A bishop in the Philippines used the Mass on Holy Thursday to talk about bad preaching—and he held nothing back. Details: Below is the homily of Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas at the Cathedral of Lingayen-Dagupan, the St John the Evangelist Cathedral in Dagupan City, on Thursday, April 2. Today we make a spiritual journey again to the Upper Room to remember our priesthood. We come once again to thank the Lord for calling us to be priests. The Lord took... Read more
When you need a hot story, just create one. Check this out, from The Daily Caller: There were no complaints nor denials of service to anyone ever, but because of their religious beliefs, Memories Pizza stands in ruin and the family who owns it has had their lives threatened countless times. How did the O’Connor family, owners of Memories, find themselves in this situation? They were honest with a reporter in search of a story to fit the media’s narrative.... Read more
From The Los Angeles Times: The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, who built the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove as the embodiment of an upbeat, modern vision of Christianity, only to see his ministry shattered by family discord and financial ruin, has died. He was 88. Schuller, who was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2013, died Thursday morning at a skilled nursing facility in Artesia, his daughter Carol Milner said. After a working life of great success and influence, Schuller was... Read more
A bishop in the Philippines used the Mass on Holy Thursday to talk about bad preaching—and he held nothing back. Details: Below is the homily of Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas at the Cathedral of Lingayen-Dagupan, the St John the Evangelist Cathedral in Dagupan City, on Thursday, April 2. Today we make a spiritual journey again to the Upper Room to remember our priesthood. We come once again to thank the Lord for calling us to be priests. The Lord took a risk.... Read more
Check out how they did it at St. John Cantius Church in Chicago. Doesn’t every parish wish it were this easy and fast? Photo from St. John Cantius website Read more
When I was growing up, like a lot of families, mine had one of those small, cheap Kodak Instamatic cameras. You used those flash bulbs that looked like ice cubes…and got these little square pictures back from the drug store when you had them developed. My dad must have taken hundreds, if not thousands of pictures with that camera. I never appreciated them until years later, after I was grown, and my parents had died, and we were going through... Read more
The buzz from Hollywood: A new faith-based project with A-list stars involved is coming now from Warner Bros. The project, Apostle Paul, is being developed at the studio for Hugh Jackman to star in the role as the Jewish man of God (also known as Saul of Tarsus) who crossed over to speak to the Romans and preach the word. Jackman would produce, along with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck under their Pearl Street banner. A screenplay is currently being penned by Matt Cook (Triple Nine, By Way Of... Read more
“I must say that a disproportionate share of the aid workers I’ve met in the wildest places over the years, long after anyone sensible had evacuated, have been evangelicals, nuns or priests. Likewise, religious Americans donate more of their incomes to charity, and volunteer more hours, than the nonreligious, according to polls. In the United States and abroad, the safety net of soup kitchens, food pantries and women’s shelters depends heavily on religious donations and volunteers. Sure, it puzzles me that social conservatives are... Read more
Details: The 28-year-old Redemptorist priest Damian Maria Montes has surprised thousands of viewers of Spanish television when he passed the blind audition of La Voz (The Voice), a reality talent show in Spain. One of the important premises of the show is the quality of the singing talent. Four coaches, themselves popular performing artists, train the talents in their group and occasionally perform with them. Talents are selected in blind auditions, where the coaches cannot see, but only hear the... Read more
Welcome news. Let’s hope this is the beginning of a trend. Details: The Diocese of Pittsburgh has eliminated fees for annulments in keeping with comments by Pope Francis that the church should make it easier for some divorced Roman Catholics to remarry and receive other sacraments. “My staff and I have long dreamed of this move,” Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik said Wednesday. “Our dear Pope Francis inspired us to act now.” The fees in the six-county Pittsburgh diocese ranged... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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