MARCH.
5. Pope John Paul II declared Ash Wednesday 2003 a special day of prayer and fasting for peace.
16. On the brink of war, St. James held a candlelight vigil for peace. Prayer continued until midnight.
20. As the nation launched a war against Iraq, the Cathedral observed solemn Masses in Time of War and remained open for prayer until Midnight. Father Ryan, in his homily on this occasion, said: “it seems hollow and superficial simply to pray that we win. How does one speak of winning when war is itself a defeat?”
25. St. James hosted an Interfaith Prayer for Peace in Time of War. It was a remarkable gathering of representatives of all the major religions and a moving sign of our solidarity.

APRIL.
13-19. Holy Week began with a rainy Palm Sunday (which did not in the least intimidate the hundreds who made the procession from O’Dea High School at the 10 o’clock Mass). Thousands gathered at the Cathedral for the solemn liturgies of this greatest week of the Church’s year. At the Tre Ore service on Good Friday we were privileged to hear the Rev. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, preach on the Seven Last Words of Christ. Father Radcliffe is the former Master of the Dominican order worldwide. At the great Easter Vigil on the night of April 19, sixteen children and adults were baptized, confirmed, and received first Eucharist.
20. EASTER. More than 6,000 people celebrated a glorious Easter at St. James. In his Easter homily, Father Ryan said: “the resurrection of Jesus proclaims to a troubled and tormented world, a world that dwells ‘in darkness and the shadow of death,’ that, in Jesus, God has absorbed all human sin and tragedy and defeated it with love, and that in the risen Jesus God has made all things new—all things. Beginning with the likes of you and me.” He concluded with words from an Easter homily of St. John Chrysostom: “You rich and poor, rejoice together. You sober and slothful, celebrate this day. You that have kept the fast and you that have not, rejoice today, for the table is richly laden, and God’s gifts flow like choice wine. Let no one mourn that he or she has fallen again and again, for forgiveness has risen from the grave.”

MAY.
11. Mother’s Day weekend was a time for special celebrations: sixteen infants were baptized at the Saturday 5:30 Vigil; at the 10:00 Mass Sister Frances Wink celebrated the Golden Jubilee of her profession as a Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. Then, at the Noon Mass, twenty-two children received First Eucharist.
25. At the Sunday evening Mass Archbishop Brunett celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation with young people and adults from St. James Cathedral as well as three neighboring parishes.

JUNE.
7. Archbishop Brunett ordained five young men to the priesthood for ministry in the Archdiocese of Seattle. It was a moment of great joy for our local church.
19. Hundreds of Cathedral volunteers gathered at Cathedral Hall for our annual Celebration of Ministries. A buffet dinner and entertainment was followed by prayer in the Cathedral.
29. On the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, a reception in the Rectory parlors celebrated the ministry of Father Peter Chirico, in residence at St. James for more than a decade, as this much-loved priest left us for the Sulpician retirement villa in Baltimore, Maryland.

—M.L.

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