With the tabernacles empty, several times today, I have sat down to pray with a crucifix and scriptures. Such prayer on Good Friday has been equally fruitful as praying in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament the other days of the year. For the sake of brevity, I will not Read more
Roughly 800 people from approximately 15 parishes and institutions walked from all over Anchorage today, converging on the Performing Arts Center in downtown, where we concluded by praying the last three stations together. After the recitation of the stations of the cross, we recited together Psalm 22, I offered a Read more
Hope your Triduum celebration is meaningful this year! We begin our Faith Walk throughout Anchorage shortly, gathering downtown from many different parishes and starting points for final reflections upon the Way of the Cross. A Blessed Good Friday to one and all. Here are a select group of photos from Read more
Homily For Holy Thursday: Given At Our Lady of Guadalupe, Co-Cathedral, Anchorage “The Church draws her life from the Eucharist.” (Ecclesia De Eucharistia #1) With these words, St. John Paul II began his final Encyclical in 2003, in which he chose to write upon the mystery of the Eucharist and Read more
On this Tuesday of Holy Week, our Gospel comes from a scene at the Last Supper (John 13:21-38) in which Jesus tells the disciples that one of them will betray him. The betrayer is revealed as Jesus shares a morsel of bread dipped in wine with Judas. It is interesting Read more
As we continue our Holy Week Journey, we find Jesus in Bethany with his dear friends, Lazarus, Martha and Mary. (John 12: 1-9) The cenacle where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples is very near the temple. From there, one simply crosses through the Kidron valley and up Read more
As we listen again today to the Passion of Jesus, I’m reminded how much God’s ways are not our own. Even Jesus, who throughout his earthly ministry was in intimate communion with the Father, experienced a certain ‘darkness’ in fulfilling the Father’s will in his Passion and Death, and thus Read more
Here Is Pope Francis’ Homily For Today’s Palm Sunday Mass: Today’s celebration can be said to be bittersweet. It is joyful and sorrowful at the same time. We celebrate the Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem to the cries of his disciples who acclaim him as king. Yet we also solemnly proclaim Read more
Two years ago, I had the great experience of traveling to the Holy Land during the first two weeks of Easter. The day before that pilgrimage ended, I celebrated Mass in one of the holiest sites of our faith, the Holy Sepulchre. After spending weeks visiting the country side and Read more
As a bishop, I get to participate in many different projects. But, today, I witnessed something that is truly transformational for homeless people living in Anchorage. It was also a moment that reveals the truth in what Pope Francis has been saying for over four years – when people and Read more