The Deacon's Bench
Below, a remarkable juxtaposition: snapshots of a father and son watching the very first space shuttle launch, and the very last. Details here. Read more
Below, a remarkable juxtaposition: snapshots of a father and son watching the very first space shuttle launch, and the very last. Details here. Read more
In New York, it seems, no one. With the law changing on same sex marriage, people are looking again at the rules requiring a waiting period for getting married. Some are even trying to have the waiting period waived. From the New York Times: The year was 1936, and Jane H. Todd, a state assemblywoman from Westchester County, went to Albany with a warning: the institution of marriage was under siege. Too many frivolous youngsters were falling in love and... Read more
From Zenit, by way of Padre Steve at Da Mihi Animas, comes this beautiful meditation on the priesthood, whose “3 Ms” are missionary, mediator and martyr. The source is Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai, speaking at the ordination of a friar in Rome last weekend: The secretary of the Vatican dicastery [the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples] observed, “being a missionary means being sent by the Father to love.” The priest, he continued, must also be a mediator, as... Read more
“While I am confident that I am faithfully handling the responsibilities entrusted to me, I personally made this request earlier this year because a number of persons have written to Rome expressing their concerns about my leadership of the Diocese. This visit will be an opportunity to gather extensive information on all aspects of the activities of the Diocese and will allow for an objective assessment of my leadership. I ask for prayers that this process will support the vibrancy... Read more
We hear a lot about this during Lent. But here’s a helpful reminder that this sacrament is welcome, and necessary, all year ’round. From Sr. Mary Ann Walsh at the USCCB: Penance, aka confession, is the sacrament of the forgiveness of sin. You can’t beat it for convenience. It’s available practically whenever. Tell a priest you want to go to confession and you’ll get his attention. One bishop I know was cornered on an airplane. Another passenger figured out what... Read more
“We must get to grips with the idea that we don’t contribute anything to God, that God would be the same God if we had never been created. God is simply and eternally happy to be God. My reason for saying that is to push back on what I see as a kind of sentimentality in theology. Our relationship with God is in many ways like an intimate human relationship, but it’s also deeply unlike. In no sense do I... Read more
It made headlines last month when it was scheduled, then cancelled — but the controversial “Rainbow Mass” finally went on yesterday. The Boston Globe was there: The Rainbow Ministry of St. Cecilia’s Church opened its doors to nearly 700 people yesterday for a long-awaited Mass in support of gay and lesbian Catholics, capping a month of controversy over the Boston Archdiocese’s postponement of the service. A standing-room-only crowd, larger than Easter Sunday’s, packed the pews to hear the Rev. John... Read more
Somehow, I missed this last week: two terrific articles in Our Sunday Visitor about deacons — including some interviews with their wives. One couple spotlighted: Deacon Larry Kehoe and his wife Susan, friends of mine from Des Moines. A snip: Susan Kehoe believes in the old adage that behind every great man, there is a great woman. But in her case, the saying may be modified to “behind every great deacon is a supportive deacon’s wife.” Since her husband of... Read more
I just learned that one of my favorite Christian rock bands, Casting Crowns, has done the title song for the new movie from the producers of “Fireproof,” a father-son drama called “Courageous.” Check out the video, below. The movie opens September 30. Read more
Those are the words of an 86-year-old retired deacon, profiled in the Catholic Review from the Archdiocese of Baltimore: When Oak Crest commemorated National Volunteer Appreciation Week recently with an award ceremony for the Parkville retirement community’s volunteers, Deacon Harry O’Neill didn’t want to attend. “The only way they got me there was by asking me to offer the opening prayer,” he said with a chuckle. Of the 100 recipients of the Presidential Service Award, Deacon O’Neill, along with two... Read more
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