Yesterday I had another first as the Archbishop of Anchorage – presiding over a prayer service of Polish tradition to bless the Easter baskets of foods to be eaten on Easter Sunday. I commended the families on maintaining their traditions, but especially of making good use of the Liturgical Seasons Read more…
Happy Easter! On this Easter Sunday the Church hears the message proclaimed to Peter and the Beloved Disciple, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they put him.” (John 20:2) Most of us after living for a while know the experience of grief, 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…
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…
[laread_first_letter]O[/laread_first_letter]n this 2ND Sunday of Lent, we hear Scriptural accounts of powerful experiences of God. Abram hears God directing him to leave his homeland behind to discover a new land which God will show him. He hears of God’s promise of blessing, and Abram followed the direction of God. Peter, Read more…
I arrived home late last night from a two day road trip back to the Kenai Peninsula. I’ve had the good company for these parish visits of our Stewardship & Development Director, Mrs. Laurie Evans-Dineen. Besides working with the local parish leaders to set up each of these visits and Read more…
As I write today, I am at Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish in Soldotna. The image to the left hangs in the sanctuary of this parish church. As many of this readership already knows, I was ordained a priest on the feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, June Read more…
As I prepare to leave Washington DC on my way back to Anchorage, please allow me to share a little bit of my thoughts from this week. Knowing that I was coming to our USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) headquarters for some committee meetings this week, I took Read more…
Yesterday, I was in town taking care of an errand, and a young woman at a check out counter noticed my ring. She said something to the effect of: “That is a nice ring. Does it have any significance?” I said: “Yes. It is a bishop’s ring, and I am Read more…
As the Americas celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe today, I have been reflecting upon the synthesis of faith Our Lady reveals in the miraculous image that appeared on the tilma of Blessed Juan Diego many years ago. Despite the efforts of Spanish missionaries prior to this apparition Read more…