A beautiful and heartbreaking love story from Albany. Details: The Rev. Alvian Smirensky, a Russian Orthodox priest recalled as accomplished, compassionate and wise, had his life’s final wish fulfilled, according to the Rev. Peter Olsen, who referred to the older priest as his spiritual mentor.  “He had said to his son in law, I don’t want to live without my wife,” said Olsen, archpriest of St. Basil’s Russian Orthodox Church in Watervliet. In fact, Alvian and Helen Smirensky, married for... Read more

Most of us know the answer to the question in the headline is “No.” But permanent deacons are still a relatively new phenomenon in Ireland, which is evidently what prompted this piece from the BBC: While the Catholic Church in Ireland tries to address a shortage of priests there has been a concerted move to re-introduce an ancient ministry – that of permanent deacons. One hundred men, many of them married, have been ordained to serve the community and assist... Read more

It’s evidently morphing more and more into a secular, seasonal holiday, according the Pew Research Center:  As long-simmering debates continue over how American society should commemorate the Christmas holiday, a new Pew Research Center survey finds that most U.S. adults believe the religious aspects of Christmas are emphasized less now than in the past – even as relatively few Americans are bothered by this trend. In addition, a declining majority says religious displays such as nativity scenes should be allowed... Read more

You may remember this story from late November. Now, an update: The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington filed an appeal Monday of a decision that blocks its Christmas ads from being posted on the sides of Metrobuses.  The notice of appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia indicates the church will challenge a federal judge’s ruling late Friday that found Metro’s restrictions on religious ads are likely legal. Metro has banned ads that promote or oppose... Read more

From the web site Fashionista: Samantha Skinner, a high school science teacher in North Dakota, is one Catholic millennial interested in a return to tradition. Raised loosely Protestant but not a regular church attendee until she converted to Catholicism in college, Skinner began wearing a veil to mass every week before she’d even completed the classes necessary to formalize her conversion. A conversation with a friend who worked in a “holy bookstore” convinced Skinner to try the practice for herself.... Read more

I was flabbergasted to see this note on Facebook this morning, complaining about a child’s behavior during Mass. The mother posted it from an anonymous parishioner at her church: Dear Fellow Parishioners: I am writing this note on behalf of all parishioners at the 10:45 Mass. I sincerely wish I didn’t have to write this note. But I believe you must know how disruptive your son can be. Many of us missed the first two readings because we couldn’t hear... Read more

It happened, fittingly, on Friday, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Details: The largest Catholic church in North America is now complete. After 100 years of construction, thousands of worshippers Friday witnessed the blessing of 24 tons of Venetian glass that embellish the dome of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Called the “Trinity Dome,” the glass mosaic is the final architectural element of the church, a shrine to Mary which sits next to the Catholic... Read more

The Church there is booming and needs help: The Hong Kong Catholic Church will recruit more married men to reach out to the needy as it encourages more young people to join the priesthood, a top leader of its 389,000-strong diocese has said. While the move aligns with Pope Francis’s appeal earlier this year to bring in married men to address the problems of a shortage of priests, local church leaders said their push was inspired by a different reason.... Read more

From The Catholic Spirit: The deacon is a powerful icon of Christ the servant that our Church and our world need today, said Archbishop Bernard Hebda as he ordained 10 permanent deacons Dec. 9 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. He told the candidates, “Your message, which is again the Church’s message, will be credible to the extent that you are able to manifest the image of Christ who … came to serve and not be served.”... Read more

This Advent perennial is being sung as the entrance hymn at my parish this week—aligning perfectly with the arrival of John the Baptist on Jordan’s Bank in Mark’s Gospel. I love this arrangement, in the video above, that builds to something triumphal in the last powerfully-harmonized verse. About the hymn: Charles Coffin wrote this text in Latin for the Paris Breviary, published in 1736. In 1837 it was translated into English by John Chandler for his Hymns of the Primitive... Read more