This aired during the first half of the game and comes to us from the good people who make Ram trucks. UPDATE: Turns out, not everyone is loving the ad. From The New York Times:  The online blowback was swift for Ram on Sunday after the carmaker used a sermon given by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as the voice-over for a Super Bowl ad. The general sentiment: Did the company really just use Dr. King’s words about... Read more

Here’s a lovely rendition of a mournful hymn, adapted from Psalm 34, performed by John Michael Talbot. It was composed by one of the “St. Louis Jesuits,” John Foley:  John Foley, S. J. (born 1939) is an American composer of Catholic liturgical music and a professor of liturgy at St. Louis University. Among his better known compositions are “One Bread, One Body” (1978), “Earthen Vessels” (1975), “Come to the Water” (1978), “The Cry of the Poor” (1978), “For You Are... Read more

Attention: Pulitzer Prize committee. If you’re looking for a candidate for this year’s Best Feature Story, here it is. A remarkable and riveting piece of journalism, from photojournalist Ted Jackson, who recounts the long and arduous journey of an NFL star who he met living under a bridge over 20 years ago. From NOLA.com, there’s this description by Jackson of his efforts to photograph a group of homeless men—and his stunning discovery: I practiced how I would approach the men... Read more

Is that a stunning picture, or what?  This appeared on the Diocese of Brownsville Facebook page this afternoon. Details, from the diocesan website: The Diocese of Brownsville will welcome 43 new permanent deacons on Saturday, Feb. 3. Bishop Daniel E. Flores will confer the sacrament of ordination at a 1 p.m. Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle-National Shrine. The public is invited to attend the ordination for the largest class of new deacons in... Read more

So pleased to see this great write-up about my old friend Deacon Jim Hoegemeier from Madison, Wisconsin (that image is from last month, when he attended a talk I gave at the Sacred Heart Seminary outside Milwaukee). Snip: Rain or shine, life is precious and a gift from God. More than 500 people were probably reflecting on that as they marched from St. Patrick Church in Madison to the Wisconsin Capitol Jan. 22 — the 45th anniversary of the U.S.... Read more

Even without a Hail Mary pass. Some insight, from Brian Caulfield at the Knights of Columbus:  While it’s probably true that God is not concerned with who wins, it is also certain that he does care about your party. That’s right. Wherever two or three or a dozen men are gathered … God is in their midst. So let’s take a somewhat offbeat look at 10 ways your Super Bowl party supports Catholic values. 1. Eating and Drinking – What’s a Super... Read more

My Facebook friend Matthew Livingstone posted this earlier today and I reprint it here with his kind permission. It shows wonderful outreach and pastoral care—and serves to remind us how small but thoughtful gestures like this can be transformative: Last year, when our dad died we needed to find a church here in Green Bay where we could have his funeral. He did not have a home parish for many years, for a variety of reasons. Our parish was far... Read more

Details:  The Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., formally resolved Saturday to eliminate all gendered references to God, and open their gender-specific activities and public facilities based on gender identity. The Washington-based Institute on Religion and Democracy reported on its blog Monday that the Diocese of Washington for the Episcopal Church passed three resolutions over the weekend at a gathering at Washington National Cathedral. Delegates to the 123rd Diocesan Convention moved within one hour to adopt proposals titled “On Becoming a Sanctuary Diocese:... Read more

That’s the sentiment of a priest from the Church of England—and now that church is looking at ways to help clergy deal with stress:  On a bad week, the job of a parish priest is “like triage”, said Alan Bartlett. “What do I do first? What’s most urgent?” Bartlett has just come to the end of a nine-year stint as vicar of three parishes in one of the most deprived areas of the country in north-east England. On a daily... Read more

From Ball State:  After more than three months — a total of 100 days — 12 of the 13 fraternities in Ball State’s Interfraternity Council (IFC) are no longer on a social “pause.” After all 13 fraternities within the IFC signed a joint letter Oct. 24 with the university saying they would not host any social events, with or without alcohol members were required to complete two educational programs before the period ended Wednesday. Due to the number of members... Read more