Rocco on Francis: “You’re going to have to mop me up if I get to meet him”

Last updated on: August 4, 2015 at 11:43 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

With Philadelphia bracing for the Big Visit in September, the granddaddy of Catholic bloggers, Rocco Palmo, is interviewed in the new issue of Philadelphia magazine. Snip: You’ve got to be pretty happy that the Pope’s actually coming to town. Oh, ecstatic, ecstatic. And especially this pope. Because this guy has just reinvigorated, as a complete surprise, the Church, the Church’s witness, the Church’s message. There hasn’t been much focus on it, but the papal visit here is coinciding 10 years to... Read more

St. John Vianney, pray for parish priests

Last updated on: August 4, 2015 at 9:13 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From today’s Office of Readings, on the Feast of St. John Vianney, some wise words from the saint himself: “My little children, reflect on these words: the Christian’s treasure is not on earth but in heaven. Our thoughts, then, ought to be directed to where our treasure is. This is the glorious duty of man: to pray and to love. If you pray and love, that is where a man’s happiness lies. Prayer is nothing else but union with God.... Read more

Fired Philadelphia teacher delivers petition, seeking to be reinstated

Last updated on: August 4, 2015 at 8:57 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Can you say “photo op”? From Philly.com: Margie Winters, accompanied by about 50 supporters and carrying a box of petitions signed by 23,000 people who want her reinstated as a Catholic school educator, could not get in the front door. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Center City offices were on lockdown Monday afternoon. A security guard politely but firmly refused to allow Winters to enter the building. “Because I’m so threatening,” Winters joked after handing the box to the guard and... Read more

Happy World Breastfeeding Week

Last updated on: August 3, 2015 at 3:34 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Yes, it’s really a thing. Read all about it. There’s even a photo contest. From the website: This World Breastfeeding Week, WABA calls for concerted global action to support women to combine breastfeeding and work. Whether a woman is working in the formal, non-formal or home setting, it is necessary that she is empowered in claiming her and her baby’s right to breastfeed. The WBW 2015 theme on working women and breastfeeding revisits the 1993 WBW campaign on the Mother-Friendly... Read more

“Partial-birth abortion is a sacrament in the Church of ‘Choice’…”

Last updated on: August 3, 2015 at 3:15 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

View image | gettyimages.com George Will nails it: Even partial-birth abortion is — must be — a sacrament in the Church of “Choice.” This sect knows that its entire edifice depends on not yielding an inch on its insistence that what an abortion kills never possesses a scintilla of moral significance. In partial-birth abortion, a near-term baby is pulled by the legs almost out of the birth canal, until the base of the skull is exposed so the abortionist can suck out... Read more

A deacon who’s the wheel deal

Last updated on: August 3, 2015 at 2:55 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

I have to say, I admire any man who could get away with appearing in public dressed like this: The fact that he’s a deacon and is about to embark on a marathon cycling trip makes him downright heroic. From The Catholic Post in Peoria: Deacon Matthew Levy will spend his vacation in France this year, but he only plans to rest for about two hours. That’s all the time he’s built into his 750-mile ride from Paris to Brest, a... Read more

Report: women entering religious life later

Last updated on: August 3, 2015 at 2:17 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

View image | gettyimages.com Moments after posting this item about the new Little Sisters of the Poor, I stumbled on this report on women religious, which seems noteworthy: Marie Racine was well established, a software engineer for 17 years, when something happened. “We had a meeting, and all of the sudden when they introduced the new projects, I just wasn’t interested anymore,” Racine said. “It just no longer mattered to me.” That awareness propelled Racine onto a new path — and... Read more

Say hello to four new Little Sisters

Last updated on: August 3, 2015 at 1:40 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

I got this nice note today from Sr. Marguerite, l.s.p., regarding my friends from the Little Sisters of the Poor in Queens: Attached are two photos of our newly professed Little Sisters. Bishop Andrzej Zglejszewski presided the Mass of Profession on Saturday,July 18th. In both photos, from L to R are Sr. Mercy Marie who will be going to our home in Totowa, NJ; Sr. Rachel du Bon Pasteur who will be going to Oregon, Ohio; Sr. Mary Matthew who... Read more

Must-see video: the bread of life, up close and personal on the streets

Last updated on: August 3, 2015 at 9:38 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

I posted on this a few years ago, but I think it’s worth another look. Bishop James Massa preached about this video in his homily at my parish yesterday. It’s a fitting connection to the John 6 readings we’re encountering in the gospels over these summer Sundays—and a vivid reminder of just what “the bread of life” truly means. Watch. Read more about it here. Read more

Must-see video: the bread of life, up close and personal on the streets

Last updated on: August 3, 2015 at 9:37 am By Deacon Greg Kandra