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Colville, Kettle Falls, Northport Tri-Parish Catholic Community, 320 N Maple Street, Colville, WA (2026)

08/29/2026

Hide or Seek:

Brothers and sisters,

Last week we reflected on two incorrect attitudes toward sin: exaggerating human free will and minimizing it. In the first case, a person acts as though God’s law does not apply to them and therefore denies sin altogether. In the second, a person avoids responsibility by blaming someone or something else for their actions. Both attitudes lead us to hide from our sin rather than seek the remedy Christ offers.

This week we consider some of the effects of sin and of denying its reality. Sin damages our relationships with ourselves, our neighbors, and God. Archbishop Fulton Sheen observed that every sin divides a person from himself, turning the soul into a battlefield. Sin also separates us from others because a person who cannot live at peace with himself struggles to live at peace
with those around him. Ultimately, sin estranges us from God. As seen in the story of Adam and Eve, sin causes us to hide from the Lord, isolating ourselves from the very source of love and life.

One of the most subtle dangers of denying sin is that it can make everyone merely “nice.” In this sense, being nice means avoiding offense at all costs and placing greater value on good feelings than on truth. Some Christians may be tempted to choose temporary happiness over holiness, remaining silent when others engage in sinful behavior. Yet failing to warn a person who is walking down a harmful path is not an act of love. Such silence endangers both the sinner and the one who neglects the responsibility to speak.

Through Baptism we become members of the Body of Christ and share in His priestly, prophetic, and royal mission. Part of the prophetic mission is the duty to warn sinners and offer fraternal correction. The Lord tells the prophet Ezekiel: “If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning… that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand” (Ez 3:18).

When carried out with humility and charity, fraternal correction is an act of love and a Spiritual Work of Mercy. To admonish sinners is not to condemn them but to help guide them toward God. At the same time, anyone who corrects others must also be willing to be corrected. Sometimes our reluctance to correct another person comes from a desire to avoid correction ourselves. In that way, we can choose momentary comfort over eternal joy.
Another consequence of denying sin is faultfinding. Bishop Sheen noted that those who deny their own sins often become gossips, meddlers, and harsh critics because they project their guilt onto others. Such people may react strongly to the faults of others while refusing to acknowledge their own shortcomings. This creates what Sheen called an “illusion of goodness.” The more a
person denies sin in himself, the more likely he is to focus on the sins of others.

Our Lord addresses this tendency when He says, “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Mt 7:5). We remove the log from our own eye by honestly acknowledging our sins and seeking God’s mercy through the Sacrament of Confession.

When sin remains unresolved, it often produces further sin. The effects accumulate and can lead to fear, isolation, and despair. As Bishop Sheen observed, a sinner may eventually believe he is beyond help. The more we avoid confronting our sins, the more we fear having them exposed to the light of Christ. Yet that same light reveals not condemnation, but the merciful love of God and the healing He desires for every soul.

Our hope is found in Jesus Christ. St. John assures us: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). Likewise, St. Bede reminds us that because we cannot live in this world without sin, our first hope of salvation is confession and the humble request for God’s forgiveness.

With God’s grace, we can choose to accept responsibility for our sins and seek His mercy in the Sacrament of Confession. We do so not merely because we have broken commandments, nor simply to undo the effects of sin, but because sin wounds our relationship with the One who loves us. Looking upon the Crucifix, we see the depth of Christ’s sacrificial love. In response, we seek His forgiveness and mercy.

As Archbishop Fulton Sheen beautifully said: “To be a sinner is our distress. But to know we are a sinner is our hope, and that hope is the Sacrament of Penance.”
Sincerely your brother in Christ,

Sincerely your brother in Christ,

Fr. O’Leary

08/25/2026

To know Leads to Hope:

Brothers and sisters,

Archbishop Fulton Sheen concluded one of his talks with the following: “To be a sinner is our distress. But to know we are a sinner is our hope, and that hope is the Sacrament of Penance.” As we continue our journey with Christ, it seems that it would be helpful to visit the topic of sin.

First, we must distinguish between our sins and our identity. Through Baptism we become beloved children of God (1 Jn 3:1). Even before Baptism, every human person is created in God& #39;s image and likeness (Gen 1:26). Our identity is therefore rooted in our relationship with God. Sin are acts that we commit, not who we are.

As a result of original sin, we live in a fallen world and have a fallen human nature. Additionally, we are influenced – tempted – by fallen angels, devils. Subsequently we choose to act in sinful ways. The Catechism teaches that sin is a “failure in genuine love for God and neighbor” and “an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law” (CCC 1849).

