Science is proving what we’ve known all along: it’s not that bad being a beta. Details: From the wild to Wall Street, as everyone knows, the alpha male runs the show, enjoying power over other males and, as a field biologist might put it, the best access to mating opportunities. The beta is No. 2 in the wolf pack or the baboon troop, not such a bad position. But conversationally, the term has become an almost derisive label for the... Read more
“Don’t be angry with God or with Fr. Paul. Don’t be afraid for him. Don’t be scandalized by him. Rather, pray for him, for one-another and learn. God has placed it in our hands to seek and to make present something good from tragedy. For the mystery of Christ’s resurrection is always with us, that mystery that took death and twisted it so far from itself that it became life, new life, eternal life. If you can take anything from... Read more
You might think you’d never meet a serious Catholic in a popular rock band. Think again. And meet Ray Hermann. Details: Ray Herrmann is currently on tour, entertaining thousands of fans across Europe as the lead saxophonist and flautist for Chicago, one of the world’s longest running rock bands. A highly gifted Grammy award-winning musician and one of the world’s finest session players in the industry, he has also performed with many of America’s leading rock musicians over the past... Read more
If passed, Ireland would reportedly become the first and only country in the Western world with such a law on the books. Details, from Pat Archbold: The Irish government, including the person no less than the Prime Minister, the Minister for Justice, and the Minister for Children are all backing legislation that would require priests to break the seal of confession to report pedophiles. This is, of course, not only a monstrous attack the Church and religious liberty, it is... Read more
“I am an unemployed Iraq war veteran that hasn’t had steady work since I was Honorably discharged at the end of 2009. I have a BS in International Relations, an active security clearance, and I speak four languages. I am currently enrolled in an MBA program in hopes of bettering myself, and my situation, but being a college student doesn’t pay the bills, and I have been looking for full time employment for nearly 2 years. I have led men... Read more
From Australia. (With a big H/T to CNS.) This should shatter a few misconceptions, and give a little inspiration, too. Read more
That’s part of the message contained in Archbishop Jose Gomez’s recent homily at the diaconate ordination for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. It’s rare to find a homily for a deacon ordination online, but I stumbled on this, and thought it worth sharing. He has wise words for all of us. Read more
It’s a little girl with cerebral palsy, adopted from Eastern Europe through an agency called Reece’s Rainbow. A reader sent along this music video following her journey. Break out the Kleenex and watch. This is love. Or, as the song says, “This is home.” Read more
This tidbit is raising a few eyebrows — including those belonging to Bill Donohue. Details: Michele Bachmann is practically synonymous with political controversy, and if the 2008 presidential election is any guide, the conservative Lutheran church she belonged to for many years is likely to add another chapter due to the nature of its beliefs–such as its assertion, explained and footnoted on this website, that the Roman Catholic Pope is the Antichrist. Bachmann was a longtime member of the Salem... Read more
“Heresy resides in all of us, in one way or another, and increasingly I am coming to realize that the corny old song “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me…” is speaking a truth. Pope Benedict XVI has said, “God does not force us to believe in Him, but draws us to himself through the truth and goodness of his incarnate Son.” This is for all of us; its truth belies all of the divisions we... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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