And amused. From Prince of Peace Catholic Church and School in Taylors, SC, as posted on their Facebook page. Novus Ordo Christ the King Feast Day 360 degree thurible swings – you win some, you lose some (incense)! Loving the inclination to catch the burning ash! #dedicatedaltarboys Posted by Prince of Peace Catholic Church and School on Sunday, November 24, 2019 Read more
Our community celebrated the holiday a little early Sunday, with our annual interfaith Thanksgiving service. It was held this year at Our Lady of the Angelus Catholic Church in Rego Park, Queens. Participants included (in the picture above): Bishop Paul Sanchez; Cantor Debora Jacobson; Rev. Jeanne Warfield; Rev. Thomas Reese; Rev. John Mendonca; Rabbi Hazzan Henry Rosenblum; Deacon Greg Kandra; Msgr. John McGuirl; Rev. Radu Titonea. Yours truly proclaimed the Gospel: “See how the flowers of the field grow. They... Read more
That’s the blunt message Franciscan friar Casey Cole offers in the video below — and it is excellent. Take and watch. And then, stop by his web page and blog. This kid is sharp. Read more
A beautiful image: I spent the weekend at the St. Francis Retreat House in Easton, PA, leading a retreat for deacons from the Diocese of Metuchen. Father Henry Beck, O.F.M., — the priest on the right — put this picture on a side altar. During Mass Sunday, he shared the story behind it. Turns out, Father Henry’s dad was a deacon whose wife died young, at just 53. When Henry was ordained a priest, the father surprised him with a... Read more
Oh yeah. This. A thousand times, this. On Thursday, 12-year-old Jonathan Jones, a colorblind student in Minnesota, was handed a pair of glasses that let him see color for the first time: The seventh-grader and his peers at Lakeview High School were learning about colorblindness when Jones’ principal, Scott Hanson, who is also severely colorblind, allowed Jonathan to borrow his special glasses. The boy’s brother recorded video of the exchange. “They’re all yours, let’s see what it does,” Hanson told... Read more
I read this beautiful prayer as part of my retreat presentation this afternoon, and there were many requests for copies. Here it is, for those who want to read it, pray it, share it. A Deacon’s Prayer By Deacon Lazaro J. Ulloa Come to my assistance my Lord and my God, that I may do for You all that you ask. Strengthen me in adversity and do not let me succumb to my feelings of worthlessness. Help me to feel... Read more
In the church, prayer books were burned, excrement spread, a statue thrown to the ground. Details (via Google translate): Mass books torn and burned, others soiled with excrement, a cross thrown to the ground, a fire extinguisher emptied, a statue thrown on the benches of the faithful: such are the damages discovered. Wednesday early afternoon, two individuals entered the church of St Jean de Tarbes, to commit these degradations in this church located in the center of the prefecture of... Read more
While much of the attention has been on Fulton Sheen these days, a young man from Minnesota is about to be declared “Blessed,” too: A man who scrubbed toilets and shoveled sidewalks at Cretin-Derham Hall High School is on his way to becoming a saint, and the school is celebrating his beatification by elevating his presence on campus and connecting students to his legacy. Christian Brother James Miller taught at then-Cretin Hall in St. Paul from 1966 to 1971 and... Read more
From today’s homily in Bangkok: All of us become missionary disciples when we choose to be a living part of the Lord’s family. We do this by sharing with others as he did. He ate with sinners, assuring them that they too had a place at the Father’s table and the table of this world; he touched those considered to be unclean and, by letting himself be touched by them, he helped them to realize the closeness of God and... Read more
And now authorities say the home was wrong. From The New York Times: A Catholic nun who was told she could stay in a retirement home in France only if she stopped wearing religious clothing was wronged, French officials say, in a case that they say misinterpreted the country’s laws prohibiting religious attire in some public spaces. The nun, who is over 70 and has not been publicly identified, had been living in a convent in southeastern France when she... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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