Towards the end of this year’s legislative session, the Washington State Legislature passed a bill (SB5375) making all clergy mandatory reporters of abuse, with no exemptions for the privileged communication between priest and penitent during the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This means that by Washington State Law, Catholic clergy are now Read more…
Today the world lost a great leader, a strong moral voice, and the Church lost our Good Shepherd. As I reflect upon the gratitude in my heart for the life and ministry of Pope Francis, I wish to capture a few thoughts in the hours following news of his death. Read more…
Tonight’s Easter Vigil is an experience of sensory overload! And such is the interior life of the Living God! Such is the life of the Risen Christ and what he offers to all who come to faith in him. And yet, the life of God does not overwhelm us, but Read more…
Jesus knew rejection and betrayal. From his birth there were those who recognized something divine and wonderful was happening, while one sought to take his life as if foreshadowing what his end would be. But before that could take place, God’s mission of love, sent into the world, had to Read more…
In addition to the Spring Passover full moon, the past few mornings there has been a brilliant star low on the Eastern horizon – which a bit of research indicates is probably the planet Venus. As I gaze upon this light in the pre dawn hours of this Holy Week, Read more…
In the early days of Jesus’ ministry, the Jewish people were looking for a Messiah who would bring them a political freedom from the presence of Roman troops and government, something akin to Moses freeing the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt. And yet, God has so much more in Read more…
As our Holy Week begins today, we see Jesus both proclaimed as King, with songs of praise and acclamation, only very quickly to witness his condemnation to death on a cross. Of course, we know this all ends in the Resurrection, but for these next few days, we recount his Read more…
My dear friends, we celebrated a powerful Chrism Mass at the cathedral this evening. May your Holy Week be blessed! You can read the homily or watch the livestream video below – beginning at 33:17. Tonight we gather to give praise and honor to Christ, our Great High Priest. In Read more…
This year the Archdiocese of Seattle celebrates our 175th anniversary as a Diocese. We will have our final Eucharistic celebration in St. James Cathedral on the anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Nesqually (renamed Seattle in 1907), May 31, 1880. French missionaries, Fr. Francis Norbert Blanchet and Modeste Read more…