Here’s an early taste of Christmas for you. A few eyebrows were raised yesterday when it was announced that punk icon Patti Smith would be singing at the annual Vatican Christmas concert. But it turns out this isn’t her first appearance there. She sang last year. Among other things, she offered her interpretation of “O Holy Night”—which, as you’ll see below, is unexpectedly moving. It’s prayerful, aching, but almost serene—and the “tau” cross around her neck is a lovely Franciscan... Read more
“The Samaritan” by Eric Fischl The gospel this Sunday is familiar to a lot of us. We tend to think it’s all about ability, or talent — what special gifts God has given you. Certainly, that’s a big part of it. But I think there is more to the parable of the talents than just a lesson in using your ability to sing or dance or juggle. First, it’s important to remember that in Jesus’s day a talent was something... Read more
The leader of Jordan gave an interview to Vatican Radio: “To lose Christianity from the birthplace of Christianity” in the Middle East “would be to lose the richness of the tapestry of this pluralist region:” that’s according to Jordan’s Prince El Hassan bin Talal who granted an exclusive interview to Vatican Radio’s Tracey McClure at the Royal Palace in Amman. Speaking of Islamic State militants (Daesh in Arabic) as the “cold-hearted, dead hearted human beings in name only” who are killing... Read more
What we have come to, via the BBC: After finalising a painful divorce Wendy Lewis decided there was only one way to celebrate – by blasting her wedding dress with a machine gun. To get the job done the newly divorced American gathered her female friends – and the dress – and flew to Las Vegas, Nevada for a long weekend. Upon arrival in Vegas the trip to a shooting range was arranged by a small firm at the... Read more
He will be profiled this Sunday, and CBS News has posted a preview: Meantime, NCR has this tidbit: Boston Cardinal Seán O’Malley, a key advisor to Pope Francis, has said the pontiff recognizes the need to address the situation in Kansas City, Mo., where Bishop Robert Finn was found guilty in 2012 of a criminal misdemeanor count of shielding a priest who was a threat to children. Speaking in a forthcoming interview with the U.S. television program 60 Minutes, O’Malley... Read more
With those words, blogger Elizabeth Westhoff offers some insight into the ancient order to which Cardinal Raymond Burke has been assigned: In the more anxious circles of the Catholic Church, the transfer is being examined and dissected in any number of ways. In the more uncharitable circles of the Church, the transfer is being celebrated with mocking commentary about His Eminence and the Order of Malta. Internal politics of the Church aside for a moment, the Cardinal’s new position is... Read more
From Huffington Post: Sources close to Patti Smith confirmed to The Huffington Post that she will be performing at the Holy See’s Christmas concert this year. The iconic rock star is one of 18 acts scheduled to take the stage at the Conciliation Auditorium in Rome on Dec. 13 for the Vatican’s annual Concerto di Natale. Anthony DeCurtis, Contributing Editor at Rolling Stone, who is working on a biography of Lou Reed, said the invitation made sense: “The person who did... Read more
Details from Vatican Radio: Actions speak louder than words, particularly in transmitting the faith to children and young people today, the so-called ‘digital natives’. If we want to help them experience “truth and love” then we adults must lead by example, said Pope Francis at morning Mass. It was a very special celebration in the Santa Marta Chapel Friday, with the pews filled with children from a local Roman parish. After an initial awkwardness, the children overcame their shyness to... Read more
Details: Halifax poet, musician and actor Tanya Davis is turning to the Catholic Church for her next project. On Saturday night, Davis will perform what she is calling a “poetic, probing and playful” rendition of the liturgy. Davis grew up in the Catholic Church, but left it long ago. “What stayed with me is this sort of search for meaning and curiosity about faith and religion and why people gather, and how it works and where it fails us,” she... Read more
Remarkable: “Father, I can’t go to the restaurant with you because I smell.” Franco is a homeless man from Sardinia, he has a bristly grey beard and weather-beaten skin. At the beginning of October, he was the one who explained to a bishop, who invited him to dinner to celebrate his birthday, what the biggest need for the homeless in Rome is. “Here no one starves to death, you can find a sandwich every day. But there is no place... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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