Last week I joined my brother priests and the bishops of our archdiocese down in Ocean Shores for our annual priest convocation or 'Priest Days'. For about three days, we come together for prayer, presentations, and fellowship. Spread apart as we are in our archdiocese - from the border of Canada to the border of Oregon! - this is, for the majority of us, the only occasion we have to be together, catch up after a year apart, and get to know priests new to the archdiocese (or just new to us!).
Just the most lovely greeting from Sacred Heart Radio as we drove into Aberdeen!
This is also the second year of Partners in the Gospel, which has been a challenging one for every Catholic in our archdiocese - but especially so (I would assert) for priests. Nearly all of us were ordained with the reasonable understanding that we would live out our priestly lives serving one - maybe two, in extremis - community at any given time. With the priest shortage, almost every one of us finds ourselves serving several communities - and many of them quite disparate in culture & character, if not also distance. It is perhaps no wonder that the archbishop saw fit to invite Deacon Tim Lynch from the Saint John Vianney Center - an institution dedicated to supporting the physical, mental & spiritual well-being of clergy - to present at our convocation this year!
Of course, it's not all prayer and conferences - we also just hung out together! And even away from our parishes, we were reminded of the support & care that is so regularly offered by parishioners. Sacred Heart Radio arranged a billboard with a wonderful message of support (pictured to the right), strategically chosen so that every priest might see it on his way to Priest Days!
For myself, I found the week to be a sort of climax to an ongoing reflection on death, grief, and faith. The gospel for that Sunday (Matthew 10:26-33) stuck with me throughout the week. For one, I was unexpectedly consoled by Jesus' words in the middle of the passage: "Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge." It was not sparrows, but a certain cat companion of happy memory, that immediately jumped to my mind, as I heard the Lord's assurance that none of His creatures goes unnoticed or forgotten. A welcome - and yet much needed, I must admit - consolation.
That Sunday - June 21 - also marked the end of my friend's two-month Camino and the one-year anniversary of the death of his wife, Francine Mastini. He has been writing daily reflections on his blog throughout, which have been extraordinarily moving and prompting much fruitfulness in my own prayer. On Monday, we priests and our bishops gathered for the Office of the Dead to remember the fifteen priests in our archdiocese who died this year - one by his own hand, another suddenly & unexpectedly while himself celebrating a funeral Mass, and others after many (many!) years of faithful service. On Wednesday, twenty-some of us priests left Ocean Shores to join Father Nicholas Wichert in carrying out one of the most difficult duties of a priest - that of celebrating the funeral rites for his mother (Shirley Ann Wichert, March 16, 1953 - June 5, 2026) while joining his father and sisters in commending her to the Lord.
"So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."
Today's gospel, which picked up where last Sunday's left off, was no less consoling - though perhaps more bracingly so as Jesus reminds us of the necessary proper order of love - that we must love Him above all else. How dangerous is the temptation to fall in love with the gifts He gives us - beloved possessions, people, and relationships - without regard for Him Who created them for and bestowed them upon us. Similarly dangerous is the temptation to regard God as in competition for our affection, pitting Himself against the very gifts He created for and among us, as if He gave them only to take them away so that we'd focus on Him rather than as an expression of His unconditional & perfect love. These temptations would have us separate ourselves from Love Himself, instead falling into the resentment, bitterness, and despair that we know all too well in this life.
It is challenging to have faith that the Lord - permitting as He does the death of loved ones and the suffering we are enduring worldwide, as a nation, and indeed as an archdiocese - is working through all of this for my good and the good of all. While my trust at times feels tenuous, the sharing of burdens - with my brother priests and fellow Catholics in my parishes & beyond - has proven to be heartening beyond anything I might have hoped for. Called as we are to take up our cross and follow Him, how wonderful it is to do so not alone, but together.
Saints & celebrations
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- June 28 - Saint Irenaeus - though his celebration is outranked by Sunday, today's saint is worth noting - so much so that he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Francis just a few years ago. A bishop of the second century, he is especially known for his efforts in preserving unity within the Church. Read more about him at the Vatican State website.
- June 29 - Saint Peter & Saint Paul - today we jointly celebrate the solemnity two of the greatest of the Apostles, Peter & Paul. Both were martyred in Rome and are thus considered the two pillars of the Church in Rome as well as the early Church overall. Read about them at Catholic Culture's website.
- June 30 - Saints Protomartyrs of the Roman Church - though their feast day comes after that of Saint Peter & Saint Paul, the protomartyrs were the first Christians to be persecuted in Rome under the tyranny of Emperor Nero. Though their names are unknown to us, these 'Disciples of the Apostles' inspired many in Rome to embrace the faith. Head over to Catholic Culture's website to learn more about them.
