Highlights from today’s homily: Pope Francis says that we must learn to not judge others or we all risk becoming hypocrites including the Pope himself. At the same time, he said, we need to have the courage to acknowledge our own faults in order to become merciful towards others. The Pope’s comments came during his homily on Friday (11th September) at the morning Mass in the Santa Marta residence. Pope Francis’s homily was a reflection taken from St Paul’s teaching... Read more
[getty src=”486350276?et=fpQtzkyeRV5KArqQsr_9Sw&viewMoreLink=off&sig=Lt1lQ_Vcq9INai0jXGpMIzOBPJJQi4G-UP6xfR1hjE0=” width=”475″ height=”594″] View image | gettyimages.com From The New York Times: Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., in an emotional, wide-ranging interview onStephen Colbert’s “Late Show” on Thursday, expressed doubt about the likelihood that he would run for president, saying that “I’d be lying if I said that I knew I was there.” Repeatedly touching on his parents, his faith and his emotional fragility from the recent death of his son Beau, Mr. Biden told Mr. Colbert that... Read more
The former anchor of “Meet the Press” has a new book out on the subject—“How’s Your Faith?: An Unlikely Spiritual Journey”—and writes about what sparked that journey in today’s Wall Street Journal: I’ve spent a career in journalism questioning others, and yet it was three questions asked of me that pushed me to figure out, as everyone must at some point: What do I believe, fundamentally, about life and the world? The first question came, however unusually, from a president of... Read more
From the vault, my homily from September 11, 2010: It was late October. That beautiful day in September seemed like a distant memory. The leaves were turning. The days were colder. If you walked across MacDonald Park, by the post office, you could see melted wax on the ground – reminders of candles from memorial services. When you passed bus stops and lamp posts, you saw scraps of paper were still taped there – fliers bearing names and pictures and... Read more
[getty src=”487216240?et=sFaYD8feSfp4gqEl9iGQww&viewMoreLink=on&sig=s4p2DecyrRJOl7LoPBjxxsukO52coeg6qh1NOE8v83k=&caption=true” width=”594″ height=”372″] View image | gettyimages.com From the BBC: Cuba has said it will release more than 3,500 prisoners in a goodwill gesture ahead of a visit by Pope Francis. The government in Havana says those to be freed include inmates due for conditional release next year, as well as a number of foreign prisoners. Those found guilty of crimes against state security will not be eligible, seemingly ruling out several high-profile political prisoners. The Pope will make... Read more
Highlights from today’s homily: Pope Francis says that we must learn to not judge others or we all risk becoming hypocrites including the Pope himself. At the same time, he said, we need to have the courage to acknowledge our own faults in order to become merciful towards others. The Pope’s comments came during his homily on Friday (11th September) at the morning Mass in the Santa Marta residence. Pope Francis’s homily was a reflection taken from St Paul’s teaching... Read more
View image | gettyimages.com From the BBC: Cuba has said it will release more than 3,500 prisoners in a goodwill gesture ahead of a visit by Pope Francis. The government in Havana says those to be freed include inmates due for conditional release next year, as well as a number of foreign prisoners. Those found guilty of crimes against state security will not be eligible, seemingly ruling out several high-profile political prisoners. The Pope will make a three-day visit to... Read more
From the Ukrainian Orthodox blog Good Guys Wear Black, some wisdom that could easily be applied to us in the Roman Catholic tradition: I have talked with many deacons and priests about the diaconate and have attempted to distill their words of wisdom into this advice for new deacons. Five things that allow the deacon to be a blessing: Kenosis;Surrender your life to God (through Christ) and Holy Orthodoxy.The Word did not consider Himself so good that He wouldn’t empty Himself for... Read more
From the vault, my homily from September 11, 2010: It was late October. That beautiful day in September seemed like a distant memory. The leaves were turning. The days were colder. If you walked across MacDonald Park, by the post office, you could see melted wax on the ground – reminders of candles from memorial services. When you passed bus stops and lamp posts, you saw scraps of paper were still taped there – fliers bearing names and pictures and... Read more
The former anchor of “Meet the Press” has a new book out on the subject—“How’s Your Faith?: An Unlikely Spiritual Journey”—and writes about what sparked that journey in today’s Wall Street Journal: I’ve spent a career in journalism questioning others, and yet it was three questions asked of me that pushed me to figure out, as everyone must at some point: What do I believe, fundamentally, about life and the world? The first question came, however unusually, from a president of... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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