You can check out the video above. CatholicPhilly has the scoop from CNS: When Sister Kathleen Schipani found out she was usually the very first person to teach deaf children to pray, she decided there had to be an app to fix that. Learning to pray usually happens in the family, when a parent or relative recites the words for grace before meals, asks for blessings or requests guidance or protection, the Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary told... Read more

From Variety:  John Turturro will play William of Baskerville, the 14th century Franciscan who investigates a series of grisly murders in the high-end TV adaptation of Umberto Eco’s bestseller “The Name of The Rose,” set to start shooting in January at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios. Rupert Everett has been cast as the monk’s antagonist, Inquisitor Bernard Gui. Rising young German actor Damien Hardung (“The Red Band Society”) has landed a key role as Benedictine novice Adso of Melk, William of Baskerville’s... Read more

Well, what do you know? Check this out, from the folks at Rome Reports:  Street artist Mauro Pallotta, best known as Maupal, has found a way for his love of art and his admiration of Pope Francis to be able to fund Vatican charitable works. A portion of the proceeds from this T-shirt, in which the pope appears as Superman with a briefcase of values and the scarf of the San Lorenzo soccer team, will go to Peter’s Pence, which... Read more

The Washington Post recently profiled the White House press secretary and cracked open a window into her spiritual life:  For many conservative Christians, defending their faith is now tied tightly to defending Trump. For Sanders, that meant becoming a headline herself the day before this interview after she told reporters during a briefing that an ESPN host who called Trump a “white supremacist” should be fired. The comment about Jemele Hill set off an immediate firestorm. To prepare for that briefing, Sanders... Read more

I was in balmy Palm Beach, Florida this weekend, leading a retreat for deacons and their wives there. And this perennial modern classic was our recessional—and an appropriate one, too. To my way of thinking, this was a stirring and meaningful end to a weekend devoted to thinking and praying about diakonia.  Here I am, Lord! The rendition included here is pretty thrilling—just watch the video above—and I doubt anyone has heard this familiar hymn sung quite like this, with... Read more

I had a wonderful visit to Palm Beach this weekend—my first trip there—and spent an enriching couple of days preaching a retreat to deacons and their wives at the Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center, run by the Passionists. [img attachment=”245886″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /] My room afforded me a great view of the water and if the outside was pretty, the interior of the center isn’t bad, either. [img attachment=”245877″ align=”aligncenter” size=”full” /] The chapel has some spectacular stained glass... Read more

The image above, from the Archdiocese of Chicago Facebook page, shows part of the conversation between the two men at the big event held last night. Details:  Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, will be joined by actor, producer and committed Catholic Mark Wahlberg and other presenters to host (re)ENCOUNTER, a young adult faith night, on Friday, October 20 at 6:30 p.m. at UIC Pavilion. The event will gather thousands of young adults – Catholic and non-Catholic – for a night of... Read more

Aleteia’s John Burger was there as the Speaker of the House filled the slot that last year was shared by Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump: Ryan continued to riff on Trump’s legendary lack of humility and propensity to use Twitter. He said that during the presidential inaugural ceremonies in January, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, who presided at the Al Smith dinner, delivered an invocation invoking the “infallible, enlightened Supreme Being.” “And President Trump stood up and took a... Read more

I’m on the road again, heading to sunny Florida this morning to lead a retreat for the deacons of the Diocese of Palm Beach. Shown here is the Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center, run by the Passionists—my office this weekend. I’m looking forward to it—and looking forward, as well, to saying hello to another boy from the Diocese of Brooklyn, Bishop Gerald Barbarito. Palm Beach has at least one other strong connection to Brooklyn; its founding bishop, Thomas Daily,... Read more

Readers may remember my account of serving my first Mass as a deacon ad orientem last spring. Now the National Catholic Register reports on what happened when a parish adopted this posture for a year: Sudden changes in the life of a parish come rarely. But on the first weekend in October, at St. Wenceslaus in Wahoo, Nebraska, Father Joseph Faulkner announced an unexpected decision on the liturgy: The parish would celebrate Mass ad orientem — both the priest and... Read more