- July 1 - Saint Aaron - Today the Church celebrates the brother of Moses and the first priest of the Levitical order. Initially he served as Moses' spokesman (assisting his brother, who himself had a speech impediment). The National Catholic Register has a brief reflection by Theresa Doyle-Nelson on him.
- July 2 - Saints Processus and Martynians - not much is known about todays saints, not even the years of their lives or martyrdom save that it was in the early Christian era. Nonetheless, their witness to the faith even to the point of arrest and martyrdom inspired Christians from as early as the third or fourth century. Read a little about them at the Abbaye du Barroux website.
- July 3 - Saint Thomas - "My Lord and my God!" - these words testify to the healing of Saint Thomas' doubt of Christ's resurrection. His movement from skepticism to belief is a testimony to the tender perseverance of the Lord, Who willingly offers His own wounds to heal those of Saint Thomas - and our own. Check out Cassie Schutzer's "A Reflection on Thomas the Believer" over at Saint Meinrad's website.
- July 4 - Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati - Today's celebration is of a saint of our own time. Before his death at the age of 24 due to poliomyelitis, Pier Giorgio was an outspoken Catholic in actions, words, and writing - especially to the poor. Learn more about him at at FrassatiUSA.
Priests celebrating their anniversaries this week
- Reverend James P. Coyne (May 24, 1975)
- Reverend Michael B. Raschko (May 24, 1975)
- Reverend Andrzej J. Galant, S.Ch. (May 26, 1981)
- Reverend Ronald W. Knudsen (May 27, 1972)
- Reverend John J. Ludvik (May 29, 1971)
- Reverend Francis-Hung Le, O.P. (May 29, 2004)
- Reverend Jacob Kasak, F.S.S.P. (May 29, 2024)
- Reverend Brian Meyers, F.S.S.P. (May 29, 2024)
- Reverend Andrew Wawrzycki (May 30, 1970)
- Reverend Timothy O’Brien, F.S.S.P. (May 30, 2015)
- Reverend Xavier Bazil, H.G.N. (May 30, 2011)
- Reverent John Peter Anderson, O.P. (May 30, 2025)
- Reverend Nathaniel Mayne, O.P. (May 30, 2025_
- Reverend J. David Koch (May 31, 1969)
- Reverend Raymond Rioux (May 31, 1994)
- Reverend Pale Schmidt (May 31, 2006)
- Reverend Dominic Maichrowicz, O.P. (May 31, 2013)
- Rev. Jack Buckalew (June 1, 1974)
- Rev. John R. Walmesley (June 1, 1974)
- Rev. Dominic Briese, O.P. (June 1, 1996)
- Rev. Maximiliano Muñoz (June 1, 2024)
- Rev. Kyle Rink (June 1, 2024)
- Rev. Thomas Selvaraj Anthony Muthu, H.G.N. (June 1, 2001)
- Rev. Thomas J. Suss (June 2, 1973)
- Rev. Juan Romero, M.Sp.S. (June 2, 2012)
- Rev. José Maria Ramírez Briseño (June 3, 2001)
- Rev. Chad S. Green (June 3, 2017)
- Rev. Christopher A. Hoiland (June 3, 2017)
- Rev. Jeffery H. Moore (June 3, 2017)
- Rev. Colin S. Parrish (June 3, 2017)
- Rev. Chuong Cao, C.Ss.R. (June 3, 2021)
- Rev. Sylvester Chanda (June 3, 2023)
- Rev. John Paul Tomassi (June 3, 2023)
- Rev. John T. Rashford, S.J. (June 5, 1971)
- Rev. Timothy J. Sauer (June 5, 1976)
- Rev. Paul M. Weckert, O.S.B. (June 5, 1999)
- Most Rev. Eusebio Elizondo,M.Sp.S., ordained Bishop (June 6, 2005)
- Rev. Eric J. Watson, S.J. (June 6, 2009)
- Rev. Thomas Tran (June 6, 2020)
- Rev. Seamus M. Laverty (June 7, 1968)
