A h/t to Terry Mattingly’s Get Religion blog — and writer Bobby Ross, Jr. — for highlighting this amazing vocation story. Longtime readers will remember I posted on this surprising twist a couple years ago. Now, an update, which comes to us via Sports Business Daily: Anthony Federico was fired from ESPN in 2012 for writing a headline. You probably remember the story. A young ESPN employee, he wrote a headline for the company’s mobile app that many viewed as a racial slur directed... Read more
And, as an added bonus, the bishop installed deacon candidates in the Rite of Lector. The story, from The Catholic News Herald: Bishop Peter Jugis processed into St. Patrick Cathedral amid a sea of red stoles Aug. 10 to celebrate the Mass for the Affirmation of Ordination Promises by permanent deacons, held annually around the feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr. This year Bishop Jugis also installed 13 deacon candidates for the permanent diaconate into the Ministry of Lector... Read more
From Baltimore magazine: Something’s brewing (literally) inside St. Michael’s Church in Fells Point. This fall, Ministry of Brewing will open to the public inside the 19th-century landmark, located on the northeast corner of Lombard and South Wolfe streets. The brewery aims to bring a classic rotation of beers and a unique gathering spot to the neighborhood. General manager Jon Holley predicts the novel idea of a church brewery is unlike anything neighbors will likely expect, especially when they step inside the church... Read more
A priest friend on Facebook reminded me of this story today, and it’s worth noting. I first posted on this blessed priest in 2010: Some months back, I preached a homily on the “Priesterblock,” the section of the Dachau concentration camp where priests were kept in isolation during World War II. Dozens of men were imprisoned there, kept apart from others, for one explicit purpose: the Nazis didn’t want the clergy to give the people hope. Out of that experience,... Read more
From Rod Dreher: I’ve been in Cincinnati, Ohio, for a special reason this weekend: my friend J.D. Vance was baptized and received into the Catholic Church. This has been a long journey for him. He was officially brought into the Catholic faith by Father Henry Stephan, a Dominican priest, at St. Gertrude Priory. Here’s a short interview I did with J.D. about his spiritual life, and the road to Catholicism: Why Catholicism? Why now? I became persuaded over time that... Read more
Evidently, one pastor’s efforts to restore a sense of orthodoxy to a progressive parish met with fierce resistance— even prompting protests during Mass. See the video below. A longer story follows. From the front page of The Oregonian on Sunday: The new priest took charge of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church more than a year ago. Week after week, parishioners said, George Kuforiji changed their church in ways they didn’t think he ever could. …St. Francis is one of... Read more
This morning, I saw a post on Facebook from a priest, describing how a parishioner apologized to him for her children making so much noise during Mass. The priest didn’t mind at all, and wanted to make clear that he loved kids at Mass and didn’t mind the noise. “I can speak louder if I have to,” he said. Which reminded me of this posting of mine from a few years ago, about St. Thomas More Parish in Lynchburg. Lying... Read more
Denver Catholic recounts his remarkable journey: Deacon Joseph Van Tam Le, 97, passed away peacefully on the evening of July 18, 2019. Deacon Joseph was assigned to Queen of Vietnamese Martyrs in Wheat Ridge throughout his diaconal ministry. Le Tam Van was born on March 15, 1922 in Nam Dinh, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam to Le Van Ho and Le Thi Su. He was baptized into the Catholic faith soon after his birth, where he took the name Guise or... Read more
Last weekend, my parish in Queens, New York continued a longstanding custom of inviting a newly ordained priest to celebrate Mass for the Feast of St. John Vianney and conclude our annual novena to the saint. This year, the priest was Father John Paul Obiaeri, who is from Nigeria and was ordained for our diocese on June 5. He preached about his vocation — and expressed gratitude to two women from the parish who prayed especially for him and who took... Read more
In a new interview, the Holy Father spoke about the upcoming Amazon synod, and a variety of other timely topics: The upcoming Synod of Bishops on the Amazon is an “urgent” gathering, not of scientists and politicians, but for the church whose main focus in discussions will be evangelization, Pope Francis said in a new interview. However, the importance of the Amazon region’s biodiversity and current threats it faces also will be addressed because “together with the oceans, (the Amazon)... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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