Christ is Risen!

Truly, he has risen!

Alleluia!

An assortment of pictures from the Easter Vigil and Sunday of the Resurrection celebrations at St. Paul's will soon follow.

In the meantime, enjoy the following Easter greetings of hope and joy from the South Seattle Cluster Priests and from our office.

For Jess

Yesterday was the funeral mass for Seattle firefighter Jess Hernandez. There were 3 fire trucks, 5 other fire department vehicles, a medic car, and a couple of Seattle Police Department vehicles around 2nd & Stewart Street as I walked into Christ Our Hope church. Even Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn was present for what was supposed to be a small service for close family and friends...it turned into a full church (and lobby)!

Jess was well-known in the Christ Our Hope community, which is where I first met him and his wife, Elizabeth. I will never forget when I was altar serving for one of the 7:00pm Sunday Masses at Christ Our Hope, someone had fainted and Jess used his skills as a fireman to care for the woman until the fire engine came minutes later. It was that night that I discovered that this choir member of Christ Our Hope was a fire fighter.

Jess loved music and was a part of the choir for Christ Our Hope. In fact, this is a picture I took of him and Elizabeth singing for the St. Cecilia Sing! sponsored by the NPM Seattle Chapter (they led the participants in singing “All Are Welcome”)

Towards the end of the Procession to the Place of Committal, Seattle Fire Department Bagpipe Band played Amazing Grace in the lobby outside Christ Our Hope church and as I saw the honor guard of firefighters line the casket, the line of bagpipers, and various friends and apartment residents look on, I couldn't help but be moved by the profound ritual and the many people who were inspired by this great man…myself included. A man of service, love, faith, and compassion!

Jess, may the angels lead you into paradise;

may the martyrs come to welcome you and take you to the holy city, 

the new and eternal Jerusalem.

A sweet idea

For the Triduum and Easter Sunday celebrations, in the sacristy of St. Paul are ziplock sandwich bags of Easter candy and chocolates that I give to the altar servers, as my way of saying thank you and great job.

Looks like Pope Francis has a similar idea after yesterday's Mass with the priests who reside with him at the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

Abortion Mandate: Religious Liberty at Risk!

Please join in the fight to protect the conscience rights of our citizens by opposing the HHS Mandate: EHB 1044, which is due for a hearing in the Washington State Senate Health Care Committee on Monday, April 1st at 10:00am. Archbishop Sartain will testify against this bill. Click on the action alert from the Washington State Catholic Conference to read more about the issue and follow the link on the bottom of the page to "Take Action!"

As I mentioned in my post regarding today's gospel reading about Judas who betrays Jesus and Simon Peter who denies Jesus, we can not simply stand still or flee the foot of the cross. We can not deny or betray Jesus...not on an issue that presents a clear challenge to the conscience rights of those who do not wish to participate in health plans which support abortion!

On a little bit of a lighter note, the Archdiocese of Saint Louis put together a simple 16-second video outlining what the HHS Mandate is about and why we need to stand up for and fight for the protection of religious liberty.

May our celebrations of the Lord's Supper, Passion, Death and Resurrection renew in us our dedication to protect and defend the most vulnerable of God's children, the Unborn.

Full of Grace

For the second year in a row, my sister and I will join young adults throughout the Archdiocese in a 5-6 mile pilgrimage immediately after the Mass of the Lord's Supper at St. James Cathedral.

In the second annual Holy Thursday pilgrimage, this large group, which last year included a few of my classmates from Holy Names Academy, will visit five Churches in the Seattle area, and at each Church, we will pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament, sing hymns, listen to scripture readings, and Archbishop Sartain will offer a reflection.

Last year, Immaculate Conception Church was not finished with their Mass of the Lord's Supper when the group arrived, so we improvised. Archbishop Sartain gave a great reflection about the importance of a Church and how many make the sign of the cross when walking past a Church because it is a holy place. Therefore, since the Blessed Sacrament was inside this holy place (Immaculate Conception Church) we all were invited to take a moment of silent reflection to pray outside the Church.

Also last year, as we concluded the pilgrimage where it began, on the steps of St. James Cathedral, a discussion came up on where to eat since it was minutes away from the beginning of Good Friday, a day of fasting and abstinence in the Catholic Church. Dicks on Broadway was the place that many were heading to.

I'm looking forward to seeing what this year's Holy Thursday pilgrimage and Paschal Triduum celebrations will bring. Not like these experiences I mention above (although these experiences do add to the joy of the Triduum celebrations) but more over the grace that God brings during this holy time of prayer. These moments are the experiences that cannot be put into words. These moments are the experiences that deeply touch the heart.

