Fr. Jim's Blog

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I will begin a three year program called  Good Leaders/Good Shepherds  at the end of this month. This program will help me become a better leader and pastor. I have heard from other priests who just completed the program that they acquired very helpful skills and tools to help them in parish ministry. I am really looking forward to the program.  One of my personal goals is to do a better job communicating with the parish leadership and community. It is a real challenge with the busy demands of meetings and appointments to find time to just share a reflection or thought or just thank people for their faith and dedication to the Lord. After some thought and prayer I have decided to start  The Pastor's Corner . I will make a weekly video broadcast and podcast to help provide a weekly forum to communicate with the parish and school. I am going to find a corner in one of the rooms in the rectory and set up my little recording s...

I have been busy rebuilding my personal website and adding new pages. The new theme I purchased is responsive to tablets and smart phones and much easier to navigate. You can check it out by clicking here. 

Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago, has written an excellent article on the disturbing trends in our country that are eroding our religious freedom. Please pray for him as he is critically ill with cancer and has cancelled his visit to Rome to meet with Pope Francis. I read that he is undergoing an experimental chemotherapy. Here is a link to his article.

This was the roughest water I have ever fished on. Our guide said 80% of his customers wouldn't have spent the day where we were at. While it was a bit dangerous, our efforts paid off. We caught coho salmon, a chinook salmon, and I landed a 76 lb halibut, and my brother caught a 64 lb halibut. I am not sure whether we will be going out to the same spot tomorrow and what the conditions will be like but we are off to a good start. Our guide stopped saying the "f" word after he found out I was a priest. I didn't have that effect when we went deer hunting in Alberta:) I am normally not able access this blog service while we are here because of a restriction they have on the internet system. For some odd reason it is off tonight. This may be the only post while I am here. The seaplane trip here was amazing! Beautiful scenery. I found out the De Haviland Beaver seaplane we were traveling in was built in 1958! It was freshly painted and ran good. I think we are g...

My dad and brother arrived late last night. In just a few hours we will be departing on a seaplane for a fishing camp on Vancouver Island. There are weight restrictions for the flight so I just emptied out a bunch of items I was planning on bringing.  If you could keep us in your prayers that would be great! Also, please pray that I catch the biggest fish:)  We will return on Thursday evening. The lodge where we are staying has internet so hopefully I will be able to share some photos. 

I am writing this update from the Archbishop Brunett Retreat Center at the Palisades in Federal Way. We are so fortunate to have such a beautiful retreat center in our Archdiocese. I have conducted numerous retreats here over the past 17 years.  How well I remember coming here nearly 18 years ago for my diaconate retreat. It snowed during that week and I stared out the window for quite some time watching planes come and go from the Sea-Tac airport. My seminary formation was rapidly drawing to an end and I was overwhelmed at how quickly the 5 years had gone by. I borrowed my Aunt Millie's car who was in the nursing home. I decided to make a surprise visit to her during my retreat. I had a great conversation with her and during that time and she said she was proud of our family and that she was ready to "move on". She "moved on" to her eternal reward on March 17, 1997. I flew up to sing at her funeral. She was a remarkably generous and kind person and I always e...

I should be working on a number of things but I feel like I am at the end of my rope for the day and have decided to try and retire early and get up very early for a very busy day. In April I knew I was going to get a refund on my taxes and with all the talk of tax fraud, I simply chose to file for an automatic extension. If it hadn't been for the Mass yesterday with the reference to the "tax collector" I think I would have totally forgotten to get that done. It shouldn't take me too long to complete my tax return, thanks to TurboTax. In 2002 I filed for an extension and unfortunately, my Grandmother, Edna Martinson, was dying and passed away on August 16, 2002. I completely forgot about the extension and got a heavy fine for being late. That isn't going to happen as I will get the return filed tomorrow before midnight. I am planning on leaving early in the morning for the Tri-Cities. I am the State Chaplain for the Catholic Daughters of the Americas and will ...