John Michael Talbot

Last night I was blessed with the opportunity to attend a John Michael Talbot concert at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Tacoma. My mom played CD's which included John Michael Talbot songs, so I vividly remember growing up to his songs and was looking forward to this concert.

However, the concert was more of a concert and presentation. It was a great presentation, but just not what I was expecting. I was looking forward to hearing Table of Plenty and The Cry of the Poor, none of which were part of his short song-list.

He did mentioned a concern of his (which is a concern of many) of the lack of engagement in our youth today, especially when it comes to the Mass. He said that if it were a denomination, a large number of people would consider themselves "non-practicing Catholics." He suggested the main way to bring folks back to the Church is through engaging (but not entertaining) liturgy through relatable and focused preaching and joy-filled music.

 

At the end of his concert and presentation, he invited the clergy present to come forward, and then the following happened, a moment which reminded me of Pope Francis' December interview where he prays for the gift of unity among all Christians:

 

 

 

(Video courtesy of the Northwest Catholic)

He is risen, Alleluia!

Lots have been going on since we began the Easter season, rejoicing with the praises of all God's faithful people:

two popes were canonized on Divine Mercy Sunday,

priest assignments for the archdiocese were made official (while we hopefully have a surge of prayers for vocations to the priesthood as we see the appointment of a pastor for five parishes and three missions, the vicar for clergy appointed pastor of a parish in Shoreline, and the auxiliary bishop assigned as parochial administrator for a parish to be assisted by the director of vocations who also serves as the chaplain of Kennedy Catholic High School),

seminarian Dean Mbuzi, a native of Zambia (pictured below with Kathleen, the president of the ACCW), was ordained to the diaconate at St. Michael's in Olympia on the Third Sunday of Easter and will be ordained to the priesthood with Deacon Brian Thompson on September 6th at St. James Cathedral.

publicity and preparation for the Cantor Intensive our office is co-sponsoring with the Seattle Chapter of NPM kicked off,

seminarians from the North American College in Rome did a fun tap dance number at last month's Rector's Dinner, video courtesy of a post from Fr. Jacob Maurer's blog,

"Confirmation season" began,

and so has the time in which many second graders (including Deacon Jeff Greer's grandson) receive Holy Communion for the first time,

and 30+ candidates for Confirmation from Our Lady of Mt. Virgin, St. Paul, St. Edward, and St. George in South Seattle made a retreat where Fr. Bob Kenny blessed them all as they soon receive the gift of the Holy Spirit next Wednesday, May 14th on the Feast of St. Matthias.

Let us pray for them and all candidates for Confirmation.

"All-powerful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by water and the Holy Spirit you freed
your sons and daughters from sin
and gave them new life.
Send your Holy Spirit upon them
to be their Helper and Guide.
Give them the spirit of wisdom
   and understanding,
the spirit of right judgment,
   and courage,
the spirit of knowledge and reverence.
Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe
   in your presence.
We ask this through Christ our Lord."
            (from the Rite of Confirmation, The Laying on of Hands)

More Musings

The long-awaited arrival of the new Archdiocesan Director of Liturgy is here! Andrew was in the office for a few hours last Friday morning to get his id badge, parking pass, finish signing papers with HR, get his computer and email set-up, etc. Tomorrow he'll begin his new ministerial position full-time. But I can already tell why he was the unanimous choice of the search committee! He is a great person and I look forward with even more joy, hope, and excitement in ministering together. Now the real time of transition begins...prayers are appreciated!

But on a lighter note, last Saturday morning we had a moving party for Andrew and his family. We're ever-so grateful for those who took a few hours to babysit his two beautiful children and move furniture, boxes, toys, and some other items. This is just a sneak peak into the "other items" we unloaded off the moving truck and into his family's new home in Shoreline. Pretty neat stuff, if you ask me!

                         



This week is the NPM Convention in Washington, D.C., in which three people (that I know of anyway) from the Archdiocese are in attendance. Please hold them, and all participants in prayer. For those of us who wish we could participate in this national gathering, the Pray Tell blog will be live-streaming some of the sessions.

Here's a very informative summer issue of the liturgy newsletter from Diocese of San Jose Worship Office. I think I have some ideas for the next issue of our very own Liturgy Line. A fun note, last Sunday the 21st, the director of worship for San Jose, Diana Macalintal, made a surprise visit to the Chapel of St. Ignatius in Seattle. She is the same Diana Macalintal that I had the grace-filled opportunity to have breakfast with one day when at the Religious Education Congress in Anaheim last February.

In the newsletter included a pretty neat podcast from Diana providing a run-down of Pope Francis' encyclical Lumen fidei and what may be important for all who prepare liturgy to know about the document.

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Father Emmett Carroll, SJ, Pastor of St. Cecilia on Bainbridge Island, who died unexpectedly last week. His Funeral Mass will be tomorrow evening, 7:00pm at St. Cecilia. Archbishop Brunett will be the main celebrant and Father Patrick Howell, SJ will offer the homily. Eternal rest, grant unto the soul of Father Emmett, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

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.

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."