My prayer during this week is that in the midst of the pilgrimage (and preparations and celebrations of the rest of the Triduum at St. Paul's) I may remember to keep my focus on what's most important...not on where to eat after the pilgrimage, but on the reason why this is Holy Week: the passion and resurrection of Jesus Christ! Today's gospel reading touches on Judas who betrays Jesus and Simon Peter who denies Jesus...may I not betray or deny the Lord but rather, be open to the graces of these liturgical celebrations.

Where ever, how ever you are celebrating Holy Week, may your celebrations be a grace-filled one!

Merry Chrism Mass!

It was a very merry Chrism Mass yesterday evening!

   - beautiful music (it helps if you're sitting next to Bill McNamara, campus minister for music at Seattle University)

   - awesome liturgical ministers (including a nervous recently ordained deacon and oil bearer or two)

   - reverent procession and presentation of oils and essence

   - saw a recent picture of Tony V. which was so great to see, thanks to one of the coordinators of the Dismissal of the Elect who saw him at the Mid-Atlantic Congress a few weeks ago (last time I talked to him, Tony said their Chrism Mass is Monday of Holy Week)

   - priests renewing their vow of obedience to the local bishop and their commitment to serve the people of God

   - Archbishop Sartain blest a monstrance to be used for Vocations to the Priesthood & Religious Life for the Archdiocese

   - one of the deans shouted in a soft voice "Jen-Jen"  (my nickname from Seattle University, since I also go by "Jen") during the recessional as I walked in front of him during the procession

   - seeing and talking to the 8 or 9 year old niece (her name is pronounced "Saba" but not sure how it's spelled) of Father Wagner. This was the third time I saw her since her uncle's ordination to the diaconate a few years ago

   - as all of the priests went back to the Pastoral Outreach Center, two by two in a straight line, Father Maurer strayed just to come and say hi to me...that was nice and very grace-filled

   - saw a pastoral musician committee member of NPM Seattle Chapter who told me about the death of Father Ed White's mother in Maine. Please pray for the repose of her soul and for Father Ed and his family, during this difficult time. He flew back to Seattle from Maine just hours before concelebrating at the Chrism Mass

   - a homeless man coming to the reception to get almost all of the cookies left, using a box to carry them out, even with the line of people waiting to get food

A Merry Chrism Mass to all...and to all a good holy week!

Monday musings

A sneak peak at the worship aid, or shall I say "libretto" for Pope Francis' installation mass, in case you wish to stream live in the early hours of tomorrow morning and follow along. Or in case you can't stream live in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

A sneak peak at another worship aid...this one for Thursday's Chrism Mass for the Archdiocese of Seattle, where the oils are blessed by Archbishop Sartain and the Church celebrates priestly unity. At this Mass, the 100+ priests will make a Renewal of Commitment to Priestly Service. Also, after the Prayer after Communion, a monstrance will be blest by Archbishop Sartain, which will be used throughout the Archdiocese for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life. This Mass is one of the highlights of the liturgical year for me (in addition to Priest Ordinations) and all are welcome. Parking will be free and available to all wanting to attend, at the Cabrini Parking Garage off of Marion Street (but fair warning, the lot fills up pretty quickly.)

This morning I picked up the flowers for the Chrism Mass at Northwest Wholesale Florists on behalf of our interim director, and earlier this afternoon he complimented and thanked me for picking out a great selection of flowers. "Great job picking out the flowers for Chrism Mass" were his almost exact words. Although he was the one to pre-order what kind of flowers our office would purchase and the quantity, if you know Fr. Steve Sallis, this is a pretty big deal that he thinks highly of my selection of the flowers. I'm putting that compliment into my jar of blessings, that's for sure!

For the second year in a row, the newly named Office of Youth and Young Adult Evangelization (formerly known as the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry) will hold the young adult pilgrimage on Holy Thursday. My sister and I participated last year, and it was a great witness to the faith as people would ask questions of the group and when hundreds would sing together and pray together during the holiest times of the liturgical year.

An exciting reflection/announcement regarding the feast of Corpus Christi at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary parish in Tacoma by their pastor, Father Jacob Maurer.

Lastly, I just finished putting mailing address labels on invitations for the NPM Seattle Chapter's pastor and pastoral musicians dinner (save the date: Friday May 3 in Seattle.) They will be in tomorrow's mail. Here's a picture of the cover of the invite and I'm hoping that many of our pastors and pastoral musicians will be able to attend.

