such vibrant and faith-filled learning communities. Special thanks to our principals, Kathleen Conklin (ASB), Kate Orizotti (OLL), and Kathy Cox (St.C), for their excellent leadership of our schools. Congratulations and best wishes as well to our recent graduates. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, This weekend, we celebrate the great solemnity of Pentecost, which brings the Easter Season to a formal close. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit we celebrate commemorates the birth of the church of Jesus Christ, and our call in the present moment to allow the Spirit to empower us to renew the face of the earth with the Lord’s mercy, compassion, and love. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, Two important anniversaries occur this week that are worth noting. The first is the formal celebration on May 31 of a special Mass commemorating the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Catholic Church in Western Washington. Officially known now as the Archdiocese of Seattle, this milestone reminds us that we belong to a large and diverse history of Catholic faith with a mission to witness to the love of Christ to all in our region.

Dear Friends in Christ, The following quote is attributed to the philosopher Aristotle. “We are what we repeatedly do…excellence is not an act, but a habit.” In other words, excellence isn't this thing you do once; it’s a way of living. We try to teach our children the importance of developing good habits in their speech and actions in school, sports, and other activities that form the character of their lives. That includes the vitally important virtues of faith, hope, and love that shape their hearts and minds as followers of Christ.

Dear Friends in Christ, The Roman Catholic Church and many others around the world continue to rejoice at the election of Pope Leo XIV, our new “Pontiff,” which means bridge builder. In his opening blessing, our new holy father said the following: