Seriously. She makes her debut today at Patheos, with a lovely and lyrical column that she calls“Book of Sparks.” She explains where that name comes from, and concludes withthis gorgeous Ash Wednesday meditation: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” the priest will say today, as he makes the sign of the cross in ashes on our foreheads. We do not come to Christ as Protestants or Catholics, as Democrats or Republicans, or even as believers... Read more
This Ash Wednesday perennial gets to me every time. Here, two versions…the first, from John Michael Talbot, and the second, from the composer himself, Gregory Norbet. Read more
Anyone who has ever worked in a rectory on Ash Wednesday knows the drill. Ready? Here goes. “8:00, 12:05, 4:00 and 7:30.” Read more
From the New York Times: The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced Tuesday that it had placed 21 priests on administrative leave from active ministry in connection with credible charges that they had sexually abused minors. The mass suspension was one of the single most sweeping in the history of the sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. It follows a damning grand jury report issued Feb. 10 that accused the archdiocese of a widespread cover-up of... Read more
Some authors do Oprah to plug their books. The pope has other ideas. Details: Pontiffs utter and pronounce. They, well, pontificate. But on 22 April, Good Friday, Pope Benedict will– in a papal first – answer viewers’ questions on television. Rosario Carello, presenter of a special programme to be broadcast onItaly‘s publicly owned RAI network, said the pope had agreed to answer three questions on Jesus. Anyone expecting the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion baptised Roman Catholics to be... Read more
Now here’s a picture that’s really worth a thousand words … or more. Caption: Charles B. Tripp the armless man and Eli Bowen the legless man. Both men traveled with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circuses in the 1890’s. Source H/T Deacon Eric Read more
Reader and blogger Anne Bender sent this my way, from her blog Imprisoned in my Bones: an account from Fr. Don Hying, about his experience praying outside an abortion clinic. With the Lenten “40 Days for Life” campaign about to begin, this couldn’t be more timely. Snip: Late last Saturday morning, a group of us went to pray at the abortuary on Farwell Avenue. Usually, I go earlier in the day when pregnant women are entering the building and the... Read more
After the kerfuffle last week, the two men found time for a meeting today, according to the New York Times: For Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, it is a lesson that not even his Catholic-school upbringing could have taught: When you are the state’s top elected official, even the most innocent scheduling conflict can assume a life of its own. Mr. Cuomo discovered this after his aides recently informed Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, the leader of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York,... Read more
Some of us of a certain age here tonight can remember a song that was popular exactly 40 years ago. In 1971, a group from Canada called the Five Man Electrical Band had a hit called “Signs.” The song is about how signs are always telling us what to do, and the chorus says, “Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?” Well, the Five Man Electrical Band has faded into history – though the other day, I... Read more
This isn’t exactly earth-shaking news — but when was the last time a celebrity baptism made headlines? Details: Celine Dion baptised her twin sons in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 05, 2011. The singer and her husband Rene Angelil christened four-month-old tots Eddy and Nelson at the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, in a ceremony that featured chanted prayers and songs. Her representative said of the Melkite Greek Catholic rite: “It was a beautiful, traditional family ceremony.” The boys... Read more
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