“George Bernard Shaw,” as Bishop Sheen pointed out, “once said that the modern man is too busy to think about his sins.” Perhaps people keep so busy and are anxious about many things to distract themselves from thinking about their sins? Scripture identifies many forms of sin (cf. Gal 5:19-21; Rom 1:28-32; 1 Cor 6:9-10 and others). Since baptism removes the effects of original
sin and personal sins committed up to that point, and this letter is being written for the faithful, this discussion will focus on the sins committed after reception of the Sacrament of Baptism.

God has given human beings free will, the freedom to love Him or reject Him. Sin arises from the abuse of this gift. Bishop Sheen explains that there are two erroneous attitudes toward free will: minimizing it or exaggerating it. We minimize freedom when we deny personal responsibility for our actions. As Bishop Sheen notes, some claim that guilt is merely a psychological complex or the product of religion, family, or social influences. While circumstances may affect our choices, Catholic teaching affirms that we remain morally responsible for them.

We exaggerate freedom when we make ourselves the measure of right and wrong. As Bishop Sheen describes: “I love myself, my own will. I am my own law. I determine right from wrong. I am the end of my own existence.” This often appears with a rejection of moral limits, particularly in matters of sexual behavior and personal conduct. Such an understanding is not true freedom but licentiousness. Rather than liberating a person, it leads a person to slavery of sinful habits and desires. According to Catholic teaching, true freedom is not the ability to do whatever one wants; rather, it is the ability to choose what is right, good, and just; and to live in accordance with God’s moral law. When a person becomes enslaved by sin, his or her capacity to choose and live according to God’s divine law is diminished.

There is an important difference between blaming and prudent self-examination. Blaming shifts responsibility and impedes reconciliation. Prudence seeks the truth about the factors behind our choices so that healing, growth, and justice may follow.

St. John in his first letter reminds us, “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, Jesus is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:8-9). If we deny that we sin, then we will deny the need for the cure for sin. We will fail to seek out Christ’s loving mercy.

The faithful, in preparation to participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, are to examine their conscience to distinguish between mortal and venial sins. Mortal sin is grave matter committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent, resulting in the loss of God’s grace. While diminished knowledge or freedom to act may lessen personal culpability, grave matter remains
serious. Such sins should be confessed and absolved in the Sacrament of Reconciliation before the worthy reception of Holy Communion (cf. 1 Cor 11:27).

Regrettably, some attempt to excuse grave sins by presuming diminished knowledge or consent. In doing so, they risk receiving the Lord in an unworthy manner. Rather than diagnosing ourselves and playing “Web-MD” with our spiritual lives, please trust in God& #39;s mercy, humbly acknowledge sins of grave matter, and bring them to Jesus for healing in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

“To be a sinner is our distress. But to know we are a sinner is our hope, and that hope is the Sacrament of Penance” (Bishop Sheen).

In Christ,

Fr. O’Leary

08/15/2026

Who do you say you are?

Brothers and sisters, last week, through addressing a series of questions we touched the reality of who Jesus truly is. He is God. And like the disciples, we worship Him. Moreover, using the same questions, we can come to face the reality of who we are.

Again, take a moment and imagine our Lord standing with us and hear Him ask, “who do people say that you are?” Spend a few minutes reflecting on how family, friends, and those who know us might answer this question. Some might see us in favorable light, some not so much. Then after a few minutes of pondering, hear Christ, smiling, ask, “but who do you say that you are?”

This could be a troubling question for us to answer. We may have been trying to avoid this type of question for a long time. Some might answer this with a list of traits; I am short, round, and love to talk – a triple threat. Others might point out their heritage and family lineage. Some may see themselves through the work that they do, I am a doctor, a lawyer, a farmer, and so on. And still others may identify with an aspect of how they live. Lately our society is fixated on seeing people by their sexual preferences, or which gender one decides to identify as. Moreover, deep down some Catholics can come to see themselves by the sins they have committed.

And then Our Lord, seeing us hesitant to answer, encourages us, “Go ahead ask Me to say how I see you.” And just then agitation and trepidation begin to fill us because of a thought that emerges; maybe, just maybe, Jesus sees us as we fear we are, no more than our sins. And we fear that it might be true; we are no more than the sins we have committed. Then, looking into the gentle loving eyes of Christ, bolstered by His reassuring gaze, we timidly ask Him, “Ok, Lord, who do You say that I am.”

