Holy Innocents Catholic Church!

January 22, 2020

Dear friends in Christ,

The Gospel for this morning’s daily Mass, recounts how Jesus appointed the twelve, whom he also named Apostles, “that they might be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach.”  They were the ones who came to know him most closely and were send to the ends of the earth to preach the good news of Jesus Christ and  to call all people to repentance, to turn away from sin and follow the Lord Jesus.  In our current age, we share in their ministry.  We are called to use every method we can to reach people.  

This week, we celebrate an important anniversary here in Western Washington.  January 19 was the twentieth anniversary of Sacred Heart Radio going on air, an independent initiative of lay people in Western Washington to share the Gospel and sustain Catholics here in their faith.  They began by purchasing airtime and then in the year 2000, KBLE AM 1050 came up for purchase.  Through much effort, visionary leadership and the generosity of Catholics throughout Washington, Sacred Heart Radio has grown to have AM and FM stations in Olympia, Lakewood, Spokane and Yakima, and even Kodiak, Alaska.   But more importantly, it has borne fruit in a huge number of people coming to the faith.  Over the years, I  have known of many people who have become Catholic or have come back to the Church through their outreach.  At the same time, through their local programming, Catholic news, broadcasting papal events, spiritual programming and much more, it has helped many Catholics grow in their faith and their ability to pass it on.   And what is even more remarkable, is that Sacred Heart Radio is entirely listener supported by the generosity of ordinary Catholics.  Twice a year, they have a on-air pledge drive that Sacred Heart Radio on the airwaves. 

Lay led initiatives like this are all the more important in these times and in this place, where a Catholic perspective is so rarely heard in our media.  Secular culture often seems to be overwhelming Christian values in our society, especially here in Western Washington.  Initiatives like Sacred Heart Radio and others on the internet and social media continue to amplify and spread the message of the Apostles.  This is so critical in our time.   So, I want to urge you, first of all, to pray for the work of Sacred Heart Radio and second to consider giving on a regular basis keep this ministry going which is so valuable to our local Church. 

There current stations are: 

• Seattle AM 1050 and FM 100.3 
• Lakewood/Tacoma AM 1080 and FM 107.3 
•  Olympia AM 1240 and FM 107.7  
• Spokane AM 970 and FM 106.1 
• Yakima FM 88.1

For their program schedule and to support Sacred Heart Radio click here to go to their web site https://sacredheartradio.org

So Happy Birthday to Sacred Heart Radio!  May you continue the good work God has begun in you.  And let us together recommit ourselves to sharing the great gift of faith we have received.

Blessings on your week!

Fr. Johnson