As I settled into the Archbishop Brunett Retreat at the Palisades for the archdiocesan 'Betrothed' retreat, it hit me that most of the month of October has involved celebrations of and preparations for marriage. On October 11, I was privileged to celebrate the nuptials of Bill Tocco & Heidi Durall. Last Sunday (October 19), I was invited to attend the wedding of Elijah Bufford & Galia Roman at Saint Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church (thanks to the gracious work of Archbishop Etienne and Father Josef Calendario of the Orthodox Church). In addition to being a beautiful celebration of the sacrament of matrimony, it was a welcome reminder of the rich liturgical traditions of our Eastern brethren - all-round a wonderful day. And this...

This last week has been a rather extraordinary mix of sorrow and joys. As most everyone has heard by now, Father Dennis Robb died sometime this last Sunday. Over the summertime and at his request, he and I had recently made arrangements for him to take the 1 pm Mass at Saint Joseph on the first Sunday of the month. Thanks to his new home dialysis setup, he had found a second wind to his day-to-day life and was delighted at being able to do more than in the past. Just this last Saturday evening, he was sharing with the parishioners who were to pick him up how glad he was to be able to celebrate Mass with the parish. It is no small consolation to consider that he went to bed on Saturday excited to serve and undoubtedly woke up to the...

July 7, 1948 - October 5, 2025As some of you heard at the 1 pm Mass at Saint Joseph yesterday, Father Dennis Robb was found in his home early Sunday afternoon - he died sometime overnight. His family arrived shortly after he was found - we prayed together over and blessed his body. Funeral arrangements will be announced as soon as they are made.As parishioners of Saint Joseph & Queen of Angels know well, Father Dennis loved being a priest - and he loved our parishes. He will be greatly missed. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon him.

(Yet a)nother eleventh hour pastor's post. No doubt about it, I'm late on the ball this week! But what a week it has been. As I type this, I am in Port Townsend for weekend Masses - and this weekend is the third time I've driven out here this week!As our parishioners here in Saint Mary Star of the Sea are hearing, this week marks the public launch of our capital campaign - "Under One Roof". Last winter we replaced not only our roof but four rotted beams. Throughout that process, I would vacillate between enjoying the rain (as I very much do!) and worrying whether this was going to be the storm that penetrated into our church. A year later, I find myself once again peacefully enjoying the pitter-patter of morning raindrops on my roof as I...

The Lord works, as they say, in mysterious ways and I find myself up just after midnight contemplating how wonderful that is. Especially after a particularly emotional few weeks, I find myself with several reasons to rejoice - ostensibly after coming home this evening from an emergency call where I was privileged to offer a Catholic the last rites with her husband & loved ones at her side. God only knows what the next hours will hold for her, but thanks to the care of her family and Divine Providence, she has all that needs in preparation for His call to His side.The late night always offers a sort of melancholic mysteriousness, but especially so while driving home on an empty highway after having celebrated the sacraments in such...

The one-two punch of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and Our Lady of Sorrows always hits home for me. This year is the twentieth anniversary of the death of my classmates Matty Molnar and Jared Cheek - every year me and my classmates remember them in a particular way. I offered Mass for them this morning, as well as for their families & loved ones.There has been a great many things to grieve recently. These last several weeks I've spent a lot of time at Olympic Medical Center - our local hospital - ministering to folks facing the end of their lives, or the end of the life of someone dear to them. The stories are legion and heartbreaking, but suffice to say that there are a lot of folks needing prayers right here in our...

A late pastor's post as this week draws to a close. I encourage you to join me in prayer for peace in our world, in our country, and most especially, in our own hearts:Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:where there is hatred, let me sow love;where there is injury, pardon;where there is doubt, faith;where there is despair, hope;where there is darkness, light;where there is sadness, joy.O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seekto be consoled as to console,to be understood as to understand,to be loved as to love.For it is in giving that we receive,it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.September 8 - One of the delights within the Catholic liturgical calendar is the variety...

Foremost, thank you for your support and prayers for Father Ed. He is doing well and continues to be in good spirits. I am grateful for his self-awareness and proactivity in checking himself into the hospital upon realizing signs of potential issues. He was given a clean bill of health & discharged on Tuesday - and promptly got on a plane to Italy for the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis! Last I heard, he landed and was enjoying what I imagine will be an exciting (but hopefully also restful) time abroad.Thanks as well are due to everyone who quickly leapt into action to help implement our contingency Mass schedule, particularly Father Gali, our staff, and some key parishioners who made sure that word got out quickly &...

A quote from The Fellowship of the Ring has been ringing in my head lately. Speaking to Gandalf about his plans, Bilbo tells him that "Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: Like butter that has been scraped over too much bread. That can’t be right. I need a change, or something." Though I do not plan on anything as dramatic as a dragon-based fireworks show - or disappearing from sight, for that matter! - I have recently found myself re-energized after discussing & discerning some changes that I think will be helpful for myself (on both a pastoral and personal level). I'll have a blog post about that sometime soon (tm), as well as something in the bulletin this weekend. All that to say, however, that I have...