The Deacon's Bench
This is truly inspired, caught on a friend’s Facebook page …click to enlarge. Read more
This is truly inspired, caught on a friend’s Facebook page …click to enlarge. Read more
The virus of hateful commenting seems to have infected a lot of otherwise tranquil corners of the blogosphere — including the very fine blog of Msgr. Charles Pope, in the Archdiocese of Washington. He writes: I DO appreciate vigorous and honest discourse and am undisturbed that disagreements are frankly aired. But there comes a line that, when crossed, makes me hit delete, or post the comment, but with a blow of the referee’s whistle. Recently however, I am getting more... Read more
Seriously. The world’s highest tennis court, in Dubai. Read all about it. Read more
So says the New York Daily News, which reported on this unfortunate phenomenon yesterday. Details: John DeLamar will stand before two of his closest friends tomorrow and proudly pronounce them newlyweds. The 29-year-old has not officiated at a wedding before, and never had ambitions to become a minister, but New York‘s same-sex marriage bill changed all that. “When gay marriage passed, I thought it would be great [to get ordained],” said DeLamar, who will conduct the service in a studio... Read more
Last week, Bishop Christopher Coyne of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis had a few things to say about tweeting in church. He had heard on the radio that a number of people were tweeting at the celebrity-studded funeral of Myra Kraft, wife of Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots. And he was justifiably appalled: As far as the other “mourners” who were at the funeral and were tweeting, my question to them is “why?” To what purpose? What good... Read more
As a result, that name is one of several that are now legally unacceptable in New Zealand. Details: The devilish name has been effectively banned by the New Zealand names registrar after three sets of parents had the name denied, says The West Australian. In the past two years there have been 102 rejected names, including Baron, Bishop, Duke, General, Judge, Justice, King, Knight and Mr, all deemed too similar to titles. Messiah also got the thumbs down. The number... Read more
From those geniuses in Japan: how to quickly cool a hot car without waiting for the a/c to do the job. You roll down the window on one side, and use the car door on the other side to “fan” the hot air out the open window. Don’t believe it? Just watch. You can thank me later. Read more
Yesterday marked the feast of St. Mary Magdalene — and the Archbishop of Los Angeles offered a beautiful, surprisingly timely reflection. Here’s Archbishop Jose Gomez, from The Tidings: God is kind and merciful. There is no one who is beyond the pale of his redemption. There is no one whom God cannot redeem and use for his purposes. I worry sometimes that we might be forgetting that in our society. When I am reading on the internet, or listening to... Read more
The pontiff sent condolences to Norway’s King Harald, following yesterday’s horrific attacks. The pope’s message, in part: “His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI offers fervent prayers for the victims and their families, invoking God’s peace upon the dead and divine consolation upon those who suffer.” “At this time of national grief he prays that all Norwegians will be spiritually united in a determined resolve to reject the ways of hatred and conflict and to work together fearlessly in shaping a future... Read more
The gospel we just heard has some surprising comparisons to the Kingdom of God – a kingdom that isn’t measured in acres, or miles, or limited by any kind of geography we might imagine. It is a kingdom, in fact, whose size could be small enough to hold in your hand, or bury in a field. What matters isn’t its size. What matters is its worth. The gospel assures us: it is a rare treasure, as precious as a pearl.... Read more
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