Ruminations of an Amateur Monastic
At our parish of Saint Patrick in Tacoma, we are celebrating Solemn Vespers on the evening of each Sunday of Lent at 6:00 PM. Please, join us in the coming weeks if you are local and able. Chanted Vespers is a beautiful and traditional way of worship in our faith. This is our third year singing Vespers in Lent, and two […]
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This has been a rough week. One of the ways I volunteer at my parish is as an adult catechist. I’m part of our OCIA team; we teach the faith to those adults seeking baptism or full communion with the Catholic Church. We have a great team – we have some folks who are real theological heavyweights, some folks who […]
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You are invited to an Advent tradition: a Rorate Mass on Saturday, December 6 at 6:30 AM. I can already hear the questions forming. What is a Rorate Mass? And why on earth would you have one so early in the morning? Well, here’s the FAQ, as the kids say. What is a Rorate Mass? It is a Solemn Votive […]
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This past week was particularly difficult. We finally got Francine’s autopsy results on Monday. The whole week was kind of a blur after that. I didn’t even go to OCIA on Tuesday. I did manage to make soup for my friends Adam and Chris when they came over on Friday, and it was a hit. Or else they are being […]
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Francine’s funeral arrangements are in place. Vespers for the Dead Vespers from the Office of the Dead will be sung for Francine on Thursday, 10 July, 2025 at 6:30 pm Pacific Time at Saint Patrick Church in Tacoma. The principal celebrant will be our friend, the Rev. Jacob Maurer. Music will be directed by Maestra Amy Gallwas. Vespers will not […]
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For the first time since the Plague Year, our parish of Saint Patrick in Tacoma will celebrate a Tenebræ service. You are most welcome to join us on the Wednesday of Holy Week (16 April) at 7pm. What is Tenebræ? The word itself is Latin for “shadows”. It is a Holy Week service tied to the prayers of the Liturgy […]
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Saint Patrick’s family were Roman Catholic churchmen from the Roman Imperial province of Britannia. Yet, today, nobody is going to go around speaking in fake Latin and wearing a toga and sandals, oh no. But I’ll bet you a shiny shamrock that you’ll run into at least one person affecting a fake Irish brogue. Today is a day in America […]
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At our parish of Saint Patrick in Tacoma, we will be celebrating Solemn Vespers in the evening of each Sunday of Lent at 6:00 PM. Please, join us in the coming weeks if you are local and able. Chanted Vespers is a beautiful and traditional way of worship in our faith. This is our second year singing Vespers in Lent, and […]
» Read more
Today is the anniversary of the death of Saint Brigid of Kildaire. She founded the first monasteries in Ireland shortly after Saint Patrick’s mission. She was named after an ancient Celtic goddess, and over the course of history many of the attributes of the goddess have been attributed to her as well. As you might imagine, this makes a mess […]
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The season of Advent began with last night’s vespers, and today is the First Sunday of Advent. This is the first day of the new liturgical year, so happy Advent and happy new year! For us, it’s time to pull the Advent box out of the garage and start decorating. If you are in Tacoma, please join us for chanted […]
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Happy Feast of All Saints! This is the day when we celebrate all the saints, known and unknown: the Church Triumphant. We ask them to pray for us. I, for one, could use all the help I can get! This day has been a feast since the sixth or seventh century, thanks to the abbots of Cluny, and it was […]
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It was twenty years ago today, and I was a pagan. Now when I say pagan, I don’t mean that I was unchurched or a “None”. No, I was a card-carrying member of an ancient Egyptian reconstructionist church. I am often amused by God’s little jokes. I was raised with no religion, but both my sister and I were sent […]
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Today is the feast of Saint Benedict of Nursia, who can safely be said to be the father of western monasticism. His monastic Holy Rule, still followed today after almost 1,500 years, spread throughout the west as the Roman Empire collapsed. Pope Pius XII lauded him, for in the perilous times that followed Rome’s fall, it was Benedictine monks who […]
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There are moments and even days when you can feel the Holy Spirit working. This past weekend was a busy one, and through it all I felt the presence of the Lord very near. Late Sunday night, I had a brief discussion with my friend Rev. Bryan Dolejsi about another such moment, but it occurred to me later that I […]
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The same Jesus who was incarnated in Nazareth and born in Bethlehem is incarnated on every altar in the world in the Eucharist. The same sacrifice of the Cross that occurred two millennia ago in Jerusalem may likewise be seen on every altar in the world in the holy sacrifice of the Mass. This is the great Paschal Mystery, in […]
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In Saint Patrick Church in Tacoma – the place where I was Baptized, Confirmed, and Married – there are all sorts of Christian symbols painted on the walls. One that always set my brain to thinking looks something like this: It is, of course, a Trinitarian symbol, reminding us in a visual way that while the Father is God, and […]
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Mary’s month of May begins with a day for her husband. Today, celebrated around the world as “International Workers’ Day” is the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. There’s poetry to the fact that the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin begins by putting the focus on her husband, and therefore on their family life. Imagine the Holy Family of […]
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