The Deacon's Bench
Have a newborn, and a manger, and you don’t know what to do? Problem solved. Read more
Have a newborn, and a manger, and you don’t know what to do? Problem solved. Read more
Curious about where that peculiar holiday tonic originated? Everything you need to know is here: Eggnog really makes you wonder: How did humans first think chugging a spiced and spiked egg-yolk-and-milk mixture was a good idea? It’s a bit like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast: “Now that I’m grown, I eat five dozen eggs, so I’m roughly the size of a barge!” Yet despite its “love it or hate it” fame, eggnog has charmed drinkers for nearly a millennium.... Read more
One of the most celebrated gifts in history — and a staple of the Christmas story — is endangered: The world may still have gold and myrrh, but it’s quite possible that frankincense could become a thing of the past, given ecological pressures on the arid lands where it grows in Ethiopia. The storied resin, known to millions as one of the three gifts of the Magi, the wise men who visited Jesus after his birth, is made from gum... Read more
“We’re all pilgrims, after all, and his journey is not over yet.” — Martin Sheen, on his son, Charlie. The elder Sheen reveals that his son helped save his religiously-themed movie “The Way.” Read more. Read more
When I was growing up, my mother kept a small white circle of lace in a plastic bag in her pocketbook, in case she needed to pop into church for one reason or another. And in the 1960s, it wasn’t uncommon for a woman to improvise a veil with a bobby pin and a Kleenex. But those days are long gone. Or are they? One young woman makes her case for the return of the veil: Why do it in... Read more
Tony Spence over at the CNS blog draws our attention to this intriguing piece in the Wall Street Journal, which finds Christian parallels to the Jewish celebration that begins tonight: The Christian parallels lie…with Good Friday and the story of Jesus’s acceptance of his suffering and sacrificial death. In both the Jewish and the Christian stories, the death of the heroes, grievous though it is, is not the end: It is the prelude to a miraculous vindication and a glorious... Read more
From my friend Fran. Read more
For our Jewish neighbors, a favorite of The Bench: a seasonal chestnut from Peter, Paul and Mary and their classic 1988 TV special on PBS. Happy Hanukkah! Read more
From the Hamptons Desk: news that Southampton now has a basilica that the rich and famous can call their own: Pope Benedict XVI recently bestowed the designation of basilica on the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Roman Catholic Church, an honor that carries certain privileges, including a name change reflecting the Southampton Village church’s new status. Monsignor Jeffrey Madley, the priest of the Hill Street church, said it will become the first basilica in the Diocese of Rockville... Read more
That’s the beautiful sentiment (which was touched on here) that’s expressed by Sr. Mary Ann Walsh in this post for the USCCB blog: The welcome mat is out at Catholic churches across the country. Actually it’s always out, but churches tend to emphasize their open arms and doors during Advent and Christmas and later on in Lent and at Easter. Why now? There’s something in the season that makes you think of home – including the spiritual home some are... Read more
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