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How I got to say Mass with Pope Francis

By Father Marion Nguyen Benedictine Father Marion Nguyen is working on doctoral studies on monastic spirituality at the Pontifical Atheneum of Sant'Anselmo in Rome. Father Marion, a member of Saint Martin's Abbey in Lacey and a graduate of O'Dea High School, was a priest for the Archdiocese of Seattle priest before becoming a Benedictine. Going bac...
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Pope tells young people not to be couch potatoes

Pope tells young people not to be couch potatoes
The July 30-31 World Youth Day vigil inspires this young adult pilgrim to act. Tyler Smith, young adult pilgrim World Youth Day is a time of simplicity.  In preparation for the final mass with the pope, we spent the night in an open field. Our dinner consisted of a pre-made, bagged meal, which we ate while sitting in a circle laughing at not b...
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Muddy jeans and sharing trinkets, fellowship and faith

Muddy jeans and sharing trinkets, fellowship and faith
Getting to the July 29 World Youth Day Stations of the Cross with Pope Francis is no easy trek for this pilgrim Elizabeth McIntosh, young adult pilgrim, St. Pius X Parish in Mountlake Terrace On Friday I represented the Archdiocese of Seattle at Stations of the Cross with Pope Francis. I'd like to say it all went smoothly and th...
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Mercy for all and papal inspiration

Mercy for all and papal inspiration
​Two Western Washington World Youth Day pilgrims blog about their July 27 experiences Kayla Arpin, youth pilgrim, Holy Family Parish in Kirkland I am so blessed to be able to share in the beauty that is happening here in Poland! Today we celebrated the opening mass for World Youth Day with more than 200,000 people. It was a crazy, busy adventure bu...
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Auschwitz's impact and the pope's birthplace

Auschwitz's impact and the pope's birthplace
Two Western Washington pilgrims write about their experiences in Poland on July 25. Auschwitz Seattle young adult pilgrims visited Auschwitz on July 25. At right is the "Pond of Ashes" at Auschwitz where cremated human remains were poured. Photo: Courtesy Young Adult Ministry Visiting the birthplace of St. John Paul II The Seattle yo...
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Travel fatigue and mercy lessons

Travel fatigue and mercy lessons
(Warsaw church where Seattle young adults joined a welcome barbecue and prayer with other World Youth Day pilgrims on July 23. Photo: Tyler Smith) By Rogelio Navarro Wow! Today we actually began the World Youth Day pilgrimage! After all that tremendous planning, anticipation and hard work, it is finally a reality!  We are i...
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Heading to World Youth Day 2016

Heading to World Youth Day 2016
Pilgrims from Holy Family Parish in Kirkland and St. John the Evangelist Parish in Vancouver and their families pose at the airport on July 22 as they travel to World Youth Day with the Archdiocese of Seattle's "Youth and Family" delegation. Photo: Courtesy Archdiocese of Seattle Youth Ministry Services By So...
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Holy chaos

Holy chaos
By Alexander Cranstoun Holy chaos. If there were two words I would use to describe the Holy Father's visit to the United States, holy and chaos would be it, followed by inspiring faith and historic journey. That's not just because Pope Francis came to the U.S. for the first time, but because of the response that he received here. Millions of people...
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Kevin Birnbaum

Final Mass with Pope Francis a great blessing

Final Mass with Pope Francis a great blessing
​Pope Francis' first visit to the United States ended on a very high note Sunday with a massive Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. While the previous day of waiting for a fleeting glimpse of the pope had been stressful and exhausting for many Seattle pilgrims, the Sunday liturgy left us energized and effusive.  For me, Satu...
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Our surprising first sighting of Pope Francis in Philadelphia

Our surprising first sighting of Pope Francis in Philadelphia
​Knowing the way that people tend to respond to being in the presence of Pope Francis, I hope you won't think I'm a defective Catholic when I say that the Seattle pilgrims' first "close encounter" Saturday with the Holy Father was ... a bit of a letdown.  The day got off to a great start. We left our hotel outside Philadelphia before 9 a.m., p...
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Rick Warren's 5 rules for joy-filled families

Rick Warren's 5 rules for joy-filled families
"Like drinking from a fire hose." That's how several Seattle pilgrims have described trying to take in and process all the information, experiences and encounters on tap this week in Philadelphia at the World Meeting of Families, which came to an end Friday afternoon. The closing keynote address, "The Joy of the Gospel of Life," delivered join...
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Kevin Birnbaum

Saying goodbye to the World Meeting of Families (and hello to Pope Francis!)

