Historic Day...

...and not just because it's 12/12/12.

Today is the day Pope Benedict sent his first tweet:

"I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart."

The Pope has already answered three questions from his "followers" and counting.
Follow the Pope on twitter!

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

As they say, pictures (or in this case, a video with music) speak louder than words...especially when it comes to celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!

This video (courtesy of Isaac Govea of the Hispanic Ministry Office) is a beautiful compilation of pictures taken at this year's Archdiocesan Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Madre de las Americas, which was celebrated on December 1st. The day began with a Rosary at St. Mary's Church followed by a procession to St. James Cathedral for the Mass. Then of course, a gran fiesta! (Unfortunately, no pictures of the tamales.)

¡Que viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!



Roman Missal: One Year Later

"The New Evangelization calls each of us to deepen our faith, believe in the Gospel message and go forth to proclaim the Gospel...The New Evangelization invites each Catholic to renew their relationship with Jesus Christ and his Church." (taken from the USCCB website)

It's been a little more than a year since we began praying "and with your Spirit".

One day after Catholic News Service posted a news brief on the acceptance of the translation by majority of Catholics, I'm still left wondering if we have truly been inspired to "deepen our faith" and "believe in the Gospel message" as we are called to do in this Year of Faith, or are we simply playing monkey see monkey do? or in this case, monkey say?

Here is a link to a two-page survey that is being done at All Saints parish in Puyallup that might interest you, whether for personal or parish use. Thanks to Paula Schmitz, Pastoral Associate for Music and Liturgy at All Saints, for sharing this wonderful resource.

And just weeks after the assembly began saying "It is right and just," St. James Cathedral also conducted a parish survey on how the implementation was going. Here is a link to the questions they asked and their full report.

Not that I'm encouraging your parish to go out and do a survey of what your community thinks of the Roman Missal. But just wondering if anyone else is thinking more about the one year birthday of the 3rd Edition of the Roman Missal and how we can challenge the assembly to "proclaim the Gospel" message of Christ. Have we already grown nonchalant?

With the New Evangelization inviting us to learn more about Christ and as we enter into the second year of hearing prayers with no punctuation, let us invite others (and even ourselves) to articulate and live out our experience of the Paschal Mystery.

Thurifer Training

In preparations for the coming Christmas Masses at St. Paul’s parish, (the parish I grew up in and for nine years went to grade school at) I led a training session for all altar servers interested in being a thurifer. This is the altar server who gets to swing around the metal censer suspended with chains in which incense is burned during Mass. Incense. One of my favorite symbols within the Mass.

I took this opportunity to briefly catechize about what incense means, and why we use it. Of course, we then actively walked through the various parts of the Mass where incense is used and how we move around the Church and use the thurible at St. Paul’s. One young grade schooler's boredom caught my eye. Allison was in the seventh grade, although she looked like she could be graduating from high school. Her disinterest in the training was visible in her face, like the wrinkles on my grandmother. She yawned vigorously two times during the session. Probably more. Allison didn’t want to be there. Her mom, however, sat in the pew behind her, actively answering all of my questions as if she was the one wanting to be a thurifer.

After reflecting on Allison’s response to the thurifer training session, I kept having all sorts of doubts about how I held the training:

   What should I have done differently ?
   What did I say? (or not say?)
   Was I too boring?
   Should I have had chocolates as the reward for answering my no-wrong-answer questions?
   Can I change the way the session is presented for the next thurifer training session next week?

Then the evil spirit crept in (which he did in his usual way with me):
   You're not cut out for this!
   You can't do this ministry!
   Why are you wasting your time!
   Don't think you'll make any difference at all!

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Allison was a younger version of me when I was her age. I have to admit that altar serving wasn’t the first activity I wanted to do when I was her age on an early Sunday morning. If I were in her shoes, I probably would have acted the way she did and added on a few eye rolls. But somehow, by the grace of God, I came to love the Church...even her smells and bells.

I pray that all the Allison’s out there continue to open themselves up to the Holy Spirit, and that all of the mothers and fathers of all the Allison’s will continue to be persistent in the faith, because your reward will truly be great, and will bear much fruit!

When you encounter any Allison's in your ministry, know that, one way or another, they will hear the message of Christ. We are called to simply plant the seeds.