Prayer Request

I ask for your prayers as the Church enters into a time of transition (this request is in addition to prayers for the entire Church, in light of the recent election of Pope Francis, successor to St. Peter the apostle.)

There are two important jobs that will soon be filled (God-willing) which will greatly influence the liturgical ministry in the Archdiocese. The Archdiocesan Liturgy Office Director (who will also be my direct supervisor) and Seattle University's Campus Minister for Liturgy (whose role is also to supervise a number of student sacristans.) I served as a student sacristan during my time studying at Seattle University.

Anyway, once these positions are filled, just as with the election of our Holy Father, the time of transition has only really begun, hence my prayer request. Please continue to keep me and our office, SU's Campus Ministry (which I hold near and dear to my heart) and our Archdiocese in prayer, even after the positions have been filled. Let us especially hold in prayer the various search committees who will be making these decisions, that they may listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in these next few weeks.

These past few months since our previous Liturgy director retired and our associate director resigned and accepted an appointment as director for the worship office in Metuchen, New Jersey, have been like a roller coaster ride, bringing moments of serious desolation...but also moments of joy and hope.  And the ride continues.

This Monday the 18th is when the search committee will hold a first-round of interviews for the Liturgy Director's top candidates. SU has already begun interviewing for their Campus Minister for Liturgy and, after the Easter octave, will begin a second --and hopefully final round of interviews. (A good friend of mine has applied for this position at SU, so I'm praying for him as well, especially as he finishes his MDiv at Berkeley and is in the middle of comprehensive exams)

If not for the grace of God and the sustaining help of your prayers, support and encouragement, I don't know where I'd be, so thank you for your continued prayers!

A Great Joy

This morning, as I poured essence and olive oil into the vessels to be used at next week's Chrism Mass, we heard the announcement of great joy: we have a new Pope. Habemus papam!

When the Cathedral's bells began to ring sometime after 11am, I knew right away that white smoke had come out of the Sistine Chapel. I literally dropped what I was doing, (by calmly putting down the gallon container of Magnano family Napoleon Olive Oil on the table) grabbed my office keys and walked a block to the Cathedral to take a poor quality cell phone video (no, I do not have a smart phone), to snap better quality pictures, and more importantly, to experience this great joy.

Gold and white banners hang from
St. James Cathedral















Standing outside the Cathedral as the bells rang and as John, one of the sacristans at the Cathedral, put some finishing touches to the hung yellow and white banners, was an experience I can't put into words. It seemed like time had come to a complete stop!

Not really in the mood to finish pouring olive oil into glass vessels, I decided to join a few of the Chancery employees outside the Chancery chapel to have a live streaming party, which was yet another moment of great joy, simply gathering with colleagues to watch CNN live, as if we too were at the Vatican. All of us waiting in anticipation for the official announcement, appearance, and blessing of our newly elected Holy Father. Then around 12:30pm, Father Tony Bawyn celebrated Mass for the Election of Pope Francis.

And a Jesuit! As Archbishop Sartain mentioned in his statement regarding Pope Francis, "...his election holds particular excitement for the many Jesuits who serve in the Archdiocese of Seattle..." The news also holds particular excitement for this alum of Seattle University --- a Jesuit-Catholic institution and a friend and colleague to many Jesuits.

And just for fun...the Holy See-gull who may have been a symbol for the answer to one of the first questions asked of the newly elected Holy Father: "By which name do you wish to be called?" Francis (of Assisi) who is almost always portrayed in icons with a white bird.

On that note, in the first words of our Holy Father, Pope Francis:

"Let us always pray for one another. 

Let us pray for the world so that this might be a great brotherhood."

The Liturgy of the Papal Conclave

Today marks a historic moment in the Catholic Church. On this first day of the Papal Conclave, a priest of the Archdiocese and I discussed the beauty of today's liturgy that began the Conclave...a beauty of sacred liturgy that many probably did not even realize.

This beauty could be seen in everything from the Cardinal Electors processing from the Pauline Chapel and into the Sistine Chapel, the chanting of the Litany of Saints, their swearing an oath of secrecy as they put their hand over the Holy Gospels, and the closing and locking of the Sistine Chapel doors by Monsignor Guido Marini!

As is said, a picture is worth a thousand words, so how much more a profound video of this ritual, showing this beauty in the Liturgy of the Papal Conclave.

(And an article that describes further how the Conclave is a Liturgy, "a prayer from beginning to end.")

Ora pro nobis!

