Happenings

Hispanic Ministry leaders from the Archdiocese of Portland gathered Feb. 16, 2023, at the Pastoral Center, for a morning of prayer, praise, and team building with the goal of closer collaboration and outreach to the Hispanic community.

In the meeting, convened by the ministry’s new director, Father Mike Kueber, leaders from more than 32 parishes were among the approximately 80 participants from different cities and locations in Oregon.

“I was surprised by the large turnout,” Father Mike Kueber said. “I highly value their work and contributions,” he added. He explained how the gathering was an opportunity to learn about what is happening in parishes and better understand needs and expectations, “but, above all, it was an opportunity to strengthen communication and work together,” he stated.

Oregon Catholic Press (OCP) artists Rudy López and Koren Ruiz, expressed their art in songs of praise that fostered an atmosphere of faith and joy.

SEE, EVALUATE, ACT was the method used to guide the group work and to answer questions such as, what do you see in your parish? What ministries are active? How can these ministries be strengthened or deepened? The groups presented their findings with lists of activities highlighting successful practices of evangelization and catechesis among others. They also emphasized the challenge posed by Oregon's growing Hispanic Catholic presence, including ethnic groups that speak Mam, Mixtec, and Purépecha among others.

The urgent need for formation and training of lay leaders were common concern identified, along with bilingual resources and communication in Spanish between the archdiocese and parishioners, the pastoral care for young people, formation in Spanish of the permanent diaconate, and the need for a Spanish tribunal. They also cited the need for cultural sensitivity and racial equity.

Rev. Manuel Becerra, Rev. Arturo Romero, Rev. Julio Torres, Rev. Mario Rodriguez, Rev., David Jasper, and Rev. Guillermo Ameche applauded the commitment of the faithful to the Church and thanked God for what it means to be in this country with new opportunities and possibilities. The priests also referred to the particular challenges of Latino immigrants such as language limitation and called on parents to instruct and strengthen faith in their children without forgetting their roots, promote bilingualism, and understanding of cultural differences.

Archbishop Sample made a special appearance to greet participants and bless the food. “Eating together and listening to Hispanic music was the perfect way to wrap up our time together,” Father Mike said.

 

February 22, 2023

Praise be Jesus Christ!

"Brothers and Sisters: We are ambassadors for Christ!" These words of St. Paul implore us to conduct ourselves as if God were appealing to his lost sheep through us. On a day like Ash Wednesday, this may seem obvious. By taking the ashes on our foreheads, we are literally marking ourselves as disciples of Christ; but what about the other days of the year? What marks us as representatives for Christ then? As Catholics, our words and actions should be like the ashes that declare us disciples of Christ every day.

Embrace these 40 days, embrace this opportunity to renew and strengthen your connection to Christ through prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and penance. Don’t think of these things as items to add to your “to do” list, but as gifts - because they are gifts of God’s grace. The Prophet Joel tells us, "Even now, says the Lord, return to me, with your whole heart." I urge you, my brothers and sisters, embark on this Lenten season with your whole heart. If you commit to one thing this Lent, commit to going to confession. God is all merciful, all loving. He created you out of love and for love. Jesus sacrificed himself for us. Lent is our opportunity to surrender ourselves to him.

I invite you to pray the Surrender Novena with me, together as an Archdiocese, starting today on our social media channels. I know many of you have heard me expound on the grace and transformative power the Surrender Novena has brought to my life. Won’t you join me by surrendering your heart and life to Jesus this Lent?

In Christ,

Most Reverend Alexander K. Sample, Archbishop of Portland in Oregon

The Rev. Michael Kueber lifts his palms skyward and smiles. Always upbeat and encouraging, he is the new Hispanic Ministry director in the Archdiocese of Portland.  “God is building something in the Catholic Church here in Oregon and it comes from all of us,” he exclaimed.  “We are different, we come from different histories and countries, but we are one in Christ,” he stated. “When we have unity in Jesus Christ, in the Eucharist, in the Word of God and can be reunited, our unity is the most important thing.”

 Fr. Mike, as he is known to his congregation, has long been preaching to first generation  Hispanic immigrants and their children and spreading the Gospel, from the St. Anne Parish, in Gresham, where he served for more than seven years, first as a deacon in 1999, then as a Pastor from 2002 to 2009, to The Church of the Assumption, in Richfield, Minnesota, a parish with a large Hispanic population where he served from 2014 to 2020.

Since 2020, Fr. Mike was an adjunct professor of Preaching at the Catholic University of America. Currently, in addition to leading the Hispanic Ministry, he teaches Homiletics to seminarians at Mount Angel Seminary.

His new book, Preaching to Latinos: Welcoming the Hispanic Moment in the U.S. Church was released earlier this month. In it, Kueber provides readers with best practices for preaching to and leading their churches.

As the new Director of Hispanic Ministry at the Archdiocese of Portland, Fr. Mike stated that he will use the methodology of Seeing, Evaluating and Acting in the process of reflection and action. 

 Fr. Mike looks forward to continuing to learn with the Hispanic Catholic community. “My experience has taught me that the Catholic Church is 'a community of communities,' as Pope Francis explains.  “In a parish there is a community of faithful with many lay groups and movements, for example, groups of St. Juan Diego, of the Legion of Mary, of a variety of ministries, and all can flourish in the parish.” He explained that in these groups people build relationships,, study the Word of God together, share their lives, strengthen their faith, and community flourishes.. “In a church that lives in community, everyone is brothers,” he said.

