From Buffalo comes this surprising story of a discovery that is reminding a parish of its past — and offering hope for its future: They were letters to God, written by schoolchildren more than a century ago. And since being discovered concealed in a cross atop Corpus Christi Catholic Church on Clark Street, they continue to bring members of the East Side parish together — past, present and future. “This was very surprising for us. It was a very beautiful... Read more
He’s right between King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud and Ben Bernanke. As Forbes notes: The spiritual leader to one-sixth of the world’s population–1.2 billion souls–delivers the final word on matters of abortion, gay marriage, female priests and, most recently, Occupy Wall Street. In October the Vatican called for a supranational authority to oversee the global economy: “To function correctly the economy needs ethics, and not just of any kind but one that is people-centered.” 2011 Lowlight: Two victim... Read more
Tired of dull sermons? So is a high-ranking official at the Vatican. Details: Roman Catholic priests have been told to inject ‘scandal’ into their sermons by a senior official from the Vatican. Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi said priests needed to liven up their often ‘dull’ sermons with the scandalous parts from the Bible. Cardinal Ravasi, the Vatican’s most senior cultural officer, added that if priests did not change their ways sermons risked becoming ‘irrelevant’. The cardinal was speaking at an event... Read more
Details, from the Baltimore Sun: The Archdiocese of Baltimore added a new religious order of nuns Tuesday, its first in decades and one that began as an Anglican community. The All Saints’ Sisters of the Poor left the Episcopal Church for the Roman Catholic Church two years ago. By a decree from the Vatican, they are now an official diocesan priory, or order, the same designation carried by the School Sisters of Notre Dame or the Daughters of Charity. “We... Read more
A commenter in another post noted that his parish keeps track of how many confessions are heard on any given weekend, and then publishes the tally in the Sunday bulletin. Color me surprised. This is something new to me. Parishes routinely announce other sacraments — baptisms, weddings, even confirmations — but I’ve never heard of one keeping a count, and actually publishing the number of confessions. The weekly collection? Sure. Confession? No. I asked a priest in my parish what... Read more
I stumbled upon this today: pictures of a beautifully executed renovation at Holy Rosary Parish in Indianapolis, a church that offers frequent celebration of the Latin Mass. (Indeed, here’s one curiosity: in the renovation, it doesn’t appear that the priest is able to face the congregation.) The first picture is the church from 2004. The second, from 2009. You can read more about it here. UPDATE: The pastor has kindly sent along a more recent shot of the sanctuary, which... Read more
A few people have wondered about what to do with the old liturgical books on November 26. (At my parish, the sacristan cracked the other day that we should just keep them and wait another 40 years or so until another generation of liturgical experts decides to bring them back…) But the USCCB, meantime, offers some guidelines: In the March-April Newsletter of the US bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship, the Secretariat responded to questions about the disposition of copies of... Read more
After looking at the controversial dispute over some HHS funding that has made headlines, one writer takes a closer look: You can argue Catholic bishops have a legitimate beef with HHS on this grant, but the Obama administration has not exactly put the freeze on Catholic groups or turned its back on engaging Catholic organizations. As my contacts in the Obama administration have noted, other grants from HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement to the USCCB increased from $27 million in... Read more
From the bishop’s office comes the following e-mail: The Diocese of San Bernardino welcomes six new permanent deacons ordained Saturday morning at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Chino Hills, California. Most Rev. Rutilio J. del Riego, Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino, was the ordaining prelate. The six new deacons are all married and come from five different parishes scattered around the 27,270 square-mile diocese. Over 1,200 people attended the ordination Mass which was celebrated in English... Read more
That’s the interesting question that Rambling Follower is asking this weekend — and the RF provides one answer from her own experience: Over the past month, at our new parish, we have encountered something new: long lines for the confessional. The other week, it took me more than an hour to have my turn. This morning, we figured we’d be smart and get a jumpstart on the regulars by showing up 10 minutes early, before the pastor began offering the... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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