Archbishop Paul Etienne
In so many ways, it is clear God’s grace is active and alive in the Church today, and it has been on full display this week in the Archdiocese of Anchorage! Our week began with the annual Alaska Catholic Youth Conference. For four days, approximately 250 youth, ministers and chaperones gathered in Anchorage from around the state of Alaska. These young people are full of energy and especially, faith! We prayed together, played together, and took time to learn even more about our faith from a variety of speakers. I’m particularly grateful that all four […]
The Archdiocese of Anchorage is pleased to announce the hiring of Mr. Nathan J. McCabe as the new Director of Stewardship and Development. Nathan was born and raised in South Texas, but recently made Anchorage his new home. His business experience is primarily in bank management, so the work of development and stewardship will be a new endeavor for him. His outgoing personality and people skills combined with his strong faith and desire to serve the Church will serve him well in his new capacity. Likewise, his love of the outdoors will help make connections with […]
I recently heard a father speak about his daughter’s upcoming wedding. He said: “I’ll be glad when it is over.” He was excited for his daughter and son-in-law-to-be, but was also frustrated with how the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony was getting lost in all the other details of planning for the day. That seems to be a good analogy for young parents today who have many other challenging, but less important matters to contend with in fulfilling their greatest responsibility of raising their children in the faith. It can be difficult to keep this priority […]
In February, Pope Francis decreed a new, universal, obligatory memorial of our Blessed Mother under the title, Mother of the Church. For over five years, our Holy Father has been championing a greater engagement of the Church’s heart as we carry out our Mission of bearing witness to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Pope Francis has consistently beat the drum calling us to greater warmth, compassion, mercy, and love. These are clearly characteristics of the life and ministry of Jesus, but are they not at the same time the same traits of a Mother’s heart? […]
Deacon Ordination Homily May 18, 2018 Our Lady of Guadalupe Co-Cathedral – Anchorage Acts 6: 1-7; Ephesians 4: 1-7, 11-13; John 15: 9-17 Love – Charity – Service I wish to welcome all of you to this Deacon Ordination Mass. It is great to have such a broad representation of this local Church, from our priests and deacons, to our women religious and so many of our lay faithful. In a very special way, we welcome all the family and friends of our soon-to-be deacons. And most especially, we welcome you: Gustavo & Cristine Scott […]
As we celebrate the Ascension, this year we also celebrate Mother’s Day, and without too much of a stretch, we realize they are easily joined. The Ascension is the celebration of the return of Jesus after the Resurrection to the Father in heaven. St. Augustine said it well when he taught that just as Jesus remained with the Father in heaven, even during his earthly life and ministry, likewise, Jesus did not abandon us on earth when he ascended to heaven. There is a great unity at the heart of the Trinity, and because of […]
On Friday, our Archdiocesan Youth and Young Adult Coordinator, Matthew Beck and I travelled to Kenai and Soldotna for a full weekend of ministry. On Friday evening, we held our penultimate Listening Session at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Soldotna. Our Chancellor, John Harmon also joined us to moderate the evening. We had a very nice turnout. Once again, we heard many different perspectives, further driving home the reality that the church family is home to people from many walks of life at various points along the journey of faith. We really do need […]
As this year’s One Bread One Body annual appeal picks up steam, I wish to draw your attention to the prayer that is included in this year’s materials. For your convenience, the prayer can be easily removed and kept wherever you will be reminded to pray this prayer. We ask that each member of the Archdiocese join us in praying that we grow in our understanding of the many ways God blesses each of us, and how we are called to generously respond to God’s goodness. Prayer is central to every endeavor, and that is […]
It is late April as I write this column. Our Listening Sessions (nearly complete, with three to go), are revealing many things. I am hearing about the many challenges we face as church, a wide variety of perspectives, some hope and gratitude, and a fair amount of frustration and disappointment. One individual summarized these sessions as expressing a deep hunger. I concur. The Church is one, big family. As our creed says, we believe in ONE, holy, catholic, apostolic church. Sadly, she is not necessarily one, big, happy family. Like every human family, our church […]