The Immaculate Conception:

one of the topics I thought I knew in grade school, until my religion teacher proved me wrong. The Immaculate Conception is a teaching of the Church that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was preserved from original sin from the moment of her conception  (not Jesus'). 

Catholic teaching purports that in order for Jesus to have been born without sin, he would have to have been conceived within a sinless human. If Mary had been born with the consequences of original sin, then Jesus would inherit this sin nature through her. Instead, God prepared for the incarnation of His Son by preparing Mary to bear Jesus Christ, through her Immaculate Conception.

Here is a neat comparison showing Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant from Catholic author and apologist Steve Ray. Not only is this creative and informative, but it also demonstrates the importance of familiarity with scripture and how this deepening of our faith can show us a deeper picture of the sacred liturgy, particularly as it relates to Christ, the Divine Lamb.

Mary the Ark as Revealed in Mary's Visit to Elizabeth

Golden Box: Ark of the Old Covenant	Mary: Ark of the New Covenant
The ark traveled to the house of Obed-edom in the hill country of Judea (2 Sam. 6:1-11).	Mary traveled to the house of Elizabeth and Zechariah in the hill country of Judea (Luke 1:39).
Dressed as a priest, David danced and leapt in front of the ark (2 Sam. 6:14).	John the Baptist — of priestly lineage — leapt in his mother's womb at the approach of Mary (Luke 1:41).
David asks, "How can the ark of the Lord come to me?" (2 Sam. 6:9).	Elizabeth asks, "Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43).
David shouts in the presence of the ark (2 Sam. 6:15).	Elizabeth "exclaimed with a loud cry" in the presence of the Mary (Luke 1:42).
The ark remained in the house of Obed-edom for three months (2 Sam. 6:11).	Mary remained in the house of Elizabeth for three months (Luke 1:56).
The house of Obed-edom was blessed by the presence of the ark (2 Sam. 6:11).	The word blessed is used three times; surely the house was blessed by God (Luke 1:39-45).
The ark returns to its home and ends up in Jerusalem, where God's presence and glory is revealed in the temple (2 Sam. 6:12; 1 Kgs. 8:9-11).	Mary returns home and eventually ends up in Jerusalem, where she presents God incarnate in the temple (Luke 1:56; 2:21-22).

Inside the Ark

Inside the Ark of the Old Covenant	Inside Mary, Ark of the New Covenant
The stone tablets of the law — the word of God inscribed on stone	The body of Jesus Christ — the word of God in the flesh
The urn filled with manna from the wilderness — the miraculous bread come down from heaven	The womb containing Jesus, the bread of life come down from heaven (John 6:41)
The rod of Aaron that budded to prove and defend the true high priest	The actual and eternal High Priest

Liturgical Blue...

As parishes begin to celebrate the Vigil of the great solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (yes, it is a Holy Day of Obligation ...and no, the 5:00pm Mass on Saturday does not count towards this Solemnity, even though the fifteen people who called our office this past week may wish otherwise) New Liturgical Movement examines Liturgical Blue vestments. I especially enjoyed the pictures and hope you do too!

Stay tuned...more to come on the Patronal Feast Day of the United States.

Tony Varas: Worship Director for the Diocese of Metuchen

It's been almost three months since my former colleague in the Liturgy Office began his new role as the Director of the Office of Worship for the Diocese of Metuchen (pronounced Meh-TOUCH-en) in New Jersey.

Check out an article on Tony's new role that was published in the Metuchen Diocesan newspaper called The Catholic Spirit. I received a copy courtesy of The Catholic Spirit's advertising director who just so happens to be the aunt of one of our seminarians for the Archdiocese of Seattle. Small world. (There's another Seattle-Metuchen connection for you.)

Although he is greatly missed in the Church of western Washington, it is wonderful to see that Tony's gifts and strengths are appreciated and will bear great fruit in the Church of central New Jersey. As one of the priests said when I showed him the article, "Tony deserves every accolade."    AMDG

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas

Happy Feast Day of St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra in Asia Minor, model pastor noted for charity and patron saint of children.  (and just recently learned he is also the patron saint of unmarried women  ;)

Anyway, for a couple of years now, St. Nick has visited the chancery offices (near or on his feast day of course!) and left treats. But since I don't leave my shoes out for him to put the treats in, they are either left on my desk or delivered by our mail room staff.

