An interesting detail from The New York Times obit on Lauren Bacall: During her romance with [Humphrey] Bogart, she asked him if it mattered to him that she was Jewish. His answer, she later wrote, was “Hell, no — what mattered to him was me, how I thought, how I felt, what kind of person I was, not my religion, he couldn’t care less — why did I even ask?” …Ms. Bacall’s first son, Stephen H. Bogart (named after Bogart’s character... Read more
The Vatican has released a letter from Pope Francis to the Secretary General of the United Nations: The letter condemns the violent persecutions underway in the country, and calls on the international community to act swiftly and decisively to stop the humanitarian disaster currently taking place. Here is the text of the Holy Father’s letter: **************************** His Excellency Mr Ban Ki-moon Secretary General United Nations Organization It is with a heavy and anguished heart that I have been following the... Read more
It’s real and it’s raw: footage of the rescue of Yazidis in Iraq, via CNN. Details: The face of 15-year-old Aziza says it all. Her mouth slightly agape, tears stream down her face as she glances around the inside of a helicopter with confusion in her eyes. She looks completely exhausted, overcome with emotion. She cries the whole flight to safety. The Iraqi air force and fighters with the Kurdish peshmerga carried out a dramatic rescue mission Monday at Mount... Read more
You probably remember when this story caused a stir a few months back. Now, the story behind the story: Our conviction that we needed to become Catholics grew slowly, over a number of years, but the actual decision to take this step came rather late. Our question was: how should we communicate it? It could really not be done over a longer period of time, step by step. That would have caused great speculation and confusion, nationally and internationally in our... Read more
Here is what writer Anne Lamott posted on her Facebook page today about Robin Williams: Here is what is true: a third of the people you adore and admire in the world and in your families have severe mental illness and/or addiction. I sure do. I have both. And you still love me. You help hold me up. I try to help hold you up. Half of the people I love most have both; and so do most of the artists who... Read more
With this topic very much in the news today, it seems a good time to remember that even the holiest of people have suffered from periods of despair. One who suffered was St. John Vianney: St. John Vianney, the famous Cure of the tiny French village of Ars, is most popularly known as the holy and humble priest who spent sixteen to eighteen hours a day hearing confessions and giving advice to long processions of people. He practiced extraordinary penances... Read more
From CNS: The Vatican called on Muslim leaders to condemn the “barbarity” and “unspeakable criminal acts” of Islamic State militants in Iraq, saying a failure to do so would jeopardize the future of interreligious dialogue.“The plight of Christians, Yezidis and other religious and ethnic communities that are numeric minorities in Iraq demands a clear and courageous stance on the part of religious leaders, especially Muslims, those engaged in interfaith dialogue and everyone of goodwill,” said a statement from the Pontifical... Read more
A revealing interview from four years ago, in The Guardian: The film [World’s Greatest Dad] is a devastatingly funny indictment of the modern grief industry, but when I ask Williams if he thinks it’s getting worse, he says mildly, “Well, I think people want it. In a weird way, it’s trying to keep hope alive.” So does he not share the film’s judgment on mawkish sentimentality? “Well, you just try and keep it in perspective; you have to remember the best... Read more
It happened on Friday, August 8th: Bishop Edward J. Burns ordained Ronald Matthews and Michael Monagle to the diaconate. This brings the total number of permanent deacons in the Diocese of Juneau to five — one retired and four active. The bishop wrote about this happy event in his column this week, where he printed his reflection from the night before the ordination at Solemn Vespers: I was so struck by this evening’s reading—it is so powerful and speaks volumes... Read more
That’s just one of the ways suggested here for letting a priest in your life know that you appreciate him. Some other ideas: 1. Pray for Your Priest(s) “The most important thing a parishioner can do for his/her priest is pray for them. We are always praying for someone, even required to offer a Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation on behalf of our parishioners. It’s just good to know that they pray for us everyday.” “A rosary,... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In