Tomorrow begins the Triduum, but today is “Spy Wednesday,” when Judas set in motion the events that would lead to Christ’s passion. I reflect on what that means for all of us in this week’s column, “All Things New”: If you want to consider this merely a curious date that stands outside the proper of the seasons, and doesn’t have any real significance, think again. Spy Wednesday throws a spotlight, however briefly, on Judas, the one whose very name to... Read more
Well, whaddya know? From the new Broadway musical version of “Sister Act.“ Deacons merit a mention in the lyrics to a big production number “Sunday Morning Fever”: Spread the news! It’s time to rock the pews! We’ve got the Sunday morning fever! It’s a sound that turns your soul around until it makes you a believer. Every priest, every deacon, everyone who feels the beat starts freakin’. Catch the bug! Ride the groove! Boogie ’til you feel your spirit move!... Read more
Spot on, as usual, from the geniuses at T-Mobile (the company that almost single-handedly added the phrase “flash mob” to our vocabulary). Check out this inspired take that manages to satirize YouTube, the Windsors and our infatuation with all things royal, all at once. Read more
He was one of the monks beheaded by Muslim extremists in Algiers in 1996 — the basis of the story retold in the acclaimed film “Of Gods and Men.” Heather King yesterday posted his last testament, written a couple of years earlier, when he began to sense that the monks’ mission in Tibrihine might end in martyrdom. The end, in which he addresses the one who will one day kill him — “my last minute friend” — is astonishing.... Read more
The good people at TIME magazine have thoughtfully translated and posted a piece from the Italian daily La Stampa, which gives a glimpse inside Pope Benedict’s private world. Snip: Pope Benedict XVI isn’t alone in his apartment at the Vatican. Four “guardian angels” help him, and recently there has been an addition to the personnel at his service. For the past six years, the Pontiff’s Vatican apartment has been run by members of the Memores Domini, a lay association whose... Read more
One scholar thinks so — and is suggesting that we got the date of the Last Supper wrong. From the Sydney Morning Herald: One of the most famous meals in history is commemorated a day late, a new book by a Cambridge University physicist claims. Professor Sir Colin Humphreys, who was knighted last year for his contribution to science, argues that the last supper Jesus Christ shared with his disciples occurred on Wednesday, April 1, AD33, rather than on a... Read more
A new book, “The Longevity Project,” may hold some answers. The New York Times takes a peek: After reading “The Longevity Project,” I took an unscientific survey of friends and relatives asking them what personality characteristic they thought was most associated with long life. Several said “optimism,” followed by “equanimity,” “happiness,” “a good marriage,” “the ability to handle stress.” One offered, jokingly, “good table manners.” In fact, “good table manners” is closest to the correct answer. Cheerfulness, optimism, extroversion and... Read more
He will be ordained an auxiliary bishop for Detroit next month. Details, from the Detroit Free Press: Arturo Cepeda, 41, who is rector of Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, and has a doctorate in theology, was chosen by Pope Benedict XVI to reach out to metro Detroit’s growing Latino community as one of four auxiliary bishops. “I am excited about coming to Detroit,” said Bishop-designate Cepeda. “God is the one who does all the work and gives us all the... Read more
The answers in a new study offer some insight, and Fr. Thomas Reese takes a closer look: The principal reasons given by people who leave the church to become Protestant are that their “spiritual needs were not being met” in the Catholic church (71 percent) and they “found a religion they like more” (70 percent). Eighty-one percent of respondents say they joined their new church because they enjoy the religious service and style of worship of their new faith. In... Read more
Here’s a very cool entry in the iConfess video contest. It’s Reconciliation Monday here in New York. Want to get something off your chest (or off your back)? Now’s the perfect time to do it. Here’s one reason why… Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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