And I don’t mean that in a good way. Thank you, Kathy Schiffer, for ruining my Sunday. The clip below is some sort of liturgy from some sort of religion in some sort of country that evidently speaks German. Fr. Dwight, commenting on this, wonders if it’s even Catholic. Having watched most of it — I sped through the parts that were bringing bile to my lips — I can report that the celebrant offers a blessing at the end... Read more
This being Vocation Sunday, it’s a good time to look at a vocation that is really struggling, religious sisters. How can they attract new recruits? Here’s one answer: When Sister Elaine Lachance devoted herself to a religious life straight out of high school in 1959, her religious order had more than a dozen convents in the U.S. with nearly 260 sisters. Today, the Good Shepherd Sisters of Quebec, based in Canada, has just five convents in Maine and Massachusetts with... Read more
Some frank and timely words of wisdom from writer Christopher Wheelan in the Wall Street Journal: Dear Class of 2012, I became sick of commencement speeches at about your age. My first job out of college was writing speeches for the governor of Maine. Every spring, I would offer extraordinary tidbits of wisdom to 22-year-olds—which was quite a feat given that I was 23 at the time. In the decades since, I’ve spent most of my career teaching economics and... Read more
‘The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.’ Peter – “The Rock” – knows what he is talking about. The fact is, Christianity wasn’t just something in the air, passed on like a microbe. No, the belief in Christ Jesus was something that was built. Stone by stone. Person by person. And it is still being built, by us, every day. We are the living stones of the faith. Think of what these stones can be — and... Read more
A Reuters profile of the accused killer underscores his faith. (H/T Tom Peters) Take a look: The 28-year-old insurance-fraud investigator comes from a deeply Catholic background and was taught in his early years to do right by those less fortunate. He was raised in a racially integrated household and himself has black roots through an Afro-Peruvian great-grandfather – the father of the maternal grandmother who helped raise him… …George Michael Zimmerman was born in 1983 to Robert and Gladys Zimmerman,... Read more
‘The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.’ Peter – “The Rock” – knows what he is talking about. The fact is, Christianity wasn’t just something in the air, passed on like a microbe. No, the belief in Christ Jesus was something that was built. Stone by stone. Person by person. And it is still being built, by us, every day. We are the living stones of the faith. Think of what these stones can be — and... Read more
My parish is hosting its annual vocations fair this weekend, to coincide with the 49th annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations, so my homily focuses on that. +++ For audio of this homily as it was delivered, click the green arrow below. [audio:http://wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com/blogs/deaconsbench/files/2012/04/VN810048.mp3|titles=VN810048] “We are all God’s children…what we shall be has not yet been revealed.” Those words from the letter of St. John that we heard a few moments ago could speak beautifully to a subject we’re focusing... Read more
The note below arrived in my e-mail tonight. It sheds more light on what many priests — and the people they serve — are living with these days. Dcn. G. +++ In response to this post on finances, I would like to share a few things. In my diocese – Midwest – we can be reimbursed for mileage, but it is more beneficial to claim mileage on our income tax forms. Stipends – they are becoming fewer and fewer... Read more
“Recently, while watching some Catholic sniping and squabbling amid these internet comboxes wherein I dwell and make my living, I noted a particularly dramatic note of victimhood being voiced in one channel and fervent, mustachio-twirling glee emanating from another, and I suddenly realized why opera is an art-form created and first-sustained in Catholic cultures. We do love our arias and our grand, sweeping themes.” — The Anchoress She goes on to make some great points about the LCRW. Check it... Read more
My parish is hosting its annual vocations fair this weekend, to coincide with the 49th annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations, so my homily focuses on that. +++ For audio of this homily as it was delivered, click the green arrow below. “We are all God’s children…what we shall be has not yet been revealed.” Those words from the letter of St. John that we heard a few moments ago could speak beautifully to a subject we’re focusing on... Read more
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