People forget that Leonard Cohen wrote something else besides the now-ubiquitous “Hallelujah”. He composed this haunting ode to love and human frailty, “Song of Bernadette.” Here’s the great Jennifer Warnes — whatever happened to her, by the way? — performing this, evidently on “The Smothers Brothers” show in the early 1970s. UPDATE: A friend on Facebook pointed me to this more recent rendition, from Aaron Neville and Linda Rondstadt… Read more
The National Catholic Reporter has just published a special section devoted to deacons, and Your Humble Blogger (and wife) make an appearance. Much more interesting, though, is “A Letter to a Newly Ordained Deacon” by Bill Ditewig — and some thoughts on women deacons by Phyllis Zagano. All that’s just for starters. Check it all out right here. Read more
I just got back from seeing “The Rite,” and once again have come to the conclusion: in Hollywood, the devil gets the best lines, and puts on a great show. The story follows a young seminarian with Grave Doubts, who is dispatched to Rome to apprentice with a grizzled Welshman (Anthony Hopkins, of course) who teaches him a thing or two about how to handle Satan — who, of course, never lacks for theatrics. Veins bulge, eyes roll, skin turns... Read more
A jolly h/t to Frank Weathers who sent this my way. Boy, does this bring back memories. Not long ago, my wife sent me on an iTunes search to try and find this popular rendition of the classic prayer that briefly hit the airwaves in the early ’70s. These days, it’s nowhere to be found. (And you certainly won’t find this in the new Roman Missal repertoire.) But it lives on, thanks to YouTube. Here it is, boys and girls. ... Read more
Protestants can benefit from it, too, according to an author and philosophy professor: Like most people, John Mark Reynolds, a professor of philosophy at Biola University and co-editor of The New Media Frontier, initially thought that the app allowed users to confess and receive forgiveness through the iPhone. He told The Christian Post that his first reaction to the app was, “Arghh, another example of failing to understand that physicality matters.” But after looking more closely at the tool’s features,... Read more
One of the most popular publishers of Catholic liturgical music is Oregon Catholic Press, or OCP. You find their hymnals in a lot of parishes around the U.S., and their settings for the mass are probably among the most familiar anywhere. (“Celtic Alleluia,” anyone?) Their website is now offering samples of some of the new mass settings, along with revisions of existing settings. Want a taste of what’s to come? Chances are, your parish will be using some of this... Read more
The Brooklyn Eagle offered a glimpse into the life of a Catholic priest in its October 18, 1890 edition — and Pat McNamara has reposted it along with some great pictures (among other things, he points out that priests weren’t mandated to wear clerical garb until the 1880s): In each parish there is a pastor and one, two or three assistants, according to the size and needs of the congregation. Mass has to be said every morning, beginning generally about... Read more
“It is no less challenging to follow Christ today. It means learning to keep our gaze fixed on Jesus, growing close to him, listening to his word and encountering him in the sacraments; it means learning to conform our will to his.” “This requires a genuine school of formation for all those who would prepare themselves for the ministerial priesthood or the consecrated life under the guidance of the competent ecclesial authorities. The Lord does not fail to call people... Read more
And it’s one of the few hospitals in the country offering to intervene during an abortion. Details: A Chicago medical center has become one of the nation’s first Roman Catholic hospitals to adopt a practice of halting second-trimester abortions for women who change their minds after the multiday medical procedure has begun. Working with two anti-abortion groups, Resurrection Medical Center, the largest hospital of one of Chicago’s largest Catholic health care systems, has put in place a practice that when... Read more
Check this out: a little promotional video from Marcel at the always-engaging Aggie Catholics website. They seem to know what they’re doing down in Texas. Whatever they’re doing, it just works. Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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