Well, for a few hours on Sunday, Baltimore had another team to contend with beside the Ravens or the Orioles. Above are some of The Patheos Posse of bloggers, who descended on Charm City to take part in the “Encounter With Social Media: Bishops and Bloggers Dialogue,“ part of the USCCB’s fall gathering. Shown above: Lisa Hendey, Your Humble Blogger, Leah Libresco (who, by the way, is being baptized next weekend!), Mark Shea, Thomas McDonald and Kathy Shiffer, who blogged... Read more
But how does he feel about deacons? Details: He’s got folk rockers Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers on his iPod. He’s on Twitter and Facebook. And he’s passionate about poetry, art and classical English literature. But when it comes to Roman Catholic doctrine, Lincoln’s incoming bishop says he’s ready to carry the torch of his predecessors who have made the Lincoln Diocese one of the most traditional in the country. “The Diocese of Lincoln has never suffered an... Read more
[I’m not preaching this weekend, but here’s my homily from the same Sunday in 2009. — DGK] We hear this gospel story, about the widow’s mite, and tend to think of it as a lesson in giving, and great sacrifice. And that is true. It’s a lesson we need to hear, especially in these hard times. But looking over the readings for today, from the book of Kings and Mark’s gospel, I was struck by something else. There is another... Read more
Laurie Goodstein takes a closer look at what happened Tuesday, and finds some interesting analysis: Christian conservatives, for more than two decades a pivotal force in U.S. politics, are grappling with Election Day results that repudiated their influence and suggested that the cultural tide — especially on gay issues — has shifted against them. They are reeling not only from the loss of the presidency but from what many of them see as a rejection of their agenda. They lost... Read more
[I’m not preaching this weekend, but here’s my homily from the same Sunday in 2009. — DGK] We hear this gospel story, about the widow’s mite, and tend to think of it as a lesson in giving, and great sacrifice. And that is true. It’s a lesson we need to hear, especially in these hard times. But looking over the readings for today, from the book of Kings and Mark’s gospel, I was struck by something else. There is another... Read more
I don’t know about you, but I could use a little good news about now. Check this out, from the Trenton Monitor: Take one bride and groom whose plans for their special day intersected with the wrath of Hurricane Sandy, mix with a parish united in the desire to see them wed by candlelight despite the devastation all around them, add heaping measures of faith, hope and charity and you have the perfect recipe for triumphing over what’s been referred... Read more
Salon has details, including the two statements, reprinted below: The College Republicans, a student club at Fordham University, has invited Ann Coulter to speak on campus on November 29. The event is funded through student activity fees and is not open to the public nor the media. Student groups are allowed, and encouraged, to invite speakers who represent diverse, and sometimes unpopular, points of view, in keeping with the canons of academic freedom. Accordingly, the University will not block the... Read more
While Washington is scratching its collective head over the General David Petraeus resignation, a quick visit to our friends over at Wikipedia finds this intriguing nugget: Petraeus was born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, the son of Miriam (née Howell), a librarian, and Sixtus Petraeus, a sea captain from Franeker, Netherlands.[19]His mother was American and his father had immigrated to the United States from the Netherlands during the initial phase of World War II.[20] Sixtus settled in Cornwall-on-Hudson, where David Petraeus... Read more
Check it out: The 18th edition of the venerable reference work has just been released, the first for the electronic age and a chance to take in some of the new faces, events and catchphrases of the past 10 years. General editor Geoffrey O’Brien says he has expanded upon the trend set by his predecessor, Justin Kaplan, of incorporating popular culture into an anthology once known for classical citations. Shakespeare and the Bible still reign, but room also has been... Read more
My jaw is still hanging open over this: We’ve got dolls that wet, crawl and talk. We’ve got dolls with perfect hourglass figures. We’ve got dolls with swagger. And we’ve got plenty that come with itty bitty baby bottles. But it’s a breastfeeding doll whose suckling sounds are prompted by sensors sewn into a halter top at the nipples of little girls that caught some flak after hitting the U.S. market. “I just want the kids to be kids,” Bill... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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