- Rev. David L. Mayovsky (June 7, 1997)
- Rev. Kurt W. Nagel (June 7, 1997)
- Rev. James W. Northrop (June 7, 1997)
- Rev. Thanh X. Dao (June 7, 2003)
- Rev. Timothy W. Ilgen (June 7, 2003)
- Rev. Matthew L. O'Leary (June 7, 2003)
- Rev. Marc L. Powell (June 7, 2003)
- Rev. Cal R. Christiansen (June 7, 2008)
- Rev. Mark A. Guzman (June 7, 2008)
- Rev. Vincent Phuc-Anh Duong, S.J. (June 7, 2014)
- Rev. Matthew T. Pyrc, S.J. (June 7, 2014)
- Rev. Joseph Tapia-Beeman (June 7, 2025)
- Rev. Patrick W. Freitag (June 8, 1996)
- Rev. David T. Mulholland (June 8, 2002)
- Rev. Armando S. Perez (June 8, 2002)
- Rev. David H. Young (June 8, 2002)
- Rev. Mark M. Kiszelewski (June 8, 2013)
- Rev. Joseph Dickan, S.J. (June 8, 2024)
- Rev. John C. Madigan (June 9, 1974)
- Very Rev. Gary F. Lazzeroni (June 9, 2007)
- Rev. Mel V. Strazicich (June 9, 2007)
- Rev. Jose M. Alvarez (June 9. 2012)
- Rev. Trung H. Pham, S.J. (June 9, 2012)
- Rev. Louis R. Cunningham (June 9, 2018)
- Rev. Justin M. Ryan (June 9, 2018)
- Rev. Anh B. Tran (June 9, 2018)
- Rev. Phuong V. Hoang (June 10,1989)
- Rev. K. Scott Connolly (June 10,1995)
- Rev. James O. Johnson, Jr. (June 10, 2000)
- Rev. Derek J. Lappe (June 10, 2000)
- Rev. Bryan E. Dolejsi (June 10, 2006)
- Rev. Peter G. Mactutis (June 10, 2006)
- Rev. Duc C. Nguyen (June 10, 2006)
- Rev. Khanh D. Nguyen (June 10, 2006)
- Rev. Michael E. Radermacher (June 10, 2006)
- Rev. Hung T. Nguyen (June 11, 1994)
- Rev. Edward G. White (June 11, 2005)
- Rev. Paul J. Brunet (June 11, 2011)
- Rev. Bradley R. Hagelin (June 11, 2011)
- Rev. Dwight P. Lewis (June 11, 2011)
- Rev. Bryan A. Ochs (June 11, 2011)
- Rev. Kevin J. Moran (June 12, 1965)
- Rev. Josef Venker, S.J. (June 12, 1987)
- Rev. Michael Bayard, S.J. (June 12, 1998)
- Most Rev. Frank R. Schuster (June 12, 1999)
- Rev. Thomas J. Nathe (June 12, 2004)
- Rt. Rev. Marion Nguyen, O.S.B. (June 12, 2004)
- Rev. Philip H. Raether (June 12, 2004)
- Rev. Vu P. Tran (June 12, 2004)
- Rev. Joseph F. Altenhofen (June 12, 2010)
- Rev. Francisco J. Cancino (June 12, 2010)
- Rev. Matthew T. Oakland (June 12, 2010)
- Rev. Nicholas F. Wichert (June 12, 2010)
- Rev. Michael J. Batterberry (June 13, 1970)
- Rev. Gerald T. Cobb, S.J. (June 13, 1981)
- Rev. Robert A. Camuso (June 13, 1992)
- Rev. Tuan V. Nguyen (June 13, 1992)
- Rev. John J. Wilkie (June 13, 1992)
- Rev. Michael Castori, S.J. (June 13, 1998)
- Rev. Kevin F.X. Duggan (June 13, 1998)
- Rev. Bryan L. Hersey (June 13, 1998)
- Rev. Donald J. Perea (June 13, 1998)
- Rev. Jeffrey N. McDougall, S.J. (June 13, 2003)
- Rev. Gerald Burns (June 13, 2009)
- Rev. Bryon A. Dickey (June 13, 2009)
- Rev. Jacob M. Maurer (June 13, 2009)
- Rev. Todd O. Strange (June 13, 2009)
- Rev. Aaron Engebretson, S.J. (June 13, 2015)
- Rev. Anton Harris, S.J. (June 14, 1975)
- Rev. Andrew Schwenke, O.S.B. (June 14, 2014)
- Rev. Mahesh Babu Narapamu, S.H.S. (June 14, 2018)
- Rev. James McGloin, S.J. (June 15, 1974)
- Rev. Mark McGregor, S.J. (June 15, 1996)
- Rev. Joseph P. Mitchell (June 16, 1979)
- Rev. W. R. Harris (June 17, 1978)
- Rev. Jerry Graham, S.J. (June 17, 2000)
- Rev. Mark J. Neary (June 18, 1983)
- Rev. Emilio R. Gonzalez (June 18, 1988)
