Dear Friends in Christ, One of my favorite saints is St. Benedict of Nursia, whose feast we celebrate on Saturday, July 11. He is regarded as the patron of Europe, Kidney Disease, Monastics, Poisoning, and Schoolchildren. His famous “Rule for Monasteries” is a much-loved guide for any spiritual seeker. I have read it many times and found it very helpful on my spiritual journey. I think you will too!

Dear Friends in Christ, This July marks the second anniversary of the Partners in the Gospel Plan to renew Catholic life by reforming our parish communities. Two years ago, we became the NE Seattle Catholic Community, a family made up of St. Catherine, Our Lady of the Lake, Assumption, and St. Bridget Parishes. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, A happy Father’s Day this Sunday to all the dads in our community! Thank you for the important role you play in your children and grandchildren’s lives. Prayers and blessings as we celebrate your loving presence in our families! Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, This coming July 4th is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This is an important milestone for all those who live in the United States of America. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, The coming month of June marks the start of the “Graduation Season” in schools everywhere. Congratulations to all students in our NE Seattle Catholic Community who will graduate this month, including those from our three parish schools, ASB, OLL, and St. Catherine. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, This Sunday is Pentecost, which, after Easter and Christmas, is considered the most important feast in the church’s liturgical year. The church of Jesus is not our idea but is born through the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Dear Friends in Christ, The month of May has begun and is already moving right along with the next wave of significant moments in our life as a NE Seattle Catholic Community. This Saturday, May 9th, is the first of our two celebrations of First Holy Communion for some 80 children in our family of parishes.

Dear Friends in Christ, Every week throughout the Easter season, the first reading at Mass is from the Acts of the Apostles. It tells the story of how the church was born of Jesus' resurrection.

Dear NE Seattle Catholic Community, While Fr. Bill Heric is away celebrating a family wedding, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to belong to a parish family. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, Over the next two weekends, you will hear speakers at Mass offering reflections on the “Seven Principles of Catholic Social Teaching.” These principles have been a special focus of our own Archbishop Paul Etienne and, more recently, of our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in the Risen Lord! My thanks to all who helped make our recent Holy Week and Triduum celebrations so prayerful and beautiful! Our common Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil celebrations were served by liturgical ministers from all four of our parishes, including our combined choirs, whose music was beautiful and uplifting.

Dear Friends in Christ, Many stories we watch on cable television or internet streaming channels are told over a series of different episodes that, at times, will continue over many seasons. The Catholic Christian narrative has done this for centuries in its celebration of the climactic moments in the life of Jesus in his suffering, death, and resurrection. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, While speaking at Mass this week to some of our students at St. Catherine’s School, I told them something that caught them by surprise. The celebration of Holy Week, which culminates in Easter, is more important than Christmas. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, One of the current affairs uniting worldwide Catholic leaders is the church’s solidarity with the plight of immigrants throughout the world. From Pope Leo XIV to the U.S. Bishops, our church leadership stands together in affirming the Catholic position on the treatment of immigrants throughout the world, including the United States.

Dear Friends in Christ, The three schools in our family of parishes are actively engaged in registering new and returning students for the 26-27 academic year. In addition to enrollment contracts, families receive a schedule of key dates for the next school year so they can mark significant occasions on their family calendars. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, I have been blessed to live through the pontificates of several popes in the Roman Catholic Church. The word “pontiff” means bridge builder. Both Popes John XXIII and Paul VI offered special encouragement to the church and world of their times. They had lived through two world wars and experienced the spread of the “Cold War” and its escalation of weapons of mass destruction. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, I have two audiences in mind as I share this reflection. The first is to our family of parishes, the second is to all our families with students in our three schools. Continue reading...

Dear Friends in Christ, This weekend at Masses, you will hear talks from members of our Parish Family Advisory Council, commonly known as the PFAC. These are representatives from all our parishes whose purpose is to advise me as the pastor in creating the “One Parish Plan” that will bring us together as a single canonical faith community.

Dear Friends in Christ, Perhaps like me, many of you are still flying high with joy and excitement at the Seahawks victory in the Super Bowl. That elation could very well be spilling over to the Seattle Mariners, who are preparing for their annual spring training in preparation for the upcoming MLB season, and hopefully another run at the World Series. Believe it or not, things are about to get even better. Contine reading...

One of the significant moments in life that becomes more apparent this time of year is couples preparing to get married. Our family is looking forward to that for my nephew Mitch and his fiancée, Riley, who will marry this April in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. For several reasons tied to their desired location, they will initially marry in a civil ceremony and then have their marriage blessed in the church later. Continue reading...