Saying goodbye to the World Meeting of Families (and hello to Pope Francis!)
I always get a little depressed when big festive events like this World Meeting of Families start winding down, when the vendors start packing up and the crowds clear out. Just a half-day schedule Friday morning -- a keynote by Cardinal Seán O'Malley of Boston and megapastor Rick Warren, and one breakout session -- and then the congress i...
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Kevin Birnbaum

'Asian Francis' lights up World Meeting of Families

'Asian Francis' lights up World Meeting of Families
Spending all week at the Pennsylvania Convention Center for the World Meeting of Families, I've seen very little coverage of Pope Francis' visits to Washington, D.C., and New York. But I saw a pretty good substitute Thursday afternoon.  Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has often been called the "Asian Francis," and after his keynote address , I can...
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What Peter Kreeft told me about being a father

What Peter Kreeft told me about being a father
Before each of the keynote addresses at the World Meeting of Families, they've been playing clips from Humanum , a series of short films about marriage and the family that aim to "highlight the inherent truth, goodness, and beauty underlying the global human experience," according to the website. They're beautiful, and you can watch them all online...
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Kevin Birnbaum

10 tips for passing on the faith to your children

10 tips for passing on the faith to your children
I attended a breakout session Wednesday at the World Meeting of Families with Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver called "The School of the Heart: Parents as Primary Catechists." He offered 10 practical tips to help parents evangelize and catechize their children.  1. Be present to your children. "In a word: Stay home, eat together at le...
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Debate over Communion for the divorced and remarried pops up at World Meeting of Families Mass

Debate over Communion for the divorced and remarried pops up at World Meeting of Families Mass
The most contentious debate at last fall's Synod of Bishops on the Family -- and one that's sure to feature prominently in next month's synod -- was about whether the church should ever permit divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist. I was surprised when that debate found its way into m...
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What the pope's U.S. visit means to a college student

What the pope's U.S. visit means to a college student
Alex Cranstoun took these photos at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. of the set-up for the outdoor Mass with Pope Francis on Sept. 24 at which Blessed Junipero Serra will be canonized. Photos: Alex Cranstoun. ​By Alexander Cranstoun​ Editor's note: Pope Francis is the fourth pope to come to the U.S...
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Kevin Birnbaum

The big problem with the World Meeting of Families

The big problem with the World Meeting of Families
Attending the World Meeting of Families, much like living in a family, involves difficult decisions and sacrifices. This is actually a good problem to have: There are just too many outstanding speakers here, and we can't hear them all. In addition to the six keynote addresses this week, there are five "breakout sessions" where we have to choose fro...
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An exciting, and exhausting, first day at the World Meeting of Families

An exciting, and exhausting, first day at the World Meeting of Families
The World Meeting of Families is underway, and it is exhausting -- so much to see and hear and think about! It's also very late as I write this, so I'll offer just a few disjointed thoughts on the first day of the congress.  1. First of all, the organizers of the World Meeting of Families deserve a gold medal. It's frightening to think about t...
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'Pope Francis' poses for pictures at local parish

'Pope Francis' poses for pictures at local parish
A life-size cardboard cutout of Pope Francis visited Prince of Peace Mission in Belfair after each of the Masses on the weekend of Sept. 19-20.  Parishioners delighted in taking photos with the pope and sharing them on social media (sometimes as their new profile pictures) and with friends and family, said Mary Ann Shutty, Prince of Peace's pa...
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