Photos of the Feast

Today is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. This is the first year since 1891 that no Mass will be celebrated for this feast at what was once the parish of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Tacoma. I’m feeling melancholy today, so I thought I’d post some photos from past celebrations of what was our patronal […]

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The Divine Mercy: Now Livestreamed!

Today, the Second Sunday in the Octave of Easter, is also known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Pope John Paul II proclaimed the Sunday after Easter as the Sunday of the Divine Mercy (Dominica II Paschæ seu de divina misericordia) in accord with the visions of the Divine Mercy received by Saint Faustina. But what is the Divine Mercy? In short, […]

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A Holy Week Like No Other

Our parish of Holy Rosary will not be streaming any Holy Week or Easter liturgies this year. We want to protect Father Justin’s health! So instead, we’ve put together some recommendations. First and foremost, Archbishop Etienne will be live streaming the Holy Week and Easter liturgies from Saint James Cathedral, and we encourage you to view and to take part at home […]

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Holy Rosary, Transitioning Again:
a Plea for the Future of our Parish

My parish of Holy Rosary has been going through a rough year. I’ve restrained myself from speaking too much about it, although I did have numerous posts on the inciting incident: the sudden collapse and then death of our pastor Father Michael Wagner last year. Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church, Tacoma Following Father’s death, we had a string […]

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Octave

There are two kinds of time. There’s the kind you can measure. That’s the kind we live through sequentially, moment to moment. The Greek word for this is “kronos”, where we get words like “chronometer” and “chronicle”. Then, there’s the other kind. The Greeks call this “kairos”. This is the time when God acts, when eternity breaks into linear time. […]

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A Liturgical Lent: a Review and a Look Forward

At my parish of Holy Rosary in Tacoma, we had a lot going on for this first weekend of Lent. Think of this as a look into the life of a parish pursuing the vision of the New Liturgical Movement during Lent. You could almost consider this a snapshot review of our parish liturgical life. Friday Although not strictly liturgical, […]

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Seattle Has a New Auxiliary Bishop!

Bishop-designate Daniel H. Mueggenborg

Pope Francis has named Monsignor Daniel H. Mueggenborg, a priest of the Diocese of Tulsa, as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle. He will join Bishop Eusebio Elizondo as assistant to Archbishop Peter Sartain. The Northwest Catholic, the official publication of the Archdiocese ran a story this afternoon: “It is with deep joy that I share this good […]

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Initial Reflections on the Quasquicentennial

This past Sunday, my parish of Holy Rosary celebrated its 125th anniversary – our Quasquicentennial. The project for this celebration was started several years ago by Dr Michael Barkley, a gentleman from the parish who deserves all credit for getting this ball rolling. His great-grandparents were in fact the first couple married at the parish, back in October of 1891. […]

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Quasquicentennial!

If you are anywhere near Tacoma this weekend, please join us on Sunday for the 125th anniversary of the founding of our parish. The Mass is at Noon, and it will be followed by a reception in the School hall. Here’s the blurb from one of our local papers: Holy Rosary’s steeple rises above downtown Tacoma and towers over I-5. […]

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No, It’s Just Thursday

What a day – and it’s not quite over yet! If it wasn’t for to-do lists, I don’t know how I would function. Called the paper for non-delivery (again) – check. Breakfast and Lauds – check. Worked on Incident Report for the Firm – check. Meeting with Pastor – check. Worked on making Firm security guide “more avuncular” – check. […]

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Reflections on an Installation Mass

This past Sunday, Reverend Eugene Delmore SJ was installed as the fifth pastor of our little parish church of Saint Rita of Cascia in Tacoma. The Most Reverend Eusebio Elizondo MSpS, Auxiliary Bishop of Seattle, was the principal Celebrant. He was joined at the altar by Fr Delmore and his Jesuit Superior, Reverend John Fuchs SJ. It was my second […]

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