Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
As of yesterday, I am no longer a catechist, at least in the formal sense. Yesterday, Archbishop Etienne and Holy Rosary parish welcomed the Boylan-Nims family into Christ’s Church. And with them, our parish RCIA comes to an end, and by extension my role as its director. This was our penultimate Mass as a parish, and it seems fitting that […]
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Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish in Tacoma is being suppressed as of August 31, 2020. This parish began through the hard work and vision of German immigrants, who gathered in the Fall of 1890 to persuade the Bishop to grant them a new parish. Over the next year, they pooled their money and resources and purchased the land […]
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Since Archbishop Etienne declared The Year of the Eucharist, it might be time to get back to our ongoing series of essays on the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. It seems like a timely project, and the Archbishop’s observation that this is “an appropriate time for parishes to provide additional training for all liturgical ministers, as well as additional […]
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For seven years, on the Sunday Solemnity of Corpus Christi, my parish of Holy Rosary had an outdoor Procession of the Blessed Sacrament following the Noon Mass, taking Jesus through the streets of Tacoma and amongst His people. Rev. Jacob Maurer in the Corpus Christi Procession, 2013 This is a particularly special solemnity for our parish. Back in 2013, this […]
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Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle has proclaimed a “Year of the Eucharist” to begin on the external Solemnity of Corpus Christi, this coming Sunday. In his recent pastoral letter The Work of Redemption, he says: During the coming year, I ask every Catholic and every parish community to commit themselves to deepening our understanding and experience of the Eucharist, and […]
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UPDATE. Unfortunately, we were unable to get everything properly organized in time for this event. There are quite a few rules and regulations regarding gatherings that I was unaware of. This is entirely my fault. Mea culpa! So we will have to cancel. I can only offer my sincere apologies to everyone. All is not lost, however, as we are […]
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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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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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Pope Francis calls on everyone to pray the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary tomorrow, the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, at 9:00pm Rome time invoking “Our Lady, Health of the Sick and Saint Joseph, to protect our families from coronavirus COVID-19, especially the ill and those who are caring for the sick, the doctors, nurses, who are risking their lives”. This […]
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Arms of Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle By I, SajoR, CC BY-SA 2.5, Link Fasting, almsgiving, and prayer are the three traditional disciplines of Lent. The faithful and catechumens should undertake these practices seriously in a spirit of penance and of preparation for Baptism or of renewal of Baptism at Easter. (Code of Canon Law, 1249-1252) Ash Wednesday, February 26, […]
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In your mercy, please pray for my parish of Holy Rosary in Tacoma. Our new Archbishop, Paul Etienne, has given our church a “stay of execution“, suspending the destruction order for the moment, while he prays and consults. Tonight, I’m asking you to pray, as tonight his Excellency will be consulting with our own Parish Council. He has already been […]
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I was out of town this weekend, so of course I missed Archbishop Etienne’s first Sunday Mass as Archbishop of Seattle. It was celebrated, rather improbably and unexpectedly, at our parish of Holy Rosary. He reportedly began by saying, “today I’m just here to pray with you.” How I wish I could have been there! This was exactly the sort […]
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Today, on the feast of Pope Saint Gregory the Great, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of J. Peter Sartain, Archbishop of Seattle for these past nine years. His Coadjutor Archbishop Paul D. Etienne has automatically succeeded him as head of the Archdiocese of Seattle. Welcome Archbishop Etienne! The Northwest Catholic introduced him: Archbishop Etienne (pronounced AY-chin), 60, was archbishop of […]
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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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More than eight years ago, I was at the Mass for the installation of Archbishop Sartain. Now, it appears, we are welcoming the man who will eventually be his successor. Archbishop Paul Etienne Pope Francis has appointed the Most Reverend Paul Etienne, currently Archbishop of Anchorage, as Coadjutor Archbishop of Seattle. You can read more about it in the Northwest […]
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