ASHLAND — A memorial Mass was held last Friday at Our Lady of the Mountain Parish here for David Steele, 19, who died along with six other firefighters in a helicopter crash in Northern California. Steele, a lifelong member of the parish, is remembered by his pastor, family and friends as a very active Catholic.
A candlelight rosary procession ended a Mass at the Grotto Friday evening which celebrated the Feast of the Assumption and the 775th anniversary of the Servite religious order of men and women.
They met a man who watched floodwaters sweep his 3-year-old granddaughter from his grip. They heard an elderly woman explain how phony contractors had bilked her out of $96,000. They observed that tourist sites are almost fully recovered, while low-income neighborhoods are still largely uninhabited, almost three years after Hurricane Katrina.

Earlier this month, Sacred Heart Medical Center at River Bend in Springfield opened its doors to patients. The new facility provides Lane County with a state-of-the-art hospital campus in service of its citizens. Many events marked these new beginnings for an institution which celebrated its 72nd birthday in early July.

BEND — The Conference which I attended in Chicago this week dealt with the spiritual activity in the Church known as deliverance ministry and exorcism. I wrote about this last year after I had listened to a series of tapes from a conference on the same topic which was held in 2007.

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Isaiah 22:19-23 Romans 11:33-36 Matthew 16:13-20 Those who are campaigning for office in this highly charged emotional atmosphere need not ask, “Who do people say that I am?” They can easily find the answer on the Internet. It is an important question, though. Their political future hinges on the answer.