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... Read more
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
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
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
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
From Associated Press: Benedict XVI, emeritus pope and theologian, reflected on Saturday on classical music as an “encounter with the divine,” saying listening to Mozart helps him experience “very deeply the Lord’s presence.” Benedict’s reflections came at a ceremony where he received honourary doctorates from the Pontifical John Paul II University of Krakow and the Krakow Academy of Music for his promotion of respect for the traditions of sacred music in the Church. Since retiring from the papacy in 2013,... Read more
The gospel we’re encountering right now is sending a message that’s both powerful and timely. It all comes down to one little word: faith. What happens when you have it, what happens when you don’t. Last Sunday, Mark’s gospel told us about a faith so powerful it could work miracles. This week, faith is absent—and so are the miracles. In fact, Jesus himself is rejected—a prophet without honor in his hometown. St. Paul, in the second reading, doesn’t have much... Read more
From Associated Press: Benedict XVI, emeritus pope and theologian, reflected on Saturday on classical music as an “encounter with the divine,” saying listening to Mozart helps him experience “very deeply the Lord’s presence.” Benedict’s reflections came at a ceremony where he received honourary doctorates from the Pontifical John Paul II University of Krakow and the Krakow Academy of Music for his promotion of respect for the traditions of sacred music in the Church. Since retiring from the papacy in 2013,... Read more
The gospel we’re encountering right now is sending a message that’s both powerful and timely. It all comes down to one little word: faith. What happens when you have it, what happens when you don’t. Last Sunday, Mark’s gospel told us about a faith so powerful it could work miracles. This week, faith is absent—and so are the miracles. In fact, Jesus himself is rejected—a prophet without honor in his hometown. St. Paul, in the second reading, doesn’t have much... Read more
Details: Pope Francis appealed on Friday to faithful from all Christian churches to put divisions aside and concentrate on what unites them amid the persecution and slaying of Christians in parts of the world. “The blood of today’s martyrs makes us one,” Francis told some 30,000 people in St. Peter’s Square. He cited the slaying of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians by Islamic militants in Libya in February. “When those who hate Jesus Christ kill a Christian, before killing him, they... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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