And Jesus lovingly answers, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Fear not for I have redeemed you; and I have called you by name. I know you and you are loved.” And, for those baptized, “you are my beloved brother … my beloved sister.” Additionally, Christ says to you and me, “I call you friend.” And pointing to the Cross He continues, “there is no greater love than to lay one’s life down for a friend” (see Jn 15:13-17). God knows our sins and calls us by our name. The other side knows our name and calls us by our sin. We were created by Love (of
the Father), out of Love (of the Son), to live in Love (united in the Holy Spirit).

To help our understanding of the way God sees us we look at Jesus’s baptism. “And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am
well pleased.” (Mk 1:10-11).

At our baptism, the Holy Spirit descended into us, and we became united to Jesus Christ. And through the Sonship of Our Lord and Savior, we become children of God. We stay united to Christ through the Sacramental Life of the Church and by keeping His Commandments.

Additionally, friendship indicates that Our Lord wants to have a close personal relationship with you and me. The promise of intimacy with Jesus is conditional because it can be fulfilled only if we commit ourselves to obeying His Commands and following His teaching. Abraham, the man of faith, was the first to be called a “friend” of God in the Bible. Importantly, Abraham did what God told him to do.

The reality of who we are is anchored in our relationship to God. Moreover, how we see ourselves is important because it forms who we work to become. If we see ourselves only as the sin we have committed, then we will continue to live in sin – even if we do not realize that we
are doing it. Likewise, if we see ourselves as God does, as His beloved sons and daughters, then we will continue, with God’s grace, to work, to grow, and to live for Him.

Brothers and sisters, I leave you with this reflection. Close your eyes, quiet your mind, and hear deep into your soul our Heavenly Father speak, your name and say, “you are my son, (my daughter). In Jesus you are my child. I love you.”

Then, when we are ready and with His grace we say, “Yes, Father, I am Your son, (Your daughter), You love me, and please help me to grow in loving You.”

Sincerely your brother in Christ,

Fr. O’Leary

08/08/2026

Who do you say I am?

Brothers and Sisters,

In the Gospel of Mathew, we hear Jesus ask His disciples, “who do men say that the Son of Man is?” (16:14). And then Christ asked them, “But who do you say I am?” (16:15). We are familiar with this passage and with Simon Peter’s response: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (16:16).

Importantly, Christ’s question – “who do you say that I am?” – echoes down through history to us today. Every person will ultimately have to answer that question. Some may try to dodge, avoid, ignore, or run away, but the question remains.

Take a moment and imagine Our Lord standing with us, amongst a group of our family and friends, or even after Mass hanging out with us getting coffee and donuts. And turning to us He asks, “who do people today say that I am?”

Oh we may give a variety of answers, which may include “Some say you are a good teacher.” “Others say you were a holy man like the Buddha.” “There are some who say you are a person promoting love. All we need is love man.” Or a verity of similar types of answers.

Jesus nods and smiles and then says to us, in front of our family, friends, and everyone there, “But who do you say that I am?”

This could be a troubling question for us to answer. We know that we could give the textbook answer to that question, it is Peter’s reply. And we know that Christ knows that we could recite the Bible verse. Then a thought creeps in, “what would our answer look like if only our actions could speak our reply?” We might start to sweat as we contemplate if our actions would reflect a
belief that Christ is the Son of the Living God.

And then Our Lord, seeing us squirm, generously gives us a break and says, “go ahead my friends ask Me the question.” And imagine that we said, “OK, Lord, who do You say You are?”

We hear Jesus say, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (Jn 8:58). And He reinforces this statement with His actions. Then Christ would remind us that the winds and sea obey Him. He could point out the times that He walked on water and controlled the stormy seas. Importantly, the Old Testament credits God alone with authority over the sea. And aware of this, the disciples in the boat with Jesus would marvel and question His identity. Through their actions, they would all answer the question of Jesus of Nazareth’s identity; by worshiping Him as the “Son of God,” through preaching His Gospel, and through bearing witness, even at the cost
of their lives, to His revealed truth.

Answering the question, of who Jesus is helps us to come to the truth about who we are in relationship to Him. If He is just a good teacher, a holy man, a hippie, then we can take Him or leave Him with others matching this description. However, if Christ is the one who He says He
is, if He is God, then we, like the disciples are to worship Him. And our life is to reflect this truth.

