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…
As our Pilgrimage of Peace draws to a conclusion, we arrived in Kyoto last night. Today (Friday) is mostly a day of rest, and for some, a bit of sightseeing. Here we will part ways; the Santa Fe contingent will remain until tomorrow, and our Seattle group will depart for Read more…
Yesterday was a joyful moment in the life of this local Church. The Vietnamese community, along with other friends gathered at Vietnamese Martyrs parish in Tukwila to celebrate with the Sisters from the Congregation of the Lovers of the Holy Cross their 350th year. As with so many other things, Read more…
Chrism Mass Homily 2021 – St. James Cathedral, Seattle Our world is suffering. In one short, and yet very long year, nearly 2,800,000 people have died from COVID-19. And the remainder of the human family is suffering on numerous levels, perhaps the most poignant is our isolation from one another. Read more…
Today’s Gospel is from the 5th chapter of John, where Jesus heals a man at the pool of Bethesda who had been ill for 38 years! Most of John’s Gospel is intended to lead the reader to an act of faith in the person of Jesus as the Son of Read more…
In today’s readings, Jesus is once again alone in prayer with God, the Father. Jesus as the Son of God drew great strength and direction in these moments of prayer. These moments solidifies his relationship with the Father along with his resolve to accomplish his redeeming work. Is it any Read more…
Our Holy Week has begun. God does not remain distant. In Jesus, God’s humility is manifest. Jesus takes on our human flesh. Jesus continues to be in our midst. Our minds continue to interpret our present moment through our ‘normal’ experience prior to COVID-19. It makes it difficult to ‘catch Read more…
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…
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…
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…