Let there be lights: Australian breaks record for Christmas lights

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:42 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Wow: A dad in Australia has claimed the Guinness World Record title for the largest image made of LED lights with a mesmerizing display featuring almost 1.2 million lights. The Christmas scene, masterminded by lawyer David Richards and built with the help of volunteers, features 1,194,380 lights that give the illusion of three interconnected wrapped gifts, set to a backdrop of more lights, according to Guinness World Records. It also features music, “giant bows and strings of cables.” The light show... Read more

Will you be chanting the Christmas Proclamation?

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:42 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

A deacon reader asked me if I had a copy of this lying around, and I was able to find this very good version (at the bottom of the page.) This chant isn’t mandatory and could even be read; unlike The Exsultet, the rubrics don’t even mention the deacon doing it. But this exquisite proclamation can set a beautiful, mystical tone for the Christmas celebration. Some background: This Proclamation of the Birth of Christ comes from the Roman Martyrology, the official listing of... Read more

And a little child shall lead them: new movie depicts God as a boy

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:42 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From The New York Times: Ridley Scott’s 3-D “Exodus: Gods and Kings” has computer-generated plagues, waves and tornadoes. It has boat-chomping crocodiles, 400,000 digitally rendered Hebrew slaves and a sword-wielding Christian Bale as a “Gladiator”-like Moses. But God may still steal the show. “Exodus,” to be released on Dec. 12, preserves the awful severity of the Old Testament God — one who commands and demands — and does it all within the persona of a willful child. Mr. Scott uses an... Read more

Pope visits mosque, offers moment of “silent adoration”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:42 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: Pope Francis has arrived in Istanbul for the second leg of his three-day visit to Turkey, in a richly-symbolic trip. Like his predecessor, he prayed at the Blue Mosque, which was his first stop, before visiting the Hagia Sophia. The Pope was welcomed by Turkish authorities and GreekOrthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Atatürk Airport at 10.29 a.m. on Nov 29. “Your Holiness, beloved brother in Christ, we welcome you with great joy, esteem and love. Blessed is he who comes in the name... Read more

Pope Francis: “It’s all about going out and meeting God who lives with the poor”

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:42 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From La Stampa: Francis was honest from the start: “I don’t want to give a formal speech, partly because I want to be spontaneous and partly because I haven’t had time to prepare any speeches other than those for Europe and Turkey.” The Pope said this during this morning’s audience with cardinals and bishops who attended the International Pastoral Congress on the World’s Big Cities held in Barcelona from 24 to 26 November. “I want to speak to you from... Read more

Brazilian bishop calls for ordination of married “elders” to solve priest shortage in his country

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:42 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Details: The largest Roman Catholic geographical district in Brazil, located deep in the Amazon along the Xingu River, has more than 800 Catholic congregations but only 27 priests. Bishop Erwin Krautler, prelate of Xingu (pronounced Shin-goo), has argued that the situation calls for drastic measures. In April, he took his case to the Vatican, where he met with Pope Francis. Recently, Krautler and Cardinal Claudio Hummes, a friend of Pope Francis, presented the idea of ordaining married community elders to... Read more

Growing number of clergy vow not to perform any civil marriages

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:42 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

From RNS: What’s the surest way conservative pastors can avoid any government mandate to perform same-sex marriages? According to one prominent religious journal and a growing number of ministers, the answer is not to perform any civil marriages at all. First Things, a conservative religious publication, has launched a movement encouraging pastors to refuse to perform marriages as representatives of the state. A signing statement called “The Marriage Pledge” has been posted to the journal’s website, where ministers can affix... Read more

Boom: Arizona town expands Catholic church, Masses filled to capacity

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:42 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

A reminder that there are places in the country where the faith is booming: Gilbert is growing, and so is St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church. The town’s second-largest Catholic church recently completed a 7,000-square-foot building with a 90-seat adoration chapel and a permanent office at a cost of $1.5 million. Father Will Schmid said that the office and the chapel were necessary to make more room and provide more facilities to the community. During his tenure, which began in 2012,... Read more

Thanksgiving Mass in Maryland

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:42 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

We dropped by a nearby parish in Rockville, Maryland for Mass this morning: St. Mary’s. Twenty eight years ago, we were married in the tiny chapel next door. Today, we worshipped in the more modern parish church. The newer church—often known by locals as “the spaceship”— was dedicated in 1967. The interior has a decidedly post-Vatican II feel to it, along with some colorful stained glass windows depicting biblical scenes from the life of Mary. The window below depicts the Nativity. The... Read more

Where did the phrase “Black Friday” originate? You might be surprised

Last updated on: September 30, 2016 at 3:42 pm By Deacon Greg Kandra

Incredibly, you can spend hours watching TV or reading online, hearing endlessly about “Black Friday” deals and sales and specials, but with barely a word that mentions Thanksgiving. Like so many other occasions, you might never know the reason for the season. The origin of the phrase “Black Friday” is itself clouded in obscurity. I asked my wife if she had any idea why it’s called that and she admitted she didn’t have a clue. Even those who profess to know... Read more