Our life bears witness to our belief, not necessarily what we profess with our lips, but what we profess with our actions. Bishop Sheen observed that we will not stand hypocrisy in our lives; “if we do not live what we believe, we will end up believing what we live.” Stated another way, we will either change how we live to match what we believe, or we will change what we believe to match how we live. Bishop Sheen’s insight serves as a reminder that true faith requires action.

Brothers and sisters, I leave you with this reflection. In what ways do our actions proclaim our belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God? In what ways do our actions not match our Catholic faith? Then we bring these to God and asking for the graces to continue to do those actions that are in line with the faith. As well as asking Our Lord for His help to repent from, and to change those areas where we are not living the faith.

Sincerely your brother in Christ,

Thank you for all your support on this and for all that you give.

In Christ

Fr. O’Leary

08/08/2026

Deer at Sacred Heart parish in Kettle Falls!

08/01/2026

Our Father – Who forgives His Children:

Brothers and sisters,

The night before He died, Jesus sat down with His apostles to celebrate the Passover. In this worship liturgy, we see a small group which suggests closeness, intimacy, warmth, trust, and love. During this occasion, Jesus instituted the Eucharist, the greatest of the Sacraments. This happens on the same night the He experienced the deepest betrayal possible, from a loved one. Importantly the Eucharist, allows Holy Mother Church to re-present Christ’s Paschal Sacrifice in
time, where priests perpetually offer the One true worship to God through celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. And through the Eucharist, Holy Mother Church continues Our Lord’s mission to teach, to heal, and to nourish the People of God.

Yes, Judas was present too. We are not sure why, after making up his mind to betray Jesus, that Judas attended the Passover with Christ and the other apostles. Perhaps he didn’t want to raise suspicion. Perhaps he wanted to give the impression that everything was normal. Now, some might think that Our Lord, being the Only Begotten Son of God, was not hurt by the betrayal of a close friend. St. John records in his Gospel, “When Jesus had thus spoken, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me” (13:21).

Significantly, Our Lord had personally chosen and trained Judas. Additionally, Judas was a firsthand witness to Jesus’s teachings and His miracles. Furthermore, Judas was sent out with the disciples and given Christ’s authority to heal and cast out unclean spirits. The treachery of a friend turned enemy is extremely hurtful and difficult to process. Consequently, Our Lord was
not the only one hurt by Judas’s actions, he hurt the other apostles too. After all, Judas was one of them. They had trusted him and shared everything with him. The apostles thought that they knew him, and yet he turned out to be a traitor. In betraying Jesus, he betrayed them too.

Whenever we open ourselves to another, there is always the possibility of betrayal. And this is a very hard thing to deal with. However, those who have been betrayed can take comfort from the fact that Christ knows how they feel. They do not have to pretend that they are not affected by it. Our Lord showed how hurt He was, and He talked openly about this pain. What matters is how we deal with the hurt. It could make us bitter and tempt us to retaliate.

Despite feeling hurt, Jesus did not strike back at Judas. Furthermore, Christ even refused to expose him in front of the other apostles. Instead, Our Lord gives Judas a gesture of friendship by handing him a morsel of bread. In refusing to point the finger at Judas, Jesus left the door
open for him to repent and return to the fold. Therefore, the Eucharist must be seen as a place where sinners can experience acceptance, healing and forgiveness. This is not to promote a practice of unworthy reception of Holy Communion. Sacred Scriptures and Holy Mother Church
warn against this action. Rather then, worthy reception of the Eucharist strengthens us to keep the door of friendship open to those who betray us, that they too may have away for repentance; turning back to Jesus and His Church … having a away back to the fold.

In the way Christ taught us to pray, the “Our Father” prayer, He teaches us how to deal with betrayal, as with all hurt. In this prayer, which we pray at every Mass, we ask to have our sins forgiven as we forgive those who sin against us. This forgiveness is not forgetting sins against us, it is being open to reconciliation … open to working through these sins allowing for the healing of a relationship. Our Lord from the Cross models this, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34). Jesus forgives us from the Cross, we are reconciled to Him through the Sacrament of Confession, where our relationship to Christ and His Church is healed. For good measure, Our Lord reminds us of our duty to forgive others before seeking forgiveness from God. “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mk 11:25).

Saint Cyprian further instructs us, “we will have no excuse on the day of judgment, for then we will be judged; just as we have judged others.” Before we worthily receive the Lord in the Eucharist, we pray and ask to receive forgiveness as we have forgiven others. Additionally, we
are to be at peace with others; by letting go of the anger, vengeance, the desire to retaliate – we forgive the hurt, and, with God’s grace, we are open to the possibility of reconciliation.

