You may remember this happy news from last month. Now, an update. Details:  The Toledo Diocese ordained a record number of permanent deacons during an ordination ceremony presided over by Bishop Daniel Thomas at  Rosary Cathedral in Toledo. When 20 men joined the clergy as deacons last month, they represented the highest number of deacons ever ordained at one time by the diocese, which covers 19 Ohio counties including Sandusky and Ottawa counties. While Monsignor Marvin Borger, Vicar for Clergy... Read more

This is my parish’s annual Choir Weekend: the choir will be singing at all five Masses, to drum up support for the year’s big annual fundraiser, our Christmas Concert in mid-December, sponsored by our Sacred Music Society. The entrance hymn for the weekend Masses is this glorious rafter-raiser. A little history:  Noted British hymnologist John Wilson (1905-1992) suggested that the Methodist poet and hymn writer Fred Pratt Green write a text to the tune ENGELBERG, composed in 1904 by the... Read more

Here’s something you don’t see often enough in the Catholic press: A look at marriage through the eyes of deacons and their wives. Details:  Here’s one essential acknowledgment for spouses of deacons from Maria Natera: Duty comes first. “You have to get used to the idea that you sit alone in church,” Natera says. “That was very difficult for me. Sometimes it’s a little lonely in the pew when he isn’t beside me.” Her husband, Ruben, is a permanent deacon... Read more

Every year, the Catholic Guild at Our Lady of the Skies Chapel—the Catholic chapel of JFK Airport in New York City, shown above—hosts a fundraising luncheon and, as part of the festivities, names a Man of the Year, Woman of the Year, and Clergy of the Year. They have always honored a high-profile priest or bishop. But this year, JFK’s chaplain the Rev. Chris Piasta decided to do something different. For the first time, the Catholic Guild honored a deacon.... Read more

A little news from our Eastern siblings, from the Panorthodox Synod. It’s a statement from liturgists and theologians: It has come to our attention that the venerable Patriarchate of Alexandria, after due consideration, has decided to reinstitute the ancient order of deaconess, in order to better serve the pastoral needs of the ever-increasing number of missionary parishes within the Patriarchate which serves the entire continent of Africa. The validity of this decision, however, has been questioned by some. We the... Read more

Just in time for Halloween, a story that helps put it in a broader context: When Coco Layne, a Brooklyn-based producer, meets someone new these days, the first question that comes up in conversation isn’t “Where do you live?” or “What do you do?” but “What’s your sign?” “So many millennials read their horoscopes every day and believe them,” Layne, who is involved in a number of nonreligious spiritual practices, said. “It is a good reference point to identify and... Read more

I received word this afternoon that an old friend of my wife’s family has entered eternal life: the Rev. Msgr. Vincent Gatto died early this morning at the age of 90. I served with him only once, when I assisted and preached at my in-laws’ 50th wedding anniversary Mass in 2008. But he was a beloved figure, a tireless and devoted priest who never lacked for a kind word or a friendly smile. At an age when most men would... Read more

Who knew? From The Washington Post:  Former FBI chief James B. Comey ended a months-long Twitter tease Monday when he confirmed that he is the owner of a cryptic, nature-photo-loving account with the name Reinhold Niebuhr. Since the spring, when Gizmodo journalist Ashley Feinberg sleuthed that the account belonged to Comey, thousands of people have retweeted and analyzed the account’s nature photos and brief phrases…. …But who is Niebuhr, and why did Comey name the account after him?   Goodbye Iowa. On the road... Read more

First it was Poland. Next, Ireland: Catholics in Ireland are planning to hold a mass-rosary recital around the country’s coastline as next year’s abortion referendum approaches. The ‘Rosary on the Coast for Life and Faith’ will take place on Sunday, November 26, the feast of Christ the King. Organizers take inspiration from the recent Rosary at the Borders in Poland, and a similar event in Italy. “Our island is in the midst of a catastrophic loss of Catholic faith especially... Read more

This is pretty intriguing, via America: In Our Lady of the Sioux, a small Catholic church in Oglala, S.D., George Looks Twice is waiting. Looks Twice, 83, holds a stick next to a drum that sits beneath his legs as the priest intones the eucharistic prayer. He is waiting for the point of consecration, where the bread becomes the Body of Christ. But instead of ringing bells, Looks Twice will strike the drum three times, the honor beats heard in... Read more