 Fr. Mike added that one of his main focuses will be on families, “since parents are the first educators and transmitters of the faith to their children,” he said. “The proper and most fundamental place where the person receives education is in the family,” he added and invites parents to strengthen their personal relationship with God so that they can educate their children not so much by what they say but by how they live, he concluded.  

Preaching to Latinos: Welcoming the Hispanic Moment in the U.S. Church is available in paperback. 

Click to Buy...

 

January 21, 2023

On January 21st the Vietnamese Catholic Community marked the Lunar New Year 2023 at Our Lady of Lavang, in Happy Valley. Happy Year of the Cat (Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese calendar)!

The celebration began with a greeting to the faithful who attended dressed in formal and traditional attire for the major occasion of Vietnamese heritage. The beats of a drum and a bronze gong followed the initial prayers before the Mass.

Archbishop Sample in his homily expressed his joy for the New Year celebration and congratulated the community for beautifying the temple with recent improvements. “You, this parish family, have done a marvelous job,” he said before an audience of about 1,200 people.  “Every time I come, there is something new,” he said referencing the new Stations of the Cross added to the sanctuary.  
Archbishop Sample reflected on the challenges of the past three years shaped by the pandemic. “We have gone through one of the most difficult times that I think any of us will ever live,” he said. “I know some of you have experienced far worse just in getting here to this country and seeking your freedom, new life, the hardships and the sacrifices for sure.”

He went on to reflect on the last few years, “As difficult as it has been, it is time for a new beginning not just because we gather here to celebrate the Lunar New Year, but because of what we have been through in these years…I've been praying and wondering what it is that God allowed us to go through and for what purpose…As we move to the future to this new year, I think God has been purifying and strengthening us through this hardship when we remember what it was like not to be able to come to church to celebrate the Eucharist, the source and summit of our life, a greater longing for the Eucharist, a hunger for the Eucharist,” he said referencing the Eucharistic Revival called for by the bishops.

Archbishop Sample concluded that it's time for us as the church, the people of God, to revitalize our faith, to revitalize our parish community, to revitalize our families, our homes, imbuing them with the Spirit of Christ.

After Mass, Archbishop Sample, Bishop Peter Smith and other concelebrants distributed red called lucky money (li xi), a Lunar New Year tradition. 

January 5, 2023

Hundreds of faithful gathered at St. Mary's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Portland Thursday evening as they joined millions around the world in mourning the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

Archbishop Alexander Sample, during his homily at this evening's Mass also pointed to Benedict's deep love of the Liturgy, reflecting that Pope Benedict's "love for Jesus Christ was the hallmark of his papacy. His legacy will live on--a legacy centered on Jesus Christ." Archbishop Sample went on to share his personal recollections of meeting then Cardinal Ratzinger first as a seminarian and later as a priest and bishop, remembering his treasured conversations with "this holy man, this humble man, this deeply spiritual man."

Archbishop Sample addressed the numerous priests concelebrating the Mass when he reminded them that Pope Benedict once said, "The yes that a man says on the day of his ordination as a priest is a yes to everything that follows." And Benedict demonstrated that pure surrender and selfless response to God when he was called to be pontiff, a role never sought but graciously accepted.

Archbishop Sample closed his homily on an emotional note when he quoted Pope Emeritus Benedict's final words, "Lord, I love you!" And added his wish that "he opened his eyes on the other side to Jesus saying, 'I love you too!'" 

December 2022

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, it was St. Francis of Assisi who gave rise to and popularized the idea of the dramatic representation of the Christ’s birth. In 1223, St. Francis visited Rome and asked Pope Honorius III for permission to produce these plays.

When the Franciscans and Jesuits arrived in New Spain, they used theater as a tool for the evangelization of native peoples to the Catholic faith, presenting productions that mixed biblical scriptures.

In 1530, the first bishop of New Spain, Fray Juan de Zumárraga, issued an ordinance to celebrate a 'Farce of the joyful Nativity of Our Savior'.

One of the first Pastorela that is registered in Mexico was entitled Adoration of the Magi and was written by Fray Andrés Olmos. "It was written in the Nahuatl language to facilitate its understanding... Through music, dances and the profusion of flowers, Father Olmos reached directly to the hearts of the natives, who considered these elements indispensable for any celebration."

Virginia Lopez, a parishioner of St. Anne's Church in Gresham, has been organizing las pastorelas in her parish for 15 years. She wrote the screenplay for the Pastorela The Birth of the Child God', held on December 17, 2022, in Santa Ana, in which 27 parishioners participated.

Virginia said the most rewarding part was witnessing the participation of entire families with their children in this faith story. 

Guillermina Hernandez, of St. Henry Church in Gresham, announced that the Pastorela "Entre pastores te veas", starring 22 parishioners including children, youth and adults will be held on January 6. If you would like more information, see St. Henry’s Facebook page.

December 2022

Parishioners of St. Joseph’s in Salem, gathered in the church gymnasium on Friday Dec.16 to celebrate Las Posadas, a Latin American Christmas festival. The event, organized by parishioner Max Díaz, catequist of the Catechism in Spanish, included a procession, prayer, recitation of the Rosary, singing, the piñata, gifts for children and food.

After this, the "host" offers prayers, songs, and the recitation of the Rosary. The piñata is a key element used in Posadas. Beautiful and bright, it is shaped like a seven-pointed star. “The piñatas represent the temptation to fall into sins,” Díaz explained. “Each pointed cone symbolizes the seven deadly sins: envy, sloth, gluttony, lust, anger/wrath, and pride” he said. “The act of breaking the piñata has a meaning too. “It is to break with the deadly sins in order to be able to receive Jesus in our heart” Díaz added.