Pause

The Liturgy of the Hours runs through the psalms in a four-week cycle. Every fourth Wednesday at the hour of Vigils (a.k.a. Matins, or the Office of Readings) we pray Psalm 103. There’s one stanza that never fails to give me pause. As for man, his days are like grass; he flowers like the flower of the field; the wind […]

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Reflections on an Installation Mass

This past Sunday, Reverend Eugene Delmore SJ was installed as the fifth pastor of our little parish church of Saint Rita of Cascia in Tacoma. The Most Reverend Eusebio Elizondo MSpS, Auxiliary Bishop of Seattle, was the principal Celebrant. He was joined at the altar by Fr Delmore and his Jesuit Superior, Reverend John Fuchs SJ. It was my second […]

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Feast of Saint Francis

Nearly everybody knows about Saint Francis. He’s the plaster birdbath guy, right? The saint who hung around with fuzzy pastel animals. Well, sort of. “Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.” (Saint Francis of Assisi) I very nearly took “Francis” as my confirmation name. It might have been awkward, though, what with being engaged to Francine at the time. Reading […]

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Towards a New Cluny

Saint Benedict

On this, the Feast of Saint Benedict, I thought I’d ruminate on the meaning of “reform”. Typically, when the Church, or some organization within the Church, has talked about reform, the word pretty specifically meant clearing out the laxness and shortcuts that had appeared in practices, devotions, and liturgy. The fact is, all organizations staffed by humans tend to get […]

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