A Tale of Two Archbishops

I‘m still processing these past days, but here are some initial impressions.

A Time of Thanksgiving

From the first of July until the end of November I was unemployed. I’d had a few interviews, but nothing all that promising.

When I was called in for a second round of interviews at a major law firm in Seattle, it was an answered prayer. When I was later called in to interview with the CIO, I allowed myself to hope. That interview, on the 19 of November, was ridiculously brief.

I was approached after the interview by an acquaintance of mine who also works at the firm. He told me that unless I’d set the CIO on fire, the job was as good as mine.

I walked up the hill to Saint James Cathedral with the idea that I could offer some prayers of thanksgiving. Upon opening one of the great bronze doors, I was immediately assailed by the smell of incense. Then I heard the unmistakable voice of Archbishop Brunett.

It turns out I had walked into Archbishop Brunett’s last Mass at the cathedral – a Mass of Thanksgiving. What are the odds?

The next week was the Thanksgiving holiday, and I was hired the following week.

A Time of Beginnings

On my second day of working for the firm, the 1st of December, I left work early to go to the Installation Mass of Archbishop Sartain.

It was standing room only, and I was standing. Thanks to a particularly nice usher, I was ensconced behind the video cameraman, with a fairly decent view of the proceedings. That is, until the opening procession, when a rather hefty banner was placed directly in my line of sight.

Even so, I could hear, and I could still see the ambo and part of the altar. It was a rather odd experience, though, participating in a Mass that I could only perceive through numerous physical obstructions. Through a glass darkly?

The Mass was celebrated in fine form, with the cathedral’s usual musical majesty. The new Archbishop’s homily was workmanlike. My takeaway was not so much the subject of the homily itself, but rather an impression of the Archbishop as a man who loves the Lord and makes evangelization his top personal priority.

There were knights and bishops, Cardinals and penguins. Lummi drummers began both processions.

After the Mass, Cardinal George gave some laudatory remarks. Then, the Archbishop finished with a stirring and moving plea for vocations. Both of these brief talks were quite moving, especially Archbishop Sartain’s.

If the first Mass captured my need to thank God, then this second certainly filled me with a hope I wasn’t aware I was missing.