From Vatican Radio: “The Joy of the Gospel” is the title Pope Francis has chosen for this first major document of his pontificate, putting down in print the joyous spirit of encounter with Christ that characterizes every public appearance he has made so far. The man who has constantly kept the media’s attention with his desire to embrace and share his faith with everyone he meets, now urges usto do exactly the same. To “recover the original freshness of the Gospel”,... Read more
From Reuters: The popularity of Pope Francis, who became pontiff in March, has failed to draw more U.S. Catholics to attend Mass, according to a Pew Research Center poll released on Monday. While media reports indicate a significant rise in church attendance in some European countries in recent months, the United States saw a slight decrease in Mass attendance since April compared with last year, the survey found. Since April, 39 percent of U.S. Catholics report attending mass at least... Read more
Details from AP: Russian President Vladimir Putin showed off his religious side during a visit Monday to the Vatican, stopping to cross himself and kiss an icon of the Madonna that he gave to Pope Francis. But Moscow’s improving relations with the Vatican went only so far: Putin didn’t invite Francis to visit. The Vatican said Monday that ecumenical relations between the Catholic and Orthodox churches weren’t really discussed during the 35-minute discussion between Putin and Francis in the pope’s... Read more
CNS takes note of an interesting papal characteristic: nagging. To wit: When Pope Francis mills through the crowds, especially during a Wednesday general audience, people notice his warmth and tenderness, whether he’s caressing a baby, comforting an older person or hugging someone with a disability. But he also has a “nagging” side, a playful side and no-nonsense side to him where he knows exactly how to handle any situation. Check out the CNS blog for some great examples, including the... Read more
From The Minneapolis Star Tribune: Dark-haired young men started arriving about 12:30 p.m., piling their backpacks and coats in the narrow hallway. One by one, they slipped off their shoes and darted into an “ablution station” for ritual washing. Then they filed silently into room 302 of Loras Hall. For the first time in its 128-year history, the University of St. Thomas has its own Islamic prayer rooms, as well as ritual washing stations for observant Muslims. The prayer rooms,... Read more
From Bridgewater, Massachusetts: After the group of fifth-grade football players from Massachusetts found out their 6-year-old water boy was being teased for his attire and speech, they played great defense and showed him their support. As ABC affiliate WCVB reports , Danny is a first-grader in Bridgewater, Mass. He has a small speech impediment developed after a brain hemorrhage he had shortly after he was born. And he’s the fiercely loved water boy for the fifth-grade football team. His fifth-grade... Read more
Details, from The Arlington Catholic Herald: Even though data show that 38 percent of U.S. Catholics are Hispanic, ministers face a worrying trend: The vast majority of Hispanics are married by a justice of the peace or not married at all. The reasons range from fear of compromising their legal status, to notions of “machismo” or feminism, to a lack of religious education. Though the number of unmarried Hispanic couples is most noticeable on the parish level, measuring this trend... Read more
My parish is hosting the 25th Annual Forest Hills Interfaith Thanksgiving Service this afternoon. I’ve been asked to preach. Here’s a draft of my remarks. + As I was preparing my remarks for today, I stumbled on an interesting essay, by Presbyterian minister Henry Brinton in Fairfax, Virginia. Taking note of all the stores being open on Thanksgiving – including, for the first time, Macy’s—Rev. Brinton worried that we might be losing sight of what this holiday means, that it... Read more
This popped up in my Facebook feed and I thought it worth sharing here. It offers another view of the diaconate, from another tradition: The Deacon is the third and lowest degree of the major orders of clergy in the Orthodox Church, following the bishop and the presbyter. The word deacon (in Greek διάκονος) means server and originally it referred to a person who waited on tables. In the Orthodox Church, the diaconate is not just a step to priesthood, many deacons... Read more
Here’s an interesting update on a story I posted on The Bench back in January: Six Catholic couples from South Dakota and Minnesota have purchased a 108-bedroom rural monastery and now hope to raise enough money to keep it open as a quiet place of renewal. Blue Cloud Abbey near Marvin in northeast South Dakota, just miles from the Minnesota border, housed Benedictine monks from 1950 until it closed in May 2012. The remaining 14 residents, most of them aging,... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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