Tape on the windows in the lobby of our building. From James Martin, S.J. at America: God of the Universe, at the dawn of creation, your Spirit breathed on the waters, making them the wellspring of all holiness. You created the oceans and rivers, and all that dwell within them, and at your word the wind and the waves were born. The seasons follow your plan, and the tides rise and fall on your command. In both calm and storm,... Read more
Details: A suicide bomber drove a jeep full of explosives into a Catholic church during morning mass in northern Nigeria on Sunday, killing at least eight people, wounding more than 100 and triggering reprisal attacks that killed at least two more. There was no claim of responsibility but Islamist sect Boko Haram has bombed several churches in the past in its fight to create an Islamic state in Nigeria where the 160 million population is evenly split between Christians and... Read more
From the Holy Father’s homily today, marking the close of the Synod on the New Evangelization: The new evangelization applies to the whole of the Church’s life. It applies, in the first instance, to the ordinary pastoral ministry that must be more animated by the fire of the Spirit, so as to inflame the hearts of the faithful who regularly take part in community worship and gather on the Lord’s day to be nourished by his word and by the... Read more
It raised some eyebrows when the Des Moines Register announced its endorsement for president this weekend and for the first time in 40 years picked a Republican. What got less attention, however, is an accompanying story in the paper, which I found especially interesting and useful. In a remarkable act of transparency, the paper’s editors actually explained the endorsement process: The Register’s editorial board consists of Publisher Laura Hollingsworth, Editor Rick Green, Opinions Editor Randy Evans and editorial writers Rox... Read more
From the Holy Father’s homily today, marking the close of the Synod on the New Evangelization: The new evangelization applies to the whole of the Church’s life. It applies, in the first instance, to the ordinary pastoral ministry that must be more animated by the fire of the Spirit, so as to inflame the hearts of the faithful who regularly take part in community worship and gather on the Lord’s day to be nourished by his word and by the... Read more
…along comes this one, promoting a bar in New Zealand. Read more
Blogging has been light the last couple days, but not because I’m battening down the hatches for Stormageddon or Frankenstorm or whatever they’re calling this year’s meteorological catastrophe (though drawing the curtains and breaking out the rosary might be a good idea). No. I’ve been away from the keyboard because I took part in a couple of panels at the 20th anniversary Conference of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists on Long Island. I moderated one panel, titled (cheekily, I... Read more
Huffington Post takes a peek inside the Halloween phenomenon and introduces readers to the man behind it. Keenan Roberts didn’t invent the idea of scaring Christian youth into salvation, but he has done more than anyone else to turn it into an industry. For $299—and with the Denver-based pastor’s approval—you can build your own “Hell House,” complete with theatrical scenes of teen suicides and gay marriages gone wrong. Staged by Evangelical churches predominantly in the South and Midwest, Hell Houses... Read more
Well, look who I ran into at the conference of Catholic Social Scientists this weekend: the National Catholic Register’s ace film critic Steven Greydanus, who is also in the first year of his formation for the diaconate in the Archdiocese of Newark. He promised to invite me to his ordination. Read more
A group of cloistered nuns has recorded an album of chant, and and the preview (see the video below) is just gorgeous. From the press release: They are young. They are hidden. They are extremely musical. And now they have a worldwide album distribution deal. But they don’t set foot beyond Northwest Missouri’s rolling farmland. Why? Because they are contemplative sisters who live an austere yet joyful life set apart from the world. But on Nov. 20, Decca and De... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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