The Deacon's Bench
I’m sure I’ll hear this Ash Wednesday staple sung multiple times at our parish’s Masses today. Here, a beautiful rendition of a beautiful hymn (written by Gregory Norbet), performed by John Michael Talbot. Read more
I’m sure I’ll hear this Ash Wednesday staple sung multiple times at our parish’s Masses today. Here, a beautiful rendition of a beautiful hymn (written by Gregory Norbet), performed by John Michael Talbot. Read more
You start to see commercials like this… Read more
[Click here for readings] Click the green tab below to hear this homily as it was delivered at 8 a.m. Mass. [audio:http://wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com/blogs/deaconsbench/files/2012/02/HOMILY022212.mp3|titles=HOMILY022212] When I was in high school, I had an English teacher by the name of Mrs. Comberiatti. She was a quiet, tiny little woman, very young, but surprisingly strict. I spent most of the 10th grade being terrified of her. But all that changed one day, when she came into class wearing a big button on her lapel. ... Read more
Whispers has the scoop on Bishop-elect George Sheltz: His father a permanent deacon, according to an official release, the bishop-elect would become the second deacon’s son to be raised the episcopacy on these shores, following the Washington auxiliary Barry Knestout, who was ordained in late 2008. And there’s this statement from the son-of-a-deacon: I am sad that my parents, the late [Deacon] George and Margaret Sheltz, and my brother, the late Anton Sheltz, cannot be with us on this joyous day.... Read more
[Click here for readings] Click the green tab below to hear this homily as it was delivered at 8 a.m. Mass. When I was in high school, I had an English teacher by the name of Mrs. Comberiatti. She was a quiet, tiny little woman, very young, but surprisingly strict. I spent most of the 10th grade being terrified of her. But all that changed one day, when she came into class wearing a big button on her lapel. Thirty-five... Read more
Almost a year ago, we began the Easter season with a roaring fire at the door of the Church – we re-lived the creation of the universe, and it exploded into hundreds of points of light: small, bright candles that were held by every one in the church. We sang: “Christ Our Light, thanks be to God.” And we were made new. Now, it is a year later. And what we are left with…is ashes. So for this one day... Read more
From Gary, Indiana comes this profile of a deacon serving the people of God in so many ways, I have to wonder when the guy sleeps: While Tom Gryzbek may have diverged from his original plan to become a priest, he has found his own ways to serve as a hospital administrator, lawyer and deacon. “I was in the seminary system at the Chicago Archdiocese,” he says. “As people began leaving, the pendulum began to swing in the direction that... Read more
Cardinal Dolan took his mother to meet the pope yesterday: Capping a whirlwind nine-day trip with a final visit to the Vatican, Timothy Cardinal Dolan introduced his 84-year-old mom to Pope Benedict XVI yesterday — then jokingly asked the pontiff if he could make her “the first lady of the College of Cardinals.” Amid cheers and applause, Dolan walked his mom, Shirley, up to the stage to greet his boss during a papal audience before an enthusiastic crowd inside the... Read more
He’s a former prosecutor who keeps a statue of Mary on his desk — and he’s trying to woo Catholics and Evangelicals to the Romney cause. Details: The response seemed to defy the rough-and-tumble rules of modern politics. One of the nation’s most prominent opponents of same-sex marriage, Maggie Gallagher, had just told aides to Mitt Romney that she was endorsing Rick Santorum, a favorite of social conservatives, and encouraging her supporters to do the same. So what did the... Read more
Author Stephen S. Schneck, from Catholic University, argues that there are actually several different kinds of Catholic voters: While there is not an obvious Catholic vote on the macro scale, there are three discreet “Catholic votes” that really matter in American elections. The first of these is Latino Catholics. Over the last three decades, Latino immigration has washed over the church in America like a flood. From insignificant numbers 40 years ago, Latinos now constitute one-third of all American Catholics. In the... Read more
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