From my parish tonight: the altar servers pictured below took part in every single liturgy of the Triduum, from the Mass of the Lord’s Supper Thursday night to the Easter Vigil Saturday. Five liturgies in three days. Kudos to one and all, especially the ringleader, David James (the proud fellow on the left, beaming). I’m in the back somewhere, next to the really tall guy. A lot of them aren’t assigned; they just show up. They do it because they... Read more
Details: The bishop of Damascus reports that the Christian sector of the city is in danger, as a man studying for the permanent diaconate was killed this week by a bomb blast. Benjamin Camil, 35, was on his way home Tuesday morning after distributing food to destitute people when he was killed instantly by the explosive. In a message sent to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Maronite Archbishop Samir Nassar of Damascus called Camil “a martyr” and... Read more
Here we have a brief but beautiful glimpse at a service this morning at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, New York —the facility that forms priests for three dioceses: the Archdiocese of New York, Brooklyn, and Rockville Centre. While the rest of us were practicing with altar servers, rehearsing RCIA rites, sweeping the floor of the sanctuary, figuring out the seating arrangements for the Easter Vigil, finding the right baptismal garments for the right people and straining to master the... Read more
I wondered earlier this week if the new pontiff might have a profound impact on vocations. Fr. Roger Landry in the National Catholic Register is sensing an impact, already, on the priesthood: In his first couple of weeks as Pope, as well as his 14 years in Buenos Aires, Francis has been charting out the trajectory of priestly reshaping. We can focus on seven aspects of this needed renewal. The first is with regard to priestly simplicity. Diocesan priests do... Read more
It will be interesting to see if this actually goes forward as planned—and what the reaction this gets from parents. Details: The administrator of a Catholic high school in New York wrote to his students’ parents this week to explain why a gay couple at the all-boys school is being allowed to attend the junior prom together. Father Edward Salmon, president of McQuaid Jesuit High School in Brighton, explained that the boys “will be welcomed” as a couple, even though he insisted... Read more
Details from AP: The Vatican on Friday (March 29) dismissed criticism of Pope Francis’ decision to wash the feet of two women during a Maundy Thursday Mass at a Rome youth prison. The move has come under fire from Catholic traditionalists who say that the rite is a re-enactment of Jesus washing the feet of the 12 apostles before his death, and thus should be limited only to men. Traditionally, popes have washed the feet of 12 priests during a... Read more
From Vatican Radio: Los Angeles County has one of the highest youth incarceration rates in the country. Up to 90% of the county’s juvenile justice youth are Latino or African American, and up to 70% of incarcerated youth nationally are said to have some kind of disability. After witnessing the tragic lives of so many young people facing life without parole in a juvenile justice system where little rehabilitation takes place and with frighteningly high recidivism rates that continue into... Read more
This is probably one of the most difficult, most challenging, most brutal passages in all of scripture. Here we have details that make the passion tangible and immediate and raw. Here, in St. John’s gospel, we have weapons and torches. We have the thorns. There is the purple cloak. The bitter wine. The poignant moment between Jesus and his mother. Christ’s pierced side. The flowing blood and water. All the details that, together, paint an indelible portrait of the passion... Read more
This is probably one of the most difficult, most challenging, most brutal passages in all of scripture. Here we have details that make the passion tangible and immediate and raw. Here, in St. John’s gospel, we have weapons and torches. We have the thorns. There is the purple cloak. The bitter wine. The poignant moment between Jesus and his mother. Christ’s pierced side. The flowing blood and water. All the details that, together, paint an indelible portrait of the passion... Read more
Two views of Pope Francis, from different perspectives, come to a strikingly similar conclusion. From Deacon Bill Ditewig: I do not write this from some naive expectation that “he will change church teaching,” as some like to say. Rather, it is in the way he is approaching his ministry as Bishop of Rome (his preferred style of self-reference). He is clearly a man of the people, and the people are responding in kind. People who might be complaining that all... Read more
The Deacon's Bench
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