{"id":85445,"date":"2015-06-28T18:46:23","date_gmt":"2015-06-29T01:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/?p=85445"},"modified":"2015-06-28T18:50:14","modified_gmt":"2015-06-29T01:50:14","slug":"one-small-step","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/one-small-step\/","title":{"rendered":"One Small Step"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_85447\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Thom-in-Fairhaven.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-85447\" data-attachment-id=\"85447\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/one-small-step\/thom-in-fairhaven\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Thom-in-Fairhaven.jpg?fit=960%2C960&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"960,960\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Thom in Fairhaven\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Yr Obd&amp;#8217;t Servant in Fairhaven. &lt;br \/&gt;Photo by the fabulous Francine&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Thom-in-Fairhaven.jpg?fit=860%2C860&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Thom-in-Fairhaven.jpg?resize=190%2C190\" alt=\"Yr Obd&#039;t Servant in Fairhaven. Photo by the fabulous Francine\" width=\"190\" height=\"190\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-85447\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Thom-in-Fairhaven.jpg?resize=240%2C240&amp;ssl=1 240w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Thom-in-Fairhaven.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Thom-in-Fairhaven.jpg?w=960&amp;ssl=1 960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 190px) 100vw, 190px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-85447\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yr Obd&#8217;t Servant in Fairhaven. <br \/>Photo by the fabulous Francine<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"drop\">Yesterday, Francine and I drove up to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.shbham.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Sacred Heart church in Fairhaven<\/a>, near Bellingham, to attend an informational session on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.seattlearchdiocese.org\/Vocations\/Diaconate\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Diaconate<\/a>. We put about 250 miles on the car.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"wpsdc-drop-cap\">T<\/span>he talk was given by the director of the program, Rev. Frank Schuster. It was videotaped, so I&#8217;m sure it will be available on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.seattlearchdiocese.org\/Vocations\/Diaconate\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Archdiocese&#8217;s web page presently<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Francine and I had a lovely time afterwards in Fairhaven, wandering around the shops and dining in the sun and talking.<\/p>\n<p>Today I asked my <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/rev-jacob-maurer\/\" target=\"_blank\">pastor<\/a> if he would please pray for me as I discern whether God is calling me to the Diaconate. <\/p>\n<p>I also asked if he would write a letter of recommendation. <\/p>\n<p>He said that he will.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"drop\">Similarly, deacons must be dignified, not deceitful, not addicted to drink, not greedy for sordid gain, holding fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.<\/p>\n<p>(1 Timothy 3:8-9)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Please continue to pray for me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yesterday, Francine and I drove up to Sacred Heart church in Fairhaven, near Bellingham, to attend an informational session on the Diaconate. We put about 250 miles on the car. The talk was given by the director of the program, Rev. Frank Schuster. It was videotaped, so I&#8217;m sure it will be available on the Archdiocese&#8217;s web page presently. Francine [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,3,39,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-francine-my-love","category-moments-in-time","category-rev-jacob-maurer","category-vocation"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1aGBK-me9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":109625,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/francines-funeral\/","url_meta":{"origin":85445,"position":0},"title":"Francine&#8217;s Funeral","author":"Thom","date":"26 June 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;community&quot;","block_context":{"text":"community","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Francine-2024.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Francine-2024.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Francine-2024.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Francine-2024.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":105852,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/final-mass-video\/","url_meta":{"origin":85445,"position":1},"title":"Final Mass Video","author":"Thom","date":"28 September 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"took this video of our final Mass at Holy Rosary as a parish community. It was originally live-streamed on Facebook. Since the Holy Rosary Facebook page is now taken down, I thought it might be nice for it to live here.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2020 - the end of Holy Rosary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2020 - the end of Holy Rosary","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/2020-the-end-of-holy-rosary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2020-09-13-18.38.42.jpg?fit=720%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2020-09-13-18.38.42.jpg?fit=720%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2020-09-13-18.38.42.jpg?fit=720%2C960&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/2020-09-13-18.38.42.jpg?fit=720%2C960&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":106912,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/blessing-of-the-pilgrims-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":85445,"position":2},"title":"Blessing of the Pilgrims, 2022","author":"Thom","date":"04 May 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Francine and I received the pilgrims' blessing from Rev. David Mulholland at Saint Patrick Church, where I was baptized and we were married. It is a beautiful and ancient rite. In its current form it appears the\u00a0Missal\u00a0of Vich Cathedral, Barcelona, Spain, dated to AD 1078. In addition to blessing the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Camino&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Blessing of the Pilgrims, 2022","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2022-05-04-09.32.52-scaled.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2022-05-04-09.32.52-scaled.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2022-05-04-09.32.52-scaled.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/2022-05-04-09.32.52-scaled.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52624,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/many-blessings\/","url_meta":{"origin":85445,"position":3},"title":"Many Blessings","author":"Thom","date":"18 March 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Blessing of the \u201cRucksacks\u201d This past weekend was a crazy whirl of last minute errands and bon voyages. Although I\u2019m not leaving until Easter Sunday, and Francine not until the 17th of April, we thought it best to avoid the rushing around the week before Easter. We topped up our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Camino&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Camino","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/camino\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Blessing of the \"Rucksacks\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/camino\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/100_0006-168x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":88896,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/ad-orientem-training\/","url_meta":{"origin":85445,"position":4},"title":"Ad Orientem Training","author":"Thom","date":"23 September 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"At our parish of Holy Rosary, we sometimes celebrate Mass on the High Altar. This method, where for much of the Eucharistic prayer the Priest and the people are facing the same direction, is known as ad Orientem. For many years, we have celebrated Mass this way at the Solemnity\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cardinal Sarah&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cardinal Sarah","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/robert-cardinal-sarah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/IMG_2344-e1506187007228.jpg?fit=1200%2C957&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/IMG_2344-e1506187007228.jpg?fit=1200%2C957&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/IMG_2344-e1506187007228.jpg?fit=1200%2C957&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/IMG_2344-e1506187007228.jpg?fit=1200%2C957&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/IMG_2344-e1506187007228.jpg?fit=1200%2C957&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":88400,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/holy-week-busy-week\/","url_meta":{"origin":85445,"position":5},"title":"Holy Week, Busy Week","author":"Thom","date":"12 April 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Every year I take vacation during Holy Week. There are a couple of reasons for this, both spiritual and practical. On the spiritual level, I find that I need time to prepare myself. There may have been some work in the garden the past couple of days. I may also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;community&quot;","block_context":{"text":"community","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/2017-Palm-Sunday.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/2017-Palm-Sunday.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/2017-Palm-Sunday.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/2017-Palm-Sunday.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/2017-Palm-Sunday.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85445"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85458,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85445\/revisions\/85458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}