A lifetime parishioner — baptized in our church, in fact — and longtime trustee of the parish died just before Thanksgiving. This morning, we had his funeral, the first with the new Roman Missal. There was a substantial turnout, and a sizable crowd in the sanctuary, too: four priests, two deacons, six altar servers, and one seminarian, who hovered over the new missal and served in an important new liturgical ministry: Turner of the Page. After the first “and also... Read more
Over the last couple days, as reaction has trickled in to the new translation of the Mass, there seems to be a common theme: we the people haven’t been affected as much, because it’s the priest who has all the newfangled words and prayers to worry about. “Our parts,” people in the pews seem to be saying, “aren’t all that different.” But to think that way misses an important point — and it gets something about the Mass fundamentally wrong.... Read more
Sent to me on FB, from a former boss at CBS News (now retired) who also happens to be Protestant: Hi, For what it’s worth…three guys in the locker room at the gym this morning were talking about the new translation. They seemed to like it. It was better than hearing their usual talk about politics. And so it goes. Read more
The always-interesting Msgr. Charles Pope found the video below, and posted it yesterday, along with some intriguing information about the importance of sisters wearing the habit. First, the video: As Msgr. Pope explains: It is clear that the orders that preserve the wearing of the habit along with common life, common prayer, and a focused apostolate are doing better, some quite well, with vocations. Orders that have set aside the habit are largely dying out. It is not the habit... Read more
He’s climbing in the polls and growing in popularity among evangelicals, which is catching a few observers by surprise: Like many evangelicals in Iowa, Steve Deace, an influential conservative radio host, is wrestling with the possibility that Newt Gingrich may be the most viable standard bearer for family-values voters in the next election. It’s a conundrum, he says, that many others are also grappling with. “Maybe the guy in the race that would make the best president is on his... Read more
A deacon in Toronto is reaching out to prostitutes and addicts — and getting results: It’s a cool autumn night, and Robert Kinghorn begins his downtown ministry as night falls on Jarvis Street in downtown Toronto. Amid the hustle and bustle of night life near a local hamburger joint, Kinghorn stands out sporting a white Roman collar. But here on these streets, Kinghorn, the 26-year deacon with a background in prison ministry, seems at ease. Toronto’s unofficial red light district... Read more
That’s how one Washington, DC Catholic reacted to the new translation of the Missal here: Prayers learned and memorized in school, such as the Nicene Creed, the Apostles’ Creed, the Penitential Act, the Gloria, are now different enough to cause the congregation to stumble, hesitate and stutter, as some parishioners did through the 10 a.m. Mass on Sunday at St. Augustine Catholic Church in the District. It was a scene repeated in Catholic churches around the English-speaking world, as churchgoers tried... Read more
Lest we forget: Go forth, the mass is ended. or Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord. or Go in peace, glorifying the Lord with your life. Those are the biggest changes in the Missal involving the deacon: the three new dismissals. (I’m partial to the last one myself.) The most important word, of course, is the one that is the same in all three and that begins all three: “Go.” It’s an urgent reminder that we are not... Read more
This is a small stroke of genius: Brother Al Mascia has much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, and so does his flock. After losing the brick-and-mortar headquarters for his Detroit-based charitable operations earlier this month, the brown-robed Franciscan friar has kept serving the homeless, the elderly and others in Detroit. Mascia anticipated the closing of the building more than a year ago and raised $4,000 to buy two specially designed tricycles with vendor carts in front and storage trailers... Read more
A paper in St. Louis looks at how sisters have changed over the last couple decades — and what that may mean. Details: Sister Sarah Heger [shown above] cut through a tray of raw chicken with a knife and let her fifth-grade class of girls squirm for only a second. A science exam loomed, and the petite nun didn’t waste time preparing them. She wrangled the meat with her bare hands, pointing to tendons and showing how muscles relax and... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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