Ascension Sunday (June 4) and Pentecost (June 11) are good moments to pray for our young people especially those who are making the transition from elementary to high school or from high school/college to the search for full time jobs. At our 11 a.m. Mass this Sunday we will have a special blessing for the eighth graders graduating from our parish school. At the same time we will be praying for all the young people of Holy Family who are graduating at this time.

This weekend Fr. Gallagher will be celebrating Mass for Spanish speaking communities of Skagit County. Fr. Poao Faena will be the celebrant and homilist at the 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. Masses. Fr. Poao will be working in the Seattle's southeast cluster (St. Edward, St. George and St. Paul) as well as celebrating Mass for the Samoan community at St. Anne's in Tacoma. We are grateful to have him with us these past two weekends.

This week I will be attending the retreat for priests, deacons and seminarians at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. Frs. Jim Lee and Jim Northrop of Tacoma will also participate in this retreat.

On Saturday, June 10, at 10 a.m. Deacon Derek Lappe will be ordained to the priesthood. The Ordination Mass for him and Deacon Jim Johnson will take place at St. James Cathedral. All are heartily encouraged to attend. Fr. Lappe will celebrate Masses of Thanksgiving at Holy Family Parish on Saturday June 17, 5 p.m. (English) and 7 p.m. (Spanish).

Speaking of vocations to the priesthood this summer Armando Perez and Peter Mactutis will be staying at Holy Family Rectory. Both are seminarians of the Archdiocese of Seattle. Also with us this summer is Tan Dao, a theology student studying for the priesthood. His parents are members of Holy Family Parish. We are happy to have these three seminarians here at the parish this summer and we pray for all young men in studies for the priesthood.

The next meeting for the Human Life Committee of Holy Family Parish will be Friday, June 16, 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the rectory. Debbie Ummel and Coleen Eyman from Human Life of Washington will join us that evening.

I am looking foward to the happy sounds of construction on our school porch this summer. We will inagurate the project with a Ground Breaking Ceremony next Sunday, June 11 at 3 p.m. Please plan on attending this event. The Holy Family School Renovation project is the result of many years of discernment. In the recent years our Parish Council and our Parish Building Discernment Committee have focused on this need. I am pleased that so many people from both within and outside our parish are supporting this effort which will be such a great benefit to our school children and to all the other groups who use Holy Family School for different activities. You can show your support by making a contribution to the building fund. One way of doing that is by giving to the Annual Catholic Appeal. The entire rebate will be used for our Holy Family 2000 Renovation Project. And do please plan onn coming to the Ground Breaking Ceremony next Sunday. Following a brief ceremony light refreshments will be served.