2012-04-15T12:19:52-04:00

Last updated on: April 15, 2012 at 12:19 pm   By

Eleven men were set to be ordained on Saturday April 14th, and a local paper in Minnesota took notice: The men will become the first group to be ordained as permanent deacons for the Diocese of New Ulm that serves 15 southwestern Minnesota communities, including North Mankato. “The church needs servants,” said Mark Kober of Sleepy Eye, one of four diocesan permanent deacons now serving. Kober directs the diocese’s permanent diaconate program that takes candidates through a five-year process that... Read more

2016-09-30T17:23:59-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:23 pm   By

Fenway Park, Boston.  Friday 13 April 2012.  Source. Read more

2016-09-30T17:23:59-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:23 pm   By

Well this is…different.  From artist Robert Weschler: The steam holes of a working iron were re machined to mirror the iconic aura of the Virgin of Guadalupe. When cloth is scorched by the iron an image of the Virgin appears in the burn. The text on the T-shirts (everything is coming up roses) accompanies the burns and refers to the Virgin of Guadelupe’s first appearance when she caused roses to grow on a barren hillside for the lone peasant Juan... Read more

2015-03-13T17:04:22-04:00

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:04 pm   By

Eleven men were set to be ordained on Saturday April 14th, and a local paper in Minnesota took notice: The men will become the first group to be ordained as permanent deacons for the Diocese of New Ulm that serves 15 southwestern Minnesota communities, including North Mankato. “The church needs servants,” said Mark Kober of Sleepy Eye, one of four diocesan permanent deacons now serving. Kober directs the diocese’s permanent diaconate program that takes candidates through a five-year process that... Read more

2015-03-13T17:04:23-04:00

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:04 pm   By

You never know how the Holy Spirit will work.  After posting this weekend’s homily, I got a number of comments from people who said that the man I’d used as a springboard for a reflection on conversion and mercy had, in fact, renounced his conversion.  (I couldn’t find any evidence of this from Googling, but it sounded credible.)  Shortly after that, I stumbled on this stirring account of one of the priests on the Titanic.  Deeply moved, I wondered if... Read more

2016-09-30T17:23:59-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:23 pm   By

Details: Amidst all the tales of chivalry from the Titanic disaster there is one that’s not often told. It is that of Fr. Thomas Byles, the Catholic priest who gave up two spots on a lifeboat in favour of offering spiritual aid to the other victims as they all went down with the “unsinkable” vessel. A 42-year-old English convert, Fr. Byles was on his way to New York to offer the wedding Mass for his brother William. Reports suggest that... Read more

2012-04-14T06:44:24-04:00

Last updated on: April 14, 2012 at 6:44 am   By

You never know how the Holy Spirit will work.  After posting this weekend’s homily, I got a number of comments from people who said that the man I’d used as a springboard for a reflection on conversion and mercy had, in fact, renounced his conversion.  (I couldn’t find any evidence of this from Googling, but it sounded credible.)  Shortly after that, I stumbled on this stirring account of one of the priests on the Titanic.  Deeply moved, I wondered if... Read more

2016-09-30T17:23:59-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:23 pm   By

This weekend, you might hear the sound of hammering and sawing, with earth being moved and walls going up.  There’s some construction work going on here at Patheos.  The site is being redesigned, some new features are being installed, and you may stumble upon some sawdust.  My boss Elizabeth says it shouldn’t disrupt things too much. Blogging will be light until Sunday.  I want to make sure I don’t fall into a well or something. Thanks for your patience! Read more

2015-03-13T17:04:23-04:00

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:04 pm   By

[Click here for readings.] Every year on the Sunday after Easter, the greatest celebration of faith, we encounter the gospel’s most famous story of doubt:  the story of Thomas, who demands proof before he will believe. We live in an age when we are surrounded by Thomases – not only doubters, but disbelievers. Atheists, agnostics, secularists, whatever you want to call them.  The so-called “New Atheists” like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens have become 21st century icons.  More... Read more

2016-09-30T17:23:59-04:00

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 5:23 pm   By

And one of them is the cathedral parish.  Details: A growing number of Seattle’s Catholic parishes are saying “no” to Archbishop J. Peter Sartain’s offer that churches become signature gathering points for Referendum 74, the ballot measure to roll back Washington’s recently passed same-sex marriage law. St. Mary’s Parish in the Central Area, and the new, growing Christ Our Hope parish in downtown Seattle, are the latest to decide petitions won’t be circulated on their premises. The decision at St.... Read more

Follow Us!
Browse Our Archives
TRENDING AT PATHEOS Catholic
IRS Decision Impacting Church Endorsements
Tears that Point to Heaven
God Gives A Warning As An Invitation To...
A Garden, A Kitchen, A Heaven, A Hell
The Parable of the Good Schismatic Heretic
Trump and Epstein: 18 Question-Raising Facts
view all Catholic blogs