This morning, Pope Francis died on Easter Monday. Please join me in praying that this humble servant of God has ended his pilgrimage in our […]

Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
This morning, Pope Francis died on Easter Monday. Please join me in praying that this humble servant of God has ended his pilgrimage in our heavenly homeland. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine:et lux perpetua luceat eis.In memoria æterna erit iustus,ab auditione mala non timebit. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord:and let perpetual light shine upon him.He shall be justified […]
» Read moreImmediately following the great Vigil of Easter, my beautiful bride Francine was admitted to Tacoma General Hospital. Symptoms were increasing mental confusion and physical weakness. She had recently suffered a bout of walking pneumonia, and during those days she was physically weak and had some small moments of forgetfulness and not being able to find words. We attributed it to […]
» Read moreThe Paschal Homily of Saint John Chrysostom, circa AD 400: If anyone is devout and a lover of God, let him enjoy this beautiful and radiant festival. If anyone is a wise servant, let him, rejoicing, enter into the joy of his Lord. If anyone has wearied himself in fasting, let him now receive his recompense. If anyone has labored […]
» Read moreFrom an ancient homily on Holy Saturday, found in today’s Office of Readings: Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who […]
» Read moreToday is Good Friday: the commemoration of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ at Calvary. Ecce lignum Crucis, in quo salus mundi pepéndit. Veníte adorémus. Behold the wood of the Cross, on which hung the salvation of the world. Come let us adore. (Missale Romanum: Friday of the Passion of the Lord) Ecce homo: Behold, the man He was […]
» Read moreThe Season of Lent comes to its end this evening, as we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. This celebration commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, the source and summit of Church life, as well as the sacred priesthood which offers this sacrifice. Unlike most Protestants, the Catholic and Orthodox (and others of the Apostolic Tradition) believe that God […]
» Read moreThe chief priests and the ancients of the people have met today in one of the rooms adjoining the temple, for the purpose of deliberating on the best means of putting Jesus to death. Several plans are discussed. Would it be prudent to lay hands upon Him at this season of the feast of the Pasch, when the city is […]
» Read moreToday, again, our Saviour sets out in the morning for Jerusalem. His intention is to repair to the temple, and contiue His yesterday’s teachings. It is evident that His mission on earth is fast drawing to its close. He says to His disciples: “You know that after two days shall be the Pasch, and the Son of Man shall be […]
» Read moreThis morning, also, Jesus goes with His disciples to Jerusalem. He is fasting, for the Gospel tells us that He was hungry (Matt. 21:18). He approaches a fig-tree, which is by the way-aide; but finds nothing on it, save leaves only. Jesus, wishing to give us an instruction, curses the fig-tree, which immediately withers away. He would hereby teach us […]
» Read moreThis weekend, Holy Week begins with the Sunday of Lord’s triumphal entry into Jersusalem – Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion. Although Good Friday is coming – the Passion and Death are coming – for the moment, this moment, joy resounds as our King arrives in His city. In most parishes throughout the world, the principal Mass is normally celebrated […]
» Read moreToday, a week before Good Friday, the Church has traditionally remembered the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin. While the commemoration was removed from the calendar in 1970, it survives in the Extraordinary Form, as well as in many local calendars including that most Catholic country of Malta and many Hispanic countries. The commemoration is so widespread, in fact, that […]
» Read moreFor the first time since the Plague Year, our parish of Saint Patrick in Tacoma will celebrate a Tenebræ service. You are most welcome to join us on the Wednesday of Holy Week (16 April) at 7pm. What is Tenebræ? The word itself is Latin for “shadows”. It is a Holy Week service tied to the prayers of the Liturgy […]
» Read moreTwenty years ago today, on the night of the 26th of March 2005, I was baptized into the Church at the great Vigil of Easter. It’s odd to think that my baptism is now the midpoint of my spiritual journey thus far. Ten years ago, I shared some reflections of the tenth anniversary of my baptism. Last year, I shared […]
» Read moreThe mercy of God is a scandal – Christ offers His infinite mercy to every worst kind of sinner, excluding no one. This eternal upwelling of mercy overflows, cascading upon the whole of the human race. It extends to murderers. It extends to rapists. It extends to thieves, and liars, and stalkers, and vandals. It extends to tax collectors and […]
» Read moreFor the Order of Saint Benedict, today is the Solemnity of the Transitus of Saint Benedict, the anniversary of his death and birth into life eternal, in the year of our Lord 547. Of the transitus, Benedict’s biographer Pope Saint Gregory the Great writes: The same year in which he departed this life, he told the day of his holy […]
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