Catholic University to launch new business school, teaching marketing and morals

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From the Wall Street Journal: Confident that aspiring corporate leaders want to worship more than just the almighty dollar, Catholic University of America is creating a new business school. The Washington, D.C., university will announce the launch of its new School of Business and Economics on Tuesday, infusing an education in strategy, accounting and marketing with instruction in morals, character and religious values. Created in response to rising demand for business education, the program’s virtues-based approach hinges on the idea... Read more

Now the work of Christmas begins

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Lest we forget: When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flocks, the work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among the people, to make music in the heart. — Howard Thurman (1899-1981) Read more

Try this in the pulpit. Let me know what happens.

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From the review of new books about St. Francis of Assisi: “Why you?” a man asked Francesco di Bernardone, known to us now as St. Francis of Assisi. Francis (1181/2-1226) was scrawny and plain-looking. He wore a filthy tunic, with a piece of rope as a belt, and no shoes. While preaching, he often would dance, weep, make animal sounds, strip to his underwear, or play the zither. His black eyes sparkled. Many people regarded him as mad, or dangerous.... Read more

Love among the ruins: life in Aleppo

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

A glimpse at life in one corner of war-ravaged Aleppo, Syria, from AFP: The aging Christians holed up inside a retirement home in the devastated northern Syrian city of Aleppo have no light, no telephone lines, and little idea of what is happening in the outside world. But fellow Christians and rebel fighters still ensure they do not go hungry, bringing the dozen or so residents whatever food they can every day. The St Elie Rest Home, founded in 1863,... Read more

“Hungry” gets a little buzz

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

A few weeks back, I posted on the collection of homilies to which I contributed, “Hungry and You Fed Me.” Now, The Times of Trenton has written about it, plugging an upcoming book signing (I’ll be there, so if you’re in New Jersey, come on by and say hello!): Fifteen homilists of various Christian denominations from across the greater Mercer County region, Pennsylvania and beyond have banded together to create a sprawling collection of homilies for every week in the... Read more

What we have come to: figuring out what to call people who are “unmarried spouses”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Can any of us remember a time, not so very long ago, when this wasn’t even worth serious discussion? But the New York Times goes there: Now that we’ve come to some consensus on same-sex marriage, let’s move on to the next puzzle: what to call two people who act as if they are married but are not. “I went through a phase of just calling him Eric, even to people who didn’t know who that was,” said the master wordsmith... Read more

One of YouTube’s most famous babies turns 5

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

A lot of you may remember this video, which has been making the rounds for a few years. It shows eight-month-old Jonathan Breaux responding to his mother’s voice for the first time, after getting a cochlear implant. That was five years ago. What’s happened since? The good people at TODAY decided to find out: Posted on YouTube in April of 2008, the video of “Jonathan’s Cochlear Implant Activation” has received more than 3.6 million hits and thousands of comments from... Read more

Bishops as modern magi: from Pope Benedict’s homily for Epiphany

Last updated on: January 6, 2013 at 11:47 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From the Holy See’s website today: Following a tradition begun by Pope John Paul II, we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord also as the day when episcopal ordination will be conferred on four priests who will now cooperate in different ways in the ministry of the Pope for the unity of the one Church of Jesus Christ in the multiplicity of the Particular Churches. The connection between this episcopal ordination and the theme of the pilgrimage... Read more

Meet the deacon who is a fire department chaplain

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:01 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From California comes this brief Q&A with Deacon Larry Modugno, lead chaplain for the Ventura County Fire Department: Q: How do you handle your work? A: We know we’re there to help people. It’s really a ministry of presence. It’s just being there. We help people through it. We see terrible things, but we help people through it. Q: All of us probably have known someone who’s going through something terrible. And usually we don’t know what to do. Do you have... Read more

Bishops as modern magi: from Pope Benedict’s homily for Epiphany

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:51 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra