Seeing Jesus in Ohio: Homily for March 18, 2018, 5th Sunday of Lent

Last updated on: March 18, 2018 at 10:04 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

As most of you know, last week marked the one-month anniversary of the massacre at the high school in Parkland, Florida—and thousands of teenagers around the country staged a walkout to commemorate that tragedy and honor those who had been killed. Different schools marked the day in different ways. Some schools placed 17 empty desks outside, to honor the 17 killed. Others observed 17 minutes of silence. Several Catholic schools around the country offered prayers, Benediction or Mass. But one... Read more

Have you registered for the 2018 Diaconate Congress yet?

Last updated on: March 17, 2018 at 1:50 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

This is going to be a great event—and a chance to take part in a significant piece of history. The congress is happening in July in New Orleans, and is expected to draw hundreds (if not thousands) of deacons (and their families) from around the United States. It celebrates the 50th anniversary of the restoration and renewal of the diaconate in this country—and I can’t think of a better event to celebrate. If you haven’t seen it yet, check out... Read more

Hymn of the Week: ‘Lift High the Cross’

Last updated on: March 17, 2018 at 1:32 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

This is our recessional this weekend—a fitting segue into next week and Palm Sunday, and an appropriate coda to the scripture readings this 5th Sunday of Lent. From Wikipedia: George Kitchin wrote “Lift High the Cross” in 1887, while he was the Church of England Dean of Winchester, for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. It has been suggested that the hymn was inspired by the story of Constantine the Great’s conversion to Christianity after seeing a cross with “In hoc signo... Read more

How Guinness went from an anti-Catholic company to a St. Patrick’s Day icon

Last updated on: March 17, 2018 at 9:28 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

A fascinating read for this day—with this intriguing bit of history: A slightly ironic twist to the St. Patrick’s Day connection is that Guinness was not traditionally a Catholic company. St. Patrick was a Catholic and the patron saint of Ireland, and the colors of the day are drenched in the symbols of the Protestant-Catholic struggles of Ireland. Orange is traditionally recognized as the color of the Protestants, while Green is the color of the Catholics. You can still find... Read more

One reason Toys R Us failed is more serious than you may think

Last updated on: March 16, 2018 at 10:39 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

An analysis from The Washington Post: There are endless reasons a big-box toy store would collapse during a retail apocalypse — and Toys R Us acknowledged a number of them in its most recent annual filing: the teetering tower of debt incurred by its private-equity owners, competition from Amazon, Walmart and Target. They even wrung their hands about app stores, labor costs and potential tariffs raising the costs of the imported goods they sell. But one risk stood out. Toys... Read more

‘Hispanics are changing and, some say, saving Roman Catholicism…’

Last updated on: March 16, 2018 at 9:34 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The Columbus Dispatch: In Columbus and across the Midwest, Hispanics are changing and, some say, saving Roman Catholicism. Their population has been flowing into Midwestern and Northeastern Catholic churches since the turn of the century, said Hosffman Ospino, director of Hispanic ministries at Boston College, and Hispanics’ presence there is reshaping Catholicism and revitalizing churches with otherwise dwindling memberships. At St. Stephen the Martyr Catholic Church on Columbus’ West Side, membership was down to about 30 parishioners nearly two... Read more

Visiting Boston? Stop by and say hello

Last updated on: March 16, 2018 at 8:54 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Department of Shameless Plugs: If you find yourself in the Boston area on Friday, April 6, come on by! That day, I’ll be the keynote speaker at the annual Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord conference in Watertown, Massachusetts. My topic: “Living Our Faith in the Modern World.” I’ll be talking about my vocation journey, my work at CBS News, and how we can all fulfill our call to evangelize. This event, sponsored by the Theological Institute for the... Read more

And then there were nuns: singing the praises of sisters

Last updated on: March 15, 2018 at 10:28 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Elizabeth Scalia—now writing and editing with Bishop Robert Barron’s team over at Word on Fire—offers this gorgeous tribute to the great unsung heroines of the Church, the religious sisters, to close National Catholic Sisters Week. Check this out: Largely unregulated by governments, and often funded with the pennies and spare dollars of those they served, Catholic religious women addressed every social need they saw and were extraordinarily efficacious. As handmaids to the sons and daughters of their King, they enriched,... Read more

Remembering Parkland: ‘We lit an 18th candle…’

Last updated on: March 15, 2018 at 8:44 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

A deacon friend forwarded me this tweet, from Father Jeff Walker in the Diocese of Toledo. Like so many places around the country, his high school, Sandusky Central Catholic, honored the 17 students killed by a young gunman in Parkland, Florida, last month. They lit candles and gathered before the Blessed Sacrament to pray. But this observance was different from others I’ve read about: Read more

The nun in the huddle: Loyola’s legendary Sister Jean

Last updated on: March 15, 2018 at 6:35 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

A great profile of an icon, from The New York Times: Each prayer begins the same way, with “Good and gracious God.” Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt always makes sure of that. But it is in the words that follow that Sister Jean, the 98-year-old nun who serves as the team chaplain for Loyola University-Chicago’s N.C.A.A. tournament-bound basketball team, really finds her voice. She asks for God’s protection for the players. She asks for the referees to call fouls “justly.” She asks... Read more