The New York Times this morning has a brief Q&A with Patty Stonesifer, who runs Martha’s Table, a charitable organization based in Washington, DC. While not strictly a Catholic charity—though it was co-founded by a priest—Martha’s Table is run by a woman with a deeply Catholic sensibility, and she brings that to her leadership style: Q. What were some early influences for you? A. I’m the sixth of nine children. The most notable things about my family were that my parents... Read more
This happened on September 10 at Cathedral School in Superior, Wisconsin. The homilist is Fr. Andrew Ricci. Read more
Details: Plans to attack the Pope Francis during his U.S. visit have already been thwarted, Homeland Security committee chairman Michael McCaul said on Sunday. Less than 10 days before the pope’s visit to Washington D.C., New York and Philadelphia, McCaul said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that he was “concerned” about the pope’s safety, after he was contacted by Secret Service about an earlier plot against the pope. “We are monitoring very closely threats against the pope as he... Read more
This issue comes up periodically, and it’s been raised again in the blog Pray Tell: The question of whether a permanent deacon may anoint the sick has come up in our time because of pastoral need. This has been argued against on the basis that the anointing of the sick also forgives sins and a deacon does not have that power. This argument does not dispose of the question, however. Deacons are permitted to baptize (and even a lay person... Read more
Details: Plans to attack the Pope Francis during his U.S. visit have already been thwarted, Homeland Security committee chairman Michael McCaul said on Sunday. Less than 10 days before the pope’s visit to Washington D.C., New York and Philadelphia, McCaul said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that he was “concerned” about the pope’s safety, after he was contacted by Secret Service about an earlier plot against the pope. “We are monitoring very closely threats against the pope as he... Read more
This happened on September 10 at Cathedral School in Superior, Wisconsin. The homilist is Fr. Andrew Ricci. Read more
This issue comes up periodically, and it’s been raised again in the blog Pray Tell: The question of whether a permanent deacon may anoint the sick has come up in our time because of pastoral need. This has been argued against on the basis that the anointing of the sick also forgives sins and a deacon does not have that power. This argument does not dispose of the question, however. Deacons are permitted to baptize (and even a lay person... Read more
From The Washington Post: Speaking from a Methodist pulpit on Sunday morning, Hillary Clinton explained her political vision with a reference to the classic Sunday school song “This Little Light of Mine.” “Too many people,” she said, “want to let their light shine, but they can’t get out from under that bushel basket. It is way too heavy to lift alone. And that’s where the community comes in.” It is the 200th anniversary of Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, where the Clintons worshiped regularly when... Read more
Back in the early days of my blog, I posted this great story about Deacon Michael Nixon and Deacon Michael Nixon: The Nixon family of Blessed Sacrament Parish here already had two Michaels, father and son. Now both of them are deacons and both go by Deacon Michael Nixon. But instead of dwelling on confusion caused by the same names and titles, the Nixons celebrate their unique and phenomenal family distinction with humor – and a lot of prayer. Michael... Read more
Back in the early days of my blog, I posted this great story about Deacon Michael Nixon and Deacon Michael Nixon: The Nixon family of Blessed Sacrament Parish here already had two Michaels, father and son. Now both of them are deacons and both go by Deacon Michael Nixon. But instead of dwelling on confusion caused by the same names and titles, the Nixons celebrate their unique and phenomenal family distinction with humor – and a lot of prayer. Michael... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In