“Hate crime”: Baby Jesus stolen from church nativity scene, replaced with pig’s head—UPDATED

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:13 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From Boston.com: A baby Jesus statue at a Haverhill church’s nativity scene was taken and replaced with a “freshly decapitated” pig’s head on Christmas morning, police said. John Delaney, the pastor of Sacred Hearts Roman Catholic Church, said he had a mix of “shock” and “horror” upon seeing the bloody head on Thursday morning just before Christmas mass. “It’s just a really hurtful commentary on society, and for someone to do this sad deed is really shocking,” the pastor said. Priests... Read more

Waves of destruction: remembering the tsunami, 10 years later

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:13 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Photo: Peter Lemieux / CNEWA Hard to believe it, but today marks the 10-year anniversary of the devastating tsunami that swept over Indonesia—one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern history. CNEWA’s blog features a poignant remembrance of that awful day from someone who was there. Check it out. And the BBC offers an overview of commemorations in the region. Below, one of many iconic videos that captured this event. Remember in your prayers all those who lost their lives... Read more

Where St. Stephen was stoned

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:13 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Today marks the feast of the church’s first martyr and the patron saint of deacons, St. Stephen. St. Stephen, pray for us! From Wikipedia: Stephen or Stephan (Greek: Στέφανος, Stephanos), traditionally regarded as the Protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity, was, according to the Acts of the Apostles, a deacon in the early church at Jerusalem who aroused the enmity of members of various synagogues by his teachings. Accused of blasphemy, at his trial he made a long speech fiercely... Read more

This year’s best Christmas gift

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:13 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Back in the early days of the last century, my wife’s great-grandmother Agnes Meyer and her husband set out to raise a large family in a far-flung corner of Iowa. They had eight children; she was pregnant with her ninth when her husband went out to work in the fields one morning and collapsed from a massive heart attack. He was 38. Agnes went on to raise all these children on her own. She never remarried. She taught school and subsisted... Read more

Pittsburgh hospital sends Christmas babies home in stockings

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:13 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Photo: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Adorable. From The Daily Mail: Babies born at a Pittsburgh hospital are heading home with their parents in tiny stockings. The Magee-Women’s Hospital at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center snapped photos of the tots lined up in the stockings, each with a green or red hat atop their head. Parents spending their first Christmas with their babies at the hospital get the stockings and hand-knitted hats as keepsakes, ABC reported. Nurses at the hospital have... Read more

Christmas in Forest Hills

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:13 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Shortly before Midnight Mass—which actually took place at midnight!— from my parish, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Forest Hills, NY. The liturgy was breathtaking: 40 altar servers, five priests, one deacon, full choir, a trumpet, and an eloquent homiletic meditation on “O Holy Night” by our pastor, Bishop Paul Sanchez—who reflected on the phrase “Long lay the world, in sin and error pining” and made a prayerful and poignant connection to the horrific deaths of the two police officers in... Read more

Ladies and gentlemen: Baby Jesus

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:13 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Scenes from our parish Christmas pageant, held during tonight’s 5 p.m. Mass. Kudos to little Madison James, who portrayed the Baby Jesus with subtlety, nuance, humility and panache—and no crying. Read more

Lest we forget: Christmas in the “Caliphate” of Iraq—UPDATED

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:13 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From Al Arabiya News: After a year of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria purging Christian minorities from its self-declared caliphate, Iraqi and Syrian Christians are facing muted celebrations this Christmas. “Talk of Christmas and Christian occasions is forbidden under ISIS,” said Sulaiman Youssef, a Syrian researcher on minorities. “The group has destroyed, torched and looted all churches, and barred any display of Christian faith. They also forced the hijab and Islamic way of dress on Christian women, and... Read more

Window pains: stained glass industry disappearing

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:13 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The Wall Street Journal: After a couple of millennia of sustained popularity, the stained-glass industry is showing serious cracks. Declining church attendance is playing a role, as is the growth of nondenominational congregations like Wave that pine for a more modern aesthetic. Even churches that want stained glass are increasingly evaluating whether it fits in the budget. “There’s a cost factor: Can you really afford a $100,000 window?” says Steve Fridsma, principal architect at Elevate Studio, of Grand Rapids,... Read more

The benefits of believing in Santa Claus

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 4:13 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

The headline in The Washington Post: Believing in Santa Claus could help your kids develop a cure for cancer. To wit: Tonight, Santa Claus will consume the minds of many children across the world. Many parents’ thoughts also drift there, but for different reasons. Parents of young children wonder whether they should promote the myth of the jolly old man in the red suit, while parents of older children wonder what they’re going to say when their child asks for... Read more