The feast of St. Nick is a wonderful reminder for us to medidate on the countless blessings and joys God gives us, through His Son, Jesus Christ...especially during this holy season of Advent. Through a simple plastic bag filled with a prayer card, a candy cane, and some chocolate, St. Nick reminds us that we can find joy through the generous spirit of others, if we just open our hearts to seeing the blessings all around us.

Let us do the same for others as well, knowing that we too can spread good cheer to many.

And thank you to the chancery's "St. Nick" --- if you are reading this.

St. Nicholas, Ora pro nobis.

"A Stewardship Parish"

As I opened my outlook calendar this morning, a meeting reminder popped up. But this meeting was not like any other meeting. This meeting was going to be at Holy Family parish in Kirkland.

Holy Family parish graciously agreed to host our next series of Liturgical Ministries Institute (LMI) courses. Thanks to Norm Bross, Holy Family's Pastoral Assistant for Liturgy and Sacramental Preparation, this meeting was convened to discuss preparations for the LMI series. Two parishioners were present as well: Sid and Pat, who will be handling registration and hospitality for the eight courses.

I began the meeting with a simple prayer, then we all engaged in a dialogue about how to handle registration, refreshments, even the handouts. After the brief 20-minute meeting, we spent another 35 minutes touring their campus. Norm showed me their 24-hour Perpetual Adoration Chapel. Pat talked about her family as we walked down the hallway of the school. Sid was proud of their new social hall with a commercial kitchen, while Norm gave me the history of their wall-to-wall painted mural in their school nursery --- handpainted by one of their parishioners! We discussed the parish campus map and how to lead LMI participants to the meeting room ahead of time. Because it may be a challenge to find. Have you seen Holy Family campus? It's great! Huge, but great! The morning renewed my spirit. It is meetings like this that remind me of our common mission in ministry: to build up God's kingdom, to give God glory, to serve God's people.

Thanks to Reverend Kurt Nagel, and Norm for opening up Holy Family parish for the LMI, and also to Sid and Pat who so graciously volunteered their time and talent. The parish of Holy Family truly are, as it says on their parish bulletin,  "a stewardship parish".

Advent has begun...now what?

In the Chancery offices, the Advent Wreath in the Chapel has been blessed. The first purple candle of hope has been lit. But now what?

Advent is about expectant waiting, hopeful anticipation, and prayerful participation of God coming into our lives. But how can we fully enter into this season, this new liturgical year, amidst the shopping for gifts, baking of cookies, decorating the tree, preparations for Christmas Masses?

I know it’s easier said than done (I speak from my own personal prayer experience) but I invite all of us this Advent to take a moment and recognize what is in our hearts through prayer.

One way to start is by simply opening ourselves to God, allowing Him to come into our hearts, knowing that we are loved by Him. And carrying this feeling of peace with us throughout our busy days.

We can also start by opening our eyes to where Christ is in our daily experiences. Finding Christ in that Salvation Army bell ringer at the local grocery store, or in the kindness of the store clerk as she rings up merchandise for Christmas gifts...or maybe even in a lit purple candle.

Another way to find Christ in our lives is by praying with an Advent Calendar. I am personally enjoying Busted Halo’s Advent Calendar.

May we all continue to open our hearts and prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ into our lives!

Our Lady of Guadalupe; Madre de las Americas

As the Catholic Church begins the season of Advent (a season of anticipation and expectation) the Hispanic Catholic Community of Western Washington gathered at St. James Cathedral to celebrate Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Madre de las Americas. Some great pictures are on the St. James Cathedral website.

This Mass (in addition to Simbang Gabi, which will be at 11am on December 15th at the Cathedral) is one of my favorites, because even with a language barrier, I'm able to see the faith through a different perspective. I'm able to see the faith through the eyes of devoted Catholics not ashamed to show their faith, wear feathers, beads, and bells. I'm able to see the faith through beautiful mariachi music, guitars, and bright vibrant colors. In this season of waiting and preparation for the coming of Christ, let us continue to find joy in our faith.

!Viva la Virgen!

What also made the day special was that a good friend of mine, Reverend Jacob M. Maurer was celebrating his 30th birthday and had the opportunity to pray a part of the Eucharistic Prayer with Archbishop Sartain. So glad that he was able to have this opportunity, something he had not done since his ordination in 2009. Happy 30th Birthday, Father Maurer!