- Rev. Robert B. Grimm, S.J. (June 19, 1976)
- Rev. James Taiviet Tran, S.J. (June 19, 2004)
- Rev. Don Ngo, S.D.D. (June 19, 2021)
- Rev. Ignatius F. Ohno, S.J. (June 20, 1992)
- Rev. John D. Fuchs, S.J. (June 21, 1975)
- Rev. Armando Guzman (June 21, 1986)
- Rev. Richard J. Spicer (June 21, 1986)
- Very Rev. Gary M. Zender (June 21, 1986)
- Rev. Charles T. Barnes, S.J. (June 21, 2008)
- Rev. Vincent Benoit, O.P. (June 22, 1984)
- Rev. Benjamin A. Bray (June 22, 2019)
- Rev. Tyler Y. Johnson (June 22, 2019)
- Rev. Juan Carlos Rivera Zeyala (June 23, 2018)
- Rev. Manh Nguyen, S.D.D. (June 24, 2024)
- Rev. William A. McKee (June 25, 1983)
- Rev. Hans M. Olson (June 25, 1983)
- Rev. Michael A. Dion (June 25, 2016)
- Rev. Cody L. Ross (June 25, 2016)
- Rev. Patrick R. Sherrard (June 25, 2016)
- Rev. John P. DePalma (June 25, 2022)
- Rev. Chad K. Hill (June 25, 2022)
- Rev. Joshua T. Nehnevaj (June 25, 2022)
- Rev. Michael A. Barbarossa (June 26, 2021)
- Rev. Jung Hoon ‘Val’ Park (June 26, 2021)
- Rev. Kyle J. Poje (June 26, 2021)
- Most Rev. Paul D. Etienne (June 27, 1992)
- Rev. Miguel Marquez, M.Sp.S. (June 27, 2014)
- Rev. Stephen Sundborg, S.J. (June 29, 1974)
- Rev. Thomas A. Belleque (June 29, 1985)
- Rev. Robert L. Evenson (June 29, 1991)
- Rev. Richard ‘Woody’ McCallister (June 29, 1991)
- Rev. José L. Hernandez (June 29, 1999)
- Very Rev. Joseph Vu, S.D.D. (June 29, 2002)
- Rev. Gerardo Rodriguez, C.M.F. (June 29, 2009)
- Rev. Negusse Keleta (July 1, 1984)
- Rev. William Cleary, C.Ss.R. (July 2, 1962)
- Rev. Reynaldo Yu (July 3, 1983)
- Rev. Lucio Villalobos, M.Sp.S. (July 3, 2004)
- Rev. Anthony Kitema (July 4, 2009)
Remembering our deceased priests
- Msgr. Ailbe M. McGrath (May 25, 1969)
- Fr. Patrick Lyons (May 25, 1973)
- Fr. Anthony McGirl (May 28, 1982)
- Fr. Nicholas O’Rafferty (May 29, 1957)
- Fr. Michael O’Donnell (May 31, 1960)
- Fr. Phuong D. Tran (May 31, 2018)
- Fr. Jose O. Aspiras (June 1, 2005)
- Fr. Charles Claessens (June 2, 1912)
- Fr. A. J. Shaughnessy (June 3, 1975)
- Fr. Ward B. Oakshott (June 5, 2017)
- Fr. Patrick Mulligan (June 6, 1977)
- Fr. Donald Conger (June 7, 1996)
- Fr. Redmond Burke (June 8, 1979)
- Fr. Patrick McNerney (June 9, 1963)
- Fr. Thomas L. O’Brien (June 9, 1979)
- Fr. John O’Hagan (June 11, 1938)
- Fr. James F. Lanigan (June 12, 1962)
- Fr. Thomas J. Phelan (June 12, 2012)
- Fr. Thomas Hanley (June 13, 1983)
- Fr. William Quick (June 18, 1986)
- Fr. Fr. Peter J. Cuniff (June 19, 1917)
- Fr. Manual G. Ocana (June 19, 1995)
- Fr. Laurence O’Larey (June 20, 1964)
- Fr. Patrick J. O’Donnell (June 21, 1949)
- Fr. John McMullan (June 21, 2024)
- Fr. Andrew McGrath (June 22, 1957)
- Fr. Bernard Kornke (June 23, 1938)
- Fr. Thomas W. Beattie (June 23, 2009)
- Fr. John F. Gibboney (June 24, 1956)
- Abp. Thomas J. Murphy (June 26, 1997)
- Fr. Sean C. Heneghan (June 26, 2002)
- Fr. Francis A. Moens (June 29, 1945)
- Fr. Thomas Fayne (June 29, 1957)
- Fr. James Coghlan (July 2, 1916)
- Fr. Vincent Connolly (July 3, 1971)
- Fr. Michael Meade (July 3, 1976)
- Fr. John A. Walsh (July 3, 1977)
- Fr. Roger Furlong (July 4, 1947)
- Fr. James Toner (July 4, 1957)
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