Would you believe that this post was mostly composed this time last week? In a fit of productivity, I managed to put together my bulletin insert (in both English and Spanish, mind you!) and gather all of the anniversaries, necrology, and week's saint trivia. In my head, I had the audacity to think "I'll have plenty of opportunity to get a little reflection together and post this early in the week!"Somewhere in eternity, the Lord laughed heartily.As you have probably guessed, this week has been a wild one. It didn't start out that way! My family came on Sunday for my birthday (for a year, my age is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everthing). Within our parish family, there is a policy for all employees that...

This week has me feeling a bit like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz - but instead of lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!), its Christ the King, the coming of the Advent season, and Mass schedule changes (oh my, indeed!). Though it makes for a super-compressed work week, Thanksgiving brings a welcome break from the intensity of all that we're celebrating and the celebrations for which we are preparing.Especially over the last several weeks, I have been more consciously giving thanks for the blessings I've experienced in these first five months of my being with you here on the Olympic Peninsula. Though the geography is impressively large, more impressive has been the largesse of both the Lord and His people here. Despite the extraordinary...

It will likely come as no surprise that I am an enthusiastic fan of Doctor Who. I was introduced to the series after its 2005 reboot with Christopher Eccleston. I've enjoyed every iteration of the Doctor, but Peter Capaldi's portrayal is widely agreed to be a stand-out - most especially when he is given license to chew the scenery. And boy howdy, does he know how to put forward a convincing character who has not only known heartache but carries the weight of his own terrible sin & sorrow - and somehow rises above it. His speech at the end of The Zygon Inversion is counted by most as a prime example of this - most especially the line about doing what everyone involved in any conflict was always going to have to do from the very...

Like so many others, I will be casting my ballet today - shortly after hitting 'publish' on this post, I will take a few minutes to indicate who and what I am voting for, sign & seal the document, and drop it off at the nearest ballot box on my way to visit my family. As with so many other elections, I do so without any great enthusiasm about the state of affairs; I have no illusions that the principalities and powers at play in our political system will be much swayed by the sheet of paper with my name and votes on it.It seems to me that politics has become - or been newly revealed to be - an idol for non-religious and religious folk alike. 'The most important election of our lifetime' is always the one vying for our attention. The...

At least in my head, I get a lot of mileage from the ending of the The Lord of the Rings trilogy, uttered by my favorite character, Samwise Gamgee: "Well, I'm back." The movie depiction of this scene never fails to bring a lump to my throat, as well as inspiring a sense of anticipation of the real adventure to which we're all called: living the life set before us.Last week was the third reunion with my classmates - since our ordination in 2009 we have gathered every five years at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. In the first two reunions - to which I greatly looked forward and heartily enjoyed - I encountered a kind of melancholy that settled on my heart during and especially afterwards. This time I was given...