Entire county clerk’s staff resigns rather than issue same-sex marriage licenses

Last updated on: July 7, 2015 at 2:03 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The Jackson Sun: The three officers in the Decatur County Clerk’s Office have resigned from their positions because of their opposition to the Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage, a county official said today. According to Decatur County Commissioner David Boroughs, County Clerk Gwen Pope and employees Sharon Bell and Mickey Butler have all resigned because of religious opposition to the ruling. Boroughs said he confirmed the resignations after speaking with County Mayor Mike Creasy. “That’s a personal individual... Read more

“If anyone is discerning a calling, my advice is simple: Give the keys to God and see where he wants to take you.”

Last updated on: July 7, 2015 at 2:00 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Some months back, my old friend Sister Camille D’Arienzo got in touch and asked me if I’d take part in her interview series for The National Catholic Reporter. I said sure. This week, they published the results. I’d more or less forgotten about it until a friend tonight sent me the link. Snip: What have you learned from being a deacon? I never cease to be amazed, awed, humbled and challenged. God uses us in ways we may never have imagined. And... Read more

Praying with the boss at work

Last updated on: July 7, 2015 at 1:58 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

[getty src=”163600181?et=pt-GKONFS4ZPsN5g0izexg&viewMoreLink=on&sig=wR1RbV4et2TqTLNpNZQKc5SR0iB0Urbp7yWsxLs-Lfc=&caption=true” width=”594″ height=”396″] View image | gettyimages.com An interesting spotlight on a topic rarely discussed, via the BBC: Saying prayers with colleagues would feel a bit uncomfortable, too intimate an activity in the workplace for many people. Yet at Chinese real estate giant Tiantai Group, known as Tentimes Group in English, that is exactly what they do in the boardroom before making important decisions. Three-quarters of the firm’s eight-strong senior management team are Christians and founder and chairman... Read more

Pope Francis: “We evangelize not with grand words, but with the ‘joy of the Gospel’”

Last updated on: July 7, 2015 at 1:55 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From his homily today in Ecuador: We evangelize not with grand words, or complicated concepts, but with “the joy of the Gospel”, which “fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. For those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness” (ibid., 1). We who are gathered here at table with Jesus are ourselves a cry, a shout born of the conviction that his presence leads us to unity, “pointing... Read more

Franciscan abducted in Syria

Last updated on: July 7, 2015 at 1:52 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: This morning, two Catholic priests from Homs told me of the abduction of the Rev. Dhiya Aziz, who belongs to the Franciscan missionaries serving in the Holy Land. The kidnapping took place on Saturday 4 July, while he was in his parish of Yacubiyeh, a village in Syria’s Idlib province, more than 56 miles northeast of Latakia. The Franciscans are asking for prayers, and released this communique yesterday: “Some militants of an unknown armed brigade, perhaps connected with Jahbat al-Nusra, came... Read more

“Christ can take what seems impure, scandalous or threatening, and turn it into a miracle”

Last updated on: July 6, 2015 at 3:18 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From Catholic News Service: Even if a pastoral proposal for helping a Catholic family with problems seems scandalous at first, it is possible God could use that proposal to bring healing and holiness, Pope Francis said.Encouraging and celebrating family life during a Mass July 6 in Guayaquil, Pope Francis asked people to pray for the October Synod of Bishops on the family, and he tied the synod to the Jubilee of Mercy, a yearlong celebration that will begin in December.The... Read more

“A proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy”

Last updated on: July 6, 2015 at 12:53 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

I bumped into a deacon today who told me about a conversation he had in the sacristy last weekend. A young priest was insisting that deacons are not sacramentally ordained. It reminded me of a talk I heard a few years back, wherein a bishop openly suggested the same thing. To clear up any confusion, here’s the catechism: 1536 Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time:... Read more

“Confessions of a Minister’s Wife”

Last updated on: July 6, 2015 at 11:30 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

How many women married to deacons (or priests?) could relate to this? From Huffington Post, writer Rita Davis unloads: Being married to a minister was not something I had on my to-do list. I just happened to fall in love with a guy who also carried the title, “Reverend.” According to my mother, I used to kiss the TV screen when Mr. Rogers was on, so maybe I always had a thing for Presbyterian ministers. I definitely had zero schema... Read more

Boom: Madison ordains largest class of priests in over 40 years

Last updated on: July 6, 2015 at 8:21 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The Wisconsin State Journal: A couple of hours before Chris Gernetzke was to become a priest, he could be found in a room at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church in Madison laying out the vestments he would wear at that evening’s ordination Mass. Gernetzke may be familiar to readers. Earlier this year, he let the State Journal shadow him for a day at The St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul, Minnesota. His story highlighted the increasing number of men joining the... Read more

Rhode Island church vandalized

Last updated on: July 6, 2015 at 6:29 am By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details from the Providence Journal: When the Rev. Joseph Escobar found what vandals had done to his historical and popular church, Our Lady of the Rosary, he decided to leave the desecration exactly as he found it. So when parishioners arrived for Mass in English and Portuguese on Saturday evening and Sunday morning, they immediately saw the scene that had greeted him: An arched granite pulpit completely shattered, its artfully curved pieces crushing floral displays beneath it and littering the floor,... Read more