The Deacon's Bench
It’s in Hamburg, Germany. But I’m sure everyone has something like this under their tree every Christmas, right? Read more
It’s in Hamburg, Germany. But I’m sure everyone has something like this under their tree every Christmas, right? Read more
Stuck for a homily idea? Check out this interesting overview, from a variety of faiths in Indiana, here: Pastors will have similar new Yyear themes in their Sunday sermons. A fresh start, personal reflection and improving one’s relationship with God are just a few sermon topics. The Rev. James Foster, pastor, will preach about “a new season” to about 120 people at Word of Life Fellowship Church in Lafayette. “With a new season, it is an opportunity to make things... Read more
Stuck for a homily idea? Check out this interesting overview, from a variety of faiths in Indiana, here: Pastors will have similar new Yyear themes in their Sunday sermons. A fresh start, personal reflection and improving one’s relationship with God are just a few sermon topics. The Rev. James Foster, pastor, will preach about “a new season” to about 120 people at Word of Life Fellowship Church in Lafayette. “With a new season, it is an opportunity to make things... Read more
The National Catholic Reporter goes looking for Catholic reaction to what is happening in Iowa these days: Religion has had an extraordinary presence in the buildup to the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, but Catholics have been distinguished by their silence. “It’s part of the Catholic culture,” said Deacon Dan McGuire, parish administrator at Assumption Parish in Granger, Iowa. “We get involved in politics. That’s obvious. But as a former excluded minority … we keep faith in our private... Read more
Details, from Rocco: In the most concrete sign yet of his plans to thoroughly reshape the beleaguered church he’s inherited, Philadelphia’s Archbishop Charles Chaput OFM Cap. is giving up the mansion at the city’s edge which his predecessors have called home for the last 75 years. Less than four months after taking the reins of the 1.2 million-member Northeastern “supertanker,” Chaput reportedly decided to seek a buyer for the historic Cardinal’s Residence over recent weeks, according to archdiocesan sources. No... Read more
You might consider this sweet story the flipside to that Italian divorce saga. Details: A couple at a retirement home got married Wednesday — both at age 91 — a reminder that it’s never too late to start a new phase of life. Margaret McSpadden and retired Air Force Col. William Thomas, both residents at Bishop Gadsden on James Island, tied the knot in a ceremony in the chapel. “It’s something I didn’t expect,” said the colonel, who turns 92... Read more
[Click here for readings] A lot of us had our travel interrupted over the holidays – flight delays, cancellations, weather problems. But none, I think, can compare with the story of Msgr. Steve Rossetti. Msgr. Rossetti is a priest from the Diocese of Syracuse. He teaches at Catholic University but every couple years, he goes down to Antarctica for a few weeks to serve as a chaplain to the researchers and personnel working at the South Pole. This year, he... Read more
[Click here for readings] A lot of us had our travel interrupted over the holidays – flight delays, cancellations, weather problems. But none, I think, can compare with the story of Msgr. Steve Rossetti. Msgr. Rossetti is a priest from the Diocese of Syracuse. He teaches at Catholic University but every couple years, he goes down to Antarctica for a few weeks to serve as a chaplain to the researchers and personnel working at the South Pole. This year, he... Read more
He’s Father Steve Porter, from California (of course!) and he’s getting a lot of buzz for a series now in development. From a press release on the program: The Rev. Steve Porter of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church and Derek Christopher of Lighthouse Blues Productions have spent the last year filming, editing and pitching a reality TV series tentatively titled “Divine Intervention with Father Steve” to big-time networks like A&E, History, Discovery, TLC, truTV and more. Networks like A&E... Read more
One of my favorites, from an old PBS special. (The CD of this is a holiday perennial around our house.) Kathleen Battle, Frederica von Staade and “Gesu Bambino,” conducted by Andre Previn. Has anyone ever done this better? I don’t think so. Read more
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