We will livestream Mass at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15, the Feast of the Assumption. If you would like to attend Mass on this Holy Day of Obligation, you can register with this link.

Dear St. Aloysius Parish,

Beginning Sunday, Aug. 23 we will livestream and record the 8:30 a.m. Mass. The 5 p.m. Mass will be suspended and resume at a future date. The Sunday Mass schedule open to in-person worship remains the same: 8:30 a.m., 9:45 a.m., and 11:00 a.m.

Sign up to attend any of those Masses using our EventBrite signup or by calling Solveig at the Parish Center at (509)313-7020 on Thursday and Friday mornings between 9 a.m. and noon.

Fr. Tom Lamanna, S.J.

August 9th

August 2nd

July 26 – reflection and questions on readings

July 19 – reflection and questions on readings

July Parish bulletin

We invite you to participate in the Novena for Racial Justice, offered by Ignatiansolidarity.net:

“In the Catholic tradition, a Novena is an ancient prayer tradition, consisting of prayer for a specific intention over the course of nine days.

Through this Novena for Racial Justice, the Jesuit and broader Catholic network is invited to unite in prayer for nine days, framed in the example of Catholic saints and servants of God who provide a witness and example for us in our work for racial justice.”

Receive 9 Daily Novena Emails
You can participate in the Novena via a daily email by registering here. You can also participate via the website below.

Funerals scheduled at St. Aloysius.

Click here for full playlist of Novena videos on YouTube

Join us this Saturday as we start the Novena to St. Aloysius Gonzaga, the Patron Saint of Plague Victims.  The Novena is offered in a virtual format, with a video released every day, June 13th-21st, at 9am.   Subscribe on Youtube, or follow us on Facebook for updates!

Looking for the Novena prayer card?  Go here: tinyurl.com/AloysiusNovena

St. Aloysius of Gonzaga Novena Prayer

St. Aloysius Gonzaga, patron of youth

and of pandemic victims, come to our aid.

While risking your own life,

you took care of the poor, the sick, and the dying.

You know our insecurity, anxiety, and despair.

Help us protect and support one another now.

Through your intercession,

may God transform our fear into hope.

We ask you to pray to God for us

that we might receive the favors we ask for in this novena

(here mention your prayer intentions).

Concluding Prayer

Most Merciful and Triune God,

We come to you in our weakness.

We come to you in our fear.
We come to you with trust.
For you alone are our hope.

We place before you the disease present in our world.

We turn to you in our time of need.

Bring wisdom to doctors.
Give understanding to scientists.
Endow caregivers with compassion and generosity.

Bring healing to those who are ill.
Protect those who are most at risk.
Give comfort to those who have lost a loved one.

Welcome those who have died into your Eternal Home.

Stabilize our communities.
Unite us in our compassion.

Remove all fear from our hearts.
Fill us with confidence in Your care.

Heal us in body, mind, and spirit.

We ask these favors through the intercession of St. Aloysius Gonzaga,

for the good of all God’s people

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Due to the complexity of resuming Masses at St. Aloysius during this time of the staged reopening in the state of Washington we are delaying our original announcement that they would resume Wednesday June 3.

Daily Masses will continue to be live streamed only for the time being. We will continue to prepare for daily Masses to resume in a manner that protects the health of as many as we can. When we are ready to resume daily Masses, we will give notice. We will first keep our focus on the weekend Masses which we were so glad to do and thought went well.

Reopen Memo

Dear St. Aloysius Parish,

As Phase II of the Governor’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” progresses, changes continue to come to us.  Bishop Daly has given the go ahead for confessions and Masses to resume.  The bishop, following the lead of the governor, has allowed for churches to have services with 25% of church capacity or 50 people, whichever is lower.  Clearly for us at St. Als, the latter is true.  We at St. Aloysius welcome this news and are working to make this happen.  In our planning, we continue to keep the health and safety of you, our parishioners, in the forefront of what we do.

Confessions resume Thursday May 28 at the usual time, 4:30pm to 6:30pm.  We are holding them outside at the Mary grotto immediately east of the church.  Confessors and penitents are required to wear masks and keep six-foot distances. There will be a screen between them.  We will hold confessions at this site on Thursdays 4:30-6:30pm until further notice.

Sunday Masses will resume May 30.  The Saturday 5pm Vigil Mass will continue to be live streamed only.  I know some of you prefer it, but we want to keep one Mass designed for all those who cannot or choose not to come to public Masses yet.  By live streaming only and closing it to the public, we can have full music, which is so important to the beauty of our liturgies. Masks and six-foot distances are required at all Sunday and weekday Masses.  As was true in March, we will not have a physical exchange of peace, we will not hold hands across the church during the Our Father, and there will not be any Holy Water in the fonts.  Sunday Masses will be as short as possible to minimize exposure.  Please check the website for more information.

Communion will be offered under one species only and in the hand only.  Eucharistic ministers and those coming forward at communion must all wear masks.  To receive communion, extend your hand as open and flat as possible to receive the host, step to the side, pull down your mask enough to consume the host, then replace your mask and walk back to your seat.

As per Bishop’s statement, there will not be congregational singing at the public Masses. Ushers will dismiss the congregation by rows starting in the rear of the church at the end of Mass.  There will not be access to the bathrooms and O’Malley hall.

Signing up for Mass is required. Following the instructions of Bishop, we will keep a 30-day record of mass attendees to notify you if someone tests positive for COVID.  Please see the parish website for instructions on how to sign up for Mass.

Weekday Masses will not resume yet.  Daily Masses will continue to be live streamed and the church will remain closed during the day.  When daily Masses resume the church will also be open from 7:30am to 9:30am Monday through Friday.

These are challenging times and it seems when something changes regarding COVID 19 safety protocols the situation is very fluid.  Things can move slow and then seemingly all at once move very fast, which requires adaptability on our part.  I think it shows us our need for the Holy Spirit to keep us grounded in the midst of a changing environment.  We can take our cues from the apostles who, after the crucifixion, were hiding out in the upper room not sure of what to do.  Even after the resurrection, Jesus met them there with a greeting of “Peace be with you.”  At Pentecost, the Apostles are again together; the Spirit comes to them and it strengthens their hearts.  They go out into the world and are Jesus’ witnesses as Luke tells us Jesus said to them at the Ascension (Acts 1).  Peter and John encounter a crippled beggar at the Temple in Jerusalem.  Unable to give him silver or gold, they instead give him what they have, Jesus.  The crippled beggar walks (Acts 3).   May you be strengthened by the Holy Spirit this Pentecost.

Sincerely,

Tom Lamanna, S.J.