A promise kept: Cardinal Dolan returns to St. Louis to preach at priest’s first Mass

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:08 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: Surrounded by family, friends and supporters, Father Brian Fallon and four other newly ordained priests celebrated their first Masses last weekend, just one day after their May 26 ordination at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. It was a culminating moment, a realization of all the hard work they had achieved through their years of formation in the seminary and a visible “yes” to God’s vocational calling. For their first Masses, new priests typically invite another priest to be... Read more

“If she could not have joy, she was determined to have light…”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:08 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Years ago, when the great Harold Ross was editing the New Yorker, he’d pore over writer’s manuscripts and if there was a name he didn’t understand or a person he felt wasn’t properly identified, he’d scribble in the margins two words: “Who he?” When Elizabeth Scalia told me she was writing a new introduction to a book by Sigrid Undset, I had the same reaction: “Who he?” Never heard of him. Well, the “he” is actually a she, and now... Read more

Having trouble juggling family, job and ministry?

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:08 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Then, read this. Sound and sensible advice here—for deacons and anyone who feels like he’s got too many balls in the air… Read more

First look: official trailer for “Les Miserables”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:08 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Do you hear the people sing? Well, you hear Anne Hathaway. This looks superb. Read more

“I’m continually evangelized by the poor”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:08 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

What a great insight, expressed in this beautifully produced slideshow/video. The photographer, Paul Jeffrey, also happens to be a Methodist minister, and the remarkable photographs remain a vibrant and haunting reminder of his ministry to some of the poorest of the poor. Just watch. Huge H/T to CNS for finding this. More people need to see it. Read more

Deacons and the “Fortnight for Freedom”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:08 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

As the USCCB ramps up preparations for this event next month, Chicago’s deacons are launching their own response: a conference on religious liberty. From an e-mail I received yesterday: The intent is: To prepare deacons and priests to preach during the Fortnight of Freedom To provide clergy and church ministers with a venue for their own formation and engagement of the religious liberty question To suggest strategies on how to engage different audiences in the parish in preaching and in... Read more

The secret to a long marriage: matching outfits

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:08 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

This is either a) adorable, b) bizarre or c) inspired. Take your pick. I’m surprised they don’t bring this up in Pre-Cana. Read more

Clergy and politics

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:08 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

I see it more and more on Facebook: priests and deacons trumpeting their political allegiances and voicing their support for particular candidates. It’s an election year; that’s understandable. But is it appropriate? I’ve often wondered. Deacon Bill Ditewig (of happy blogging memory) took a close look at that in this month’s Deacon Digest (full disclosure: I’m on the magazine’s editorial advisory board). While his piece isn’t online, a version of it was posted a couple months back on his blog.... Read more

And with your iPad: one priest’s experience using the tablet for Mass

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:08 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

This comes from New Zealand, where one priest writes that the biggest problem with the new missal isn’t the language, but the physical ordering of the missal itself. Then, inspiration struck: What the people who translated the new Missal didn’t do was decide how the new English translation should look. They didn’t decide the layout of the New Zealand edition of the Missal. Given the first effort was rejected, I can only but imagine what it might have looked like.... Read more

Is the Internet an enemy of the faith?

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:08 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Consider these thoughts, from a Baptist minister: The Internet offers endless chatter and distraction. It sometimes seems that the entire population is suffering from a shared case of attention deficit syndrome. On the Web, irresponsible voices are just as accessible as trustworthy voices. Often, it seems that the voices of reason and truth are drowned out by the swarm of the reckless, the vulgar, and the ridiculous. At the same time, the Internet has been one of the greatest gifts... Read more