Sede Vacante Events

With the news of the date set for the beginning of the Conclave, St. James Cathedral will hold Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament after Monday's 5:30pm Mass. The Vigil will conclude at midnight, which would be 9:00am Tuesday Rome Time and when the Conclave will begin with Mass. More information on this event on the Cathedral website.

Seattle University is also hosting a lecture with Fr. Patrick Howell, SJ on the resignation of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI titled "Surprising resignation of the Pope throws the door open" next Thursday the 14th from 12:30pm - 1:30pm. Dr. Catherine Punsalan-Manlimos, a fellow Filipina, was a former professor of mine at SU and is now a good friend. Anyway, she is coordinating this lecture and currently serves as the director of the Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture at SU.

Whether or not you are able to attend this Mass and Exposition or Lecture, please join in prayer during this momentus and exciting time of the Church! Come, Holy Spirit!

Chrism Mass countdown

In two weeks, at the annual Chrism Mass, the oils to be used in sacramental celebrations at Easter and throughout the coming year will be blessed by Archbishop Sartain. This is also a special celebration because it is at this Mass where Archbishop Sartain consecrates the Sacred Chrism, where he not only prays the words of blessing, but breathes over the oil, an ancient gesture that recalls God’s spirit breathed into creation.

All are welcome to attend this Mass on Thursday, March 21^st at 7:00pm at St. James Cathedral.

In the meantime enjoy the behind the scenes look at the oil preparations. Maybe next year I'll take pictures at Calvary Cemetery where we pour all of the old holy oils into a plot near the deceased priests' section.

[Thanks to a few good deacons (Roy Harrington, Sam Basta, Dennis Kelley, and Craig Lundberg) taking time yesterday to set-up tables, clean the glass vessels, unpack boxes, and discover a secret to drying out these vessels overnight, we are almost ready for the Chrism Mass.]

 

Oración para la Elección del Papa

In case you have not seen them already, the USCCB Secretariat of Divine Worship has added resources in Spanish for the papal transition.

Catholic dioceses, parishes, and schools have permission to download and reproduce any of these graphics, prayers, and bulletin inserts for distribution. Nice print copies are also available for order, through the USCCB.

Let us continue to pray for the Cardinal Electors, Pope Emeritus, our future Pope (just throwing this out there for fun), and for the Church and the world!

"Participation: Liturgy, Life, Mission"

Join the Seattle Chapter in attending the National Association of Pastoral Musicians' national convention in Washington, DC from July 29 to August 2.

Come renew your ministry, deepen your understanding, sharpen your skills, pray and sing with others who share your commitment, be nourished by fine performers and thought-provoking speakers, and discover new music and resources. (if I were a pastoral musician, I'd attend this convention!)

 

Register before March 15th and save up to $100.00! Early bird deadline has been extended from March 1st, so on the flyer below when you see March 1st, it has actually changed to March 15th.

 

More information and to register

Liturgy as Play

While I was a student at Seattle University, I took a course on Ignatian Spirituality with Fr. Pat Kelly, SJ, who has a deep passion for sports and the church.

Next Friday at the Elliot Bay Bookstore in Seattle, Fr. Kelly will be discussing and signing his new book Catholic Perspectives on Sports.

Fr. Kelly, and his knowledge and love for the relationship between sports and spirituality reminds me of Cardinal Ratzinger's book titled "The Spirit of the Liturgy" where he compares the Liturgy to play...but not just any kind of play, rather a special kind of play that has a deep purpose and meaning. Here's a good excerpt:

"Children’s play seems in many ways a kind of anticipation of life, a rehearsal for later life, without its burdens and gravity. On this analogy, the liturgy would be a reminder that we are all children, or should be children, in relation to that true life toward which we yearn to go. Liturgy would be a kind of anticipation, a rehearsal, a prelude for the life to come, for eternal life, which St. Augustine describes, by contrast with life in this world, as a fabric woven, no longer of exigency and need, but of the freedom of generosity and gift. Seen thus, liturgy would be the rediscovery within us of true childhood, of openness to a greatness still to come, which is still unfulfilled in adult life. (14)" 

And to sum it all up, wasn't it Fr. Anthony de Mello, SJ who is known to have said that work becomes spiritual only when it is transformed into play? 

Emeritus Pope

Yesterday afternoon, as the See of Rome became vacant, Archbishop Sartain celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving for Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI at St. James Cathedral. Here is a video of his homily from the Mass.

Courtesy of St. James Cathedral's newly remodeled and revamped website:
   Prayer During the Conclave
   Prayer for Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI

Lastly, a picture from the USCCB of the Vatican insignia representing the sede vacante.