Importantly, we do not remember the Last Supper for Judas’s betrayal; we remember it for the gift that Jesus left us in spite of that betrayal. In the Eucharist we are re-presenting the gestures performed by Christ facing betrayal and death. And, when we forgive others, as our Heavenly Father forgives us, then the Eucharist helps us to recover from any betrayals we have suffered. Moreover, this should help us avoid betraying anyone else.

Sincerely your brother in Christ,

Fr. O’Leary

07/27/2026

A few photos from the women’s group summer activity in Kettle Falls:

07/25/2026

Our Father – Who Comforts His Children:

Brothers and sisters,

Last week’s article briefly addressed transitions, the process associated with change. Notably, we generally do not manage transitions well. This is in part because change involves both an intellectual and an emotional process. Unfortunately, we tend to avoid the emotional process of change which can be messy.

One of the steps involved in successfully managing transitions is identifying the emotions involved, which includes loss. And for Catholic’s, prayer is foundational for this step. Jesus, in Matthew’s Gospel, instructs us to, “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (See Mt 7:7). Our Father, through the Holy Spirit, will help us identify unresolved emotions in our lives. Then we can bring these to Him for healing.

Additionally, when working through a loss, Jesus may be calling us to restore a relationship, replace an expectation, redesign a schedule, or relinquish control. Michael Casey, in his book, Toward God, indicates that “prayer is our means of taking a sighting, of re-orienting ourselves – by re-establishing contact with our goal” (5). And our primary goal is to remain united to the Father through following the path of Christ. Furthermore, as Casey continues, “in the presence of God many components of our life fall into perspective, and our journey begins to make more sense” (5). Prayer helps us seek out the Father’s will for our life.

The Father generally speaks to us through indirect means. As Bishop Barron, in his book, “An Introduction to Prayer” points out, that God speaks through Scriptures, liturgical music, in Adoration, or during the Mass with “feelings of consolations or desolation, a sense of the whole body relaxing and finding peace, the arrival of an insight about a particular problem or of a memory of someone from whom we’ve grown distant – all of these can be carriers of the divine word, routes by which God communicates with us, sometimes with an extraordinary power and
clarity, from beyond ourselves” (8). The concept of God speaking indirectly through songs gave me pause. As songs have a way of helping us articulate emotions that we might not know how to express. This is especially true with deep states of distress as experienced during the loss of loved ones. Feelings like heartbreak, life, death, and hopelessness come with emotional weight that we often don’t know how to carry until we are forced too.

A song by Rascal Flats, What Hurts the Most, is one such route by which God allowed me to see the love of Our Father from a different perspective. The song is written from the viewpoint of someone reflecting on the pain of regret and loss, it expresses sorrow over unstated feelings. In and of itself, this song is helpful for grieving loss. However, it is the opening scene from the official music video which gave me a deeper understanding of the Father’s relationship with His children.

The scene starts with a daughter who is processing the news of the death of her beloved boyfriend. And the dad, standing, appears to be the one who gave the unsettling news. As the daughter processes grief, denial quickly shifts to blame and anger; and she starts striking her dad
on the chest. The dad lovingly wraps his hurting daughter in a hug, and she eventually collapses into his consoling arms as they sit on the ground, while she cries. And this strikes me as an image of Our Heavenly Father. Through this scene, we can see that God the Father wants to
comfort us, even when our anger is directed at Him. Importantly, the Lord is strong enough to bear our expressions of hurt. During times like these, Our Father wants to wrap us in His love and console us as we grieve the pain we are experiencing. In prayer we turn to God and let Him comfort us.

Bishop Barron encourages us to tell, “the Lord what’s happening in our life – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Tell Him what’s frightening us and what’s depressing us” (7). This includes speaking “our anger to Him – and especially our anger at Him” (7). Many figures in the Bible
spoke openly to God, expressing their fear, frustration, confusion and anger; for example, Job, the Psalmist, Abraham, Moses, Jeremiah, and let us not forget the disciples speaking to Jesus asleep in a boat.

Brothers and sisters, thanks to Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son, we have access to Our Father – Who Comforts His Children, and He gives good things to those who ask Him.

Sincerely your brother in Christ,

Fr. O’Leary

07/22/2026

Some more progress on the steps and the font in the nave:

07/22/2026

Photos of our Youth Group at the Steubenville weekend in Spokane!

Colville, Kettle Falls, Northport Tri-Parish Catholic Community

08/29/2026

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