Well, that’s the first week of Advent in the bag! Between Thanksgiving (and post-Thanksgiving recovery), my birthday (December 1), OCIA resuming, additional confession times being offered, and our Advent retreat (today – December 6), it has been a crazy week….. but what a great kind of crazy! Sure, I’m exhausted and will absolutely crash into bed tomorrow after Masses – but with no regrets! In the Code of Canon Law, a parish is defined as ” is a certain community of the Christian faithful stably constituted in a particular church, whose pastoral care is entrusted to a pastor (parochus) as its proper pastor (pastor) under the authority of the diocesan bishop.” (CIC 515 §1) Catholic ritual…

For the first time in my priesthood, I was not at my assignment for the celebration of the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus, King of the Universe (aka Christ the King). Instead, I was at the Newman Center chapel at UW in Seattle, celebrating the nuptials of Gina & Clayton. I have been looking forward to this celebration for the better part of the year – it was a privilege and an honor to be the priest who led them in their exchange of consent at their wedding Mass (presided over and preached by the former Newman center chaplain, Father Chrysostom Mijinke, OP). Adding to the joy of the day was the fact that it was the memorial of Saint Cecilia, patron saint of musicians (Gina has been a longtime choir member at her parish). Especially…

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…

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, 2025 As 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…

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…