Part of it is to “smile and be merry.” (see the meme!) But there’s some more great advice from Emily Stimpson at CatholicVote, who includes this timeless advice: “Love.” A snip: After writer Andrew Sullivan was diagnosed with AIDS, he was shocked when Pat Buchanan sent him a kind note, saying how very sorry he was to hear the news and promising to remember Andrew in prayer. At that moment, Sullivan came to understand that “Love the sinner, hate the... Read more
From News.va: The preparatory document for next year’s Synod of Bishops on the Family was formally released at a news conference in the Vatican on Tuesday. The synod’s theme is “The pastoral challenges to the Family in the context of Evangelization and it will run from the 5th to the 19th of October 2014. The document gives an overview of Church teaching on the family and spells out in a frank manner the many daunting challenges facing the family in today’s society,... Read more
From the Christian Post: A preview of a successfully crowd-funded musical that sets the story of Jesus’ life to Britney Spears music will play in New York City on November 7. Directed by recent Columbia University grad, Pat Blute, SPEARS will feature the singer’s music without any additional dialogue or lyrical edits. Blute said that he is mixing up the words and images of Spears and Christ in order to grab the attention of his generation, which he believes is both hurting... Read more
That’s the gist of his homily from this morning: At the heart of Christianity is an invitation to the Lord’s feast. That was Pope Francis’ message at Mass this morning at the Casa Santa Marta. The Pope said that the Church is “not only for good people;” the invitation to be a part of it concerns everyone. And he added that, at the Lord’s feast we must “participate fully” and with everyone; we can’t pick and choose. Christians, he said,... Read more
Details, from The New York Times: A group of Roman Catholic scholars has called on Catholic schools to ignore the new educational standards known as the Common Core, a set of guidelines on what students should know and be able to do from kindergarten through 12th grade, opening a front with parallels to the fight over using the guidelines in public schools. In a letter to the nation’s bishops last month, the group, including more than 100 professors and university administrators, argued that... Read more
This wonderful testimony has now gone viral. If you haven’t read it yet, take a moment, read, and share it. It’s superb. This just might find its way into my next wedding homily. From Seth Adam Smith: Having been married only a year and a half, I’ve recently come to the conclusion that marriage isn’t for me. Now before you start making assumptions, keep reading. I met my wife in high school when we were 15 years old. We were... Read more
Images like this were popping up on social media yesterday: The story: The person registered on the marathon website with that bib number is Makoto Takeuchi from Chiba, Japan. ESPN reporter Michele Steele tweeted that he was participating for a higher purpose, as a sign on the back of the cross declared that he was running for victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. This isn’t Jesus’ first marathon. Read more. Read more
Details: Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine) announced he’s gay in an Op-Ed article published by Maine newspapers Monday, making him the seventh openly gay member of Congress. The five-term representative, currently running for governor, said that he was prompted to speak out by “whisper campaigns” alleging that he was gay. “Allow me to save them the trouble with a simple, honest answer. ‘Yes I am. But why should it matter?’” Michaud wrote. “That may seem like a big announcement to some people. For me,... Read more
Really? REALLY? Two first impressions: It’s German. And you would be hard-pressed to find anyone in the congregation under the age of 50. Curiously, the celebrants aren’t wearing chasubles, just albs and stoles. Which makes me wonder whether it is, in fact, a Mass, or some other liturgy (though it does indeed look like a consecration taking place…) Take a look. This evidently occurred last December. UPDATE: A reader writes: I’m just a musician who dabbles in liturgy and German,... Read more
Here you go: the epic musical re-interpreted as a lesson in sharing cookies. Read more
Select your answer to see how you score.
The Deacon's Bench
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In