As we celebrate Mass this evening, we mark the end of our observance of All Souls Day and the beginning of the month when we remember all the faithful departed. It is a period of prayerful remembrance. The Gospel this weekend has something to tell us about remembrance — about not forgetting someone, about looking for those who are overlooked, finding someone who is lost. Thinking of those in my own life, people I’d neglected or forgotten about, brought back... Read more
“He died as he lived — serving the people of God without fear or concern for himself.” From The Evangelist: Father J. Thomas Connery, a long-time priest of the Diocese of Albany, died tragically on Oct. 31. While traveling to say Mass for the people of Herkimer and Newport, Father Connery was caught up in the flash flooding in that region. Father Connery, 82, a fixture in the Diocese, was best known as pastor at Immaculate Conception in Glenville from 1990-2007.... Read more
“I deeply regret that Mr. Giuliani received the eucharist during the papal visit here in New York.” With all the controversy swirling around Joe Biden being denied Holy Communion, some may have forgotten when Rudy Giuliani received the Eucharist — and caught hell for it after. It was at a Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict during his visit to the United States in April of 2008. From The Daily News: Rudy Giuliani received Holy Communion during Pope Benedict‘s Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral Saturday,... Read more
One of the country’s most famous priests took part in a long-standing tradition this week in the House of Representatives. Congress certainly needs our prayers — now, more than ever. Check out the video below. Read more
“Because support for pro-abortion legislation is gravely sinful, such persons should not be admitted to Holy Communion.” From CNA: A policy in the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina requires priests to withhold the Eucharist from politicians and political candidates who support legal protection for abortion. “Catholic public officials who consistently support abortion on demand are cooperating with evil in a public manner. By supporting pro-abortion legislation they participate in manifest grave sin, a condition which excludes them from admission to... Read more
From CNA: Pope Francis has decreed that the feast of Our Lady of Loreto be included in the Roman Calendar as an optional memorial to be celebrated on December 10. “This celebration will help all people, especially families, youth and religious to imitate the virtues of that perfect disciple of the Gospel, the Virgin Mother, who, in conceiving the Head of the Church also accepted us as her own,” Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, stated... Read more
“For too long, kids who look like Jediah have been treated as less than because of the texture of their hair. It’s unacceptable, it’s appalling.” From The New York Daily News: A Queens Catholic school’s hair policy banning cornrows has infuriated city and state officials — and prompted calls for an investigation of stringent guidelines that forced one mom to yank her little boy from his third grade class rather than chop off his braids. As the Daily News exclusively... Read more
On a brisk April morning 11 years ago, I made my one and only trip to the old Yankee Stadium up in the Bronx. It wasn’t for a baseball game. It was for Mass. Pope Benedict was celebrating Mass there as part of his trip to New York, and Siobhain and I, along with a couple hundred other deacons and their wives, were able to get tickets. You had to be there hours in advance. So we got up early... Read more
We just marked our annual “Choir Sunday” at my parish, with the choir singing at all four of the Masses. This yearly event helps raise awareness about our upcoming Christmas concert — and can even entice a few voices to join the folks up in the loft. I was traveling and missed Choir Sunday this year, but I know they sang this for the processional: “When in Our Music God is Glorified.” “When in our music God is glorified, And adoration... Read more
From The Dialog, the diocesan newspaper of Wilmington, Delaware: Biden, campaigning for his 2020 bid for president, was in South Carolina Oct. 26-27 attending a town hall meeting in Florence and a justice forum in Columbia. He identifies himself as Catholic and attends Mass at St. Joseph on the Brandywine in Greenville, Del. The Diocese of Wilmington issued the following statement: “The Church’s teachings on the protection of human life from the moment of conception is clear and well-known. Bishop... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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