Thomas Daly Diocese of Spokane

Earlier this Lent, I attended daily mass presided by my diocese’s bishop. On this particular day, the gospel reading was Matthew 5:43-48. This is the passage where Jesus teaches to love thy enemies (But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you).

Our Young Adult Catholic group surrounds Catholic Diocese of Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly (center, with hands in pockets). He preached a “like vs. love” homily on Saturday, March 15, 2025, at St. Thomas More in north Spokane.

Bishop Thomas Daly followed with an interesting homily. He advised those of us in attendance that we didn’t need to like everyone, but we did need to love everyone. Bishop Daly mentioned there were certain people long ago who made his job as president of a Catholic high school quite difficult. These individuals put Bishop Daly through the ringer and made him question their motivations for working in a Catholic school. As you can imagine, these people wouldn’t have been the easiest folks to like.

However, just because you don’t prefer to spend every moment of your free time around certain people doesn’t mean you ought not to love them.

And this is where Bishop Daly dropped the differentiator and defined what “love” means in the context that Jesus preached it. In its simplest terms, “to love” your brothers and sisters in Christ is to hope the best for them. It means, just like Jesus said, that you pray for them. You don’t wish ill will, you don’t secretly hope for their failure. Despite how difficult it might be to get along with someone, you still need to be a positive advocate for their general welfare and pray that they might have a close relationship with Christ.

As we mark the three-week mark of Lent today, it is important to love all, especially those who make it hard to do so. Don’t Blink.

Wow, I can’t believe it is already Thursday evening. I hope everyone is doing awesome tonight, thank you for giving me another chance to throw five random topics at you. Let’s get started…

Evening With the Bishop – On multiple occasions in this blog, I have mentioned the Young Adult Catholic group Sid and I are part of. Well, this past weekend something pretty special happened. Our group had the opportunity to host the bishop of the Diocese of Spokane, the Most Reverend Thomas Daly. Our friends, Brian and Hailey, opened the doors of their home for the gathering and Bishop Daly brought the energy right when he walked in. It was so neat to be in such an intimate audience with him and to hear his thoughts and guidance. I even had the chance to speak with him one-on-one not long after he arrived. We were so honored that Bishop Daly made time for us and I can confidently say that our diocese is in great hands!

Our Young Adult Catholic group surrounds Bishop Thomas Daly (center, with hands in pockets). Also pictured is Fr. Jeff Lewis (back row, tallest person in photo), the leader of our Young Adult group and the man responsible for making our visit with the Bishop happen.

Luau Across the Miles – Yesterday was the fifth birthday of my nephew, Henry. He was having a Hawaiian-themed party at his house in Myrtle Beach and we wanted to join too. So Sid went out and purchased leis, a Hawaii backdrop, and a cake. We decked ourselves out in the leis, hung up the backdrop, and then FaceTimed Henry. After singing to him, Henry “blew out” the five candles on the cake from thousands of miles away. Sidney went out of her way to make Henry’s birthday special and she definitely succeeded.

Beau, Sloan, and Sid finish up their call with Henry on Wednesday.

Lake Mead Discoveries – Because of massive drought in the southwest, water levels in lakes and rivers are depleting. An example of this is at Lake Mead where the water level is lowering so much that “discoveries” are being made. Last month a barrel was revealed that happened to have a body stuffed inside. Law enforcement was able to estimate the date of the man’s death to the late 1970s or early 1980s because of the shoe style he was wearing. The violence was most likely inflicted by the Mob. As the surface continues to drop, it is expected that more and more remains will be found.

This is a barrel (not the one that the dead man was stuffed in) that is no longer underwater at Lake Mead.

Kind of True – When I saw this meme that my friend Lindsi posted today I knew I had to include it in my Thursday Rundown. Does anyone have doubts about it? The retro Chuck E. Cheese does look downright creepy, in fact it reminds me of the animatronic creatures from Dimes N’ Critters, a wild place I blogged about a few months ago. If Chuck E. Cheese still looked the same way he did on the left panel of this photo, I don’t think I would take Sloan as much as I do. Actually, that’s a lie…I still would.

Chuck E. Cheese has undergone quite the transformation over the years.

Educational Books – We have been introducing these “start to finish” books into Sloan’s nightly reading. They provide an educational break from the narrative stories we typically read to her. They are a little old school but it is fun to trace the many steps it takes to produce a product such as peanut butter or chocolate. Other books in the series include “From Wax to Crayon,” “From Clay to Bricks,” and “From Tree to House.”