From the In My Backyard Desk, the following press release arrived in my mailbox this morning. One detail of note (which is unmentioned here): one of the new bishops, Fr. James Massa, often celebrates Mass in the Extraordinary Form. In fact, a few years ago, Bishop DiMarzio appointed him to coordinate the celebration of the liturgy in Latin. (You can read more about that here. Last year, Fr. Massa also assisted at a rare confirmation Mass celebrated in Latin.) More details: Pope... Read more
From the In My Backyard Desk, the following press release arrived in my mailbox this morning. One detail of note (which is unmentioned here): one of the new bishops, Fr. James Massa, often celebrates Mass in the Extraordinary Form. In fact, a few years ago, Bishop DiMarzio appointed him to coordinate the celebration of the liturgy in Latin. (You can read more about that here. Last year, Fr. Massa also assisted at a rare confirmation Mass celebrated in Latin.) More details: Pope... Read more
From The Seattle Times: The premise of Abdullah Polovina’s story sounds like the start of a bar joke: A Muslim imam walks into a Catholic university … Except it’s true. Polovina, who leads a congregation of Bosnian Muslims in Portland, did just that. And in June, he’ll walk out to “Pomp and Circumstance.” The 41-year-old recently completed a master’s degree at Seattle University’s School of Theology and Ministry, where he was the first Muslim ever to enroll. “I was looking... Read more
From The Catholic Review: Lying face down on the hard sanctuary floor of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland, May 16, eight white-robed men remained motionless as more than 1,000 people called on the heavenly saints to intercede for them. “Pray for us,” the congregation repeatedly chanted in solemn unison, after a cantor invoked the names of holy men and women from two millennia of Christianity. Strengthened by the power of prayer, the prostrated men stood and approached... Read more
About the stole It is a custom in this diocese for each deacon class to design its own distinctive stole to wear on the day of ordination. Taking as our inspiration Bishop DiMarzio’s motto “put out into the deep” (Luke 5:4), we’ve designed a stole that shows a vessel sailing into the water. It resembles a fishing boat common on the Lake of Gennsesaret, the kind the apostles would have known and used. It also represents for us the “barque... Read more
From The Catholic Review: Lying face down on the hard sanctuary floor of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland, May 16, eight white-robed men remained motionless as more than 1,000 people called on the heavenly saints to intercede for them. “Pray for us,” the congregation repeatedly chanted in solemn unison, after a cantor invoked the names of holy men and women from two millennia of Christianity. Strengthened by the power of prayer, the prostrated men stood and approached... Read more
About the stole It is a custom in this diocese for each deacon class to design its own distinctive stole to wear on the day of ordination. Taking as our inspiration Bishop DiMarzio’s motto “put out into the deep” (Luke 5:4), we’ve designed a stole that shows a vessel sailing into the water. It resembles a fishing boat common on the Lake of Gennsesaret, the kind the apostles would have known and used. It also represents for us the “barque of... Read more
View image | gettyimages.com This was written by a young Protestant—United Methodist, actually—but it should be read by everyone (Catholics, I’m looking at you). He offers a few modest proposals, including: Don’t expect a “worship style” to do your dirty work. Contemporary worship hasn’t worked. The longer we extend the life of this failed experiment, the more we see the results. In my experience, contemporary worship brings in three groups. Baby boomers who are still stuck in their rebellion against the establishment, parents... Read more
Pope Lenny?? From Variety: Jude Law will topline Italian director Paolo Sorrentino’s TV series, with the working title “The Young Pope,” about an imaginary pontiff who is the first Italian-American pope in history. Rupert Murdoch’s paybox Sky and France’s Canal Plus will co-produce with HBO, marking the first multiple-player production of this type in Italy. The series is being produced by Italy’s Wildside, and co-produced by France’s Haut et Court TV. Executive producers for Wildside are Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani together with John... Read more
From the Detroit Free Press: Let’s be honest, Catholic priests aren’t known for soul-stirring preaching. And according to Pope Francis and many ex-Catholics, that’s a problem. Boring sermonizing does not fill the sanctuary or pay the bills. It certainly will not curb the steady march of American Catholics from the faith. “Priests today have to compete with a digital media culture where sounds bites, tweets and social media updates are the currency of communication. It’s a real challenge for preachers... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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