A 54-year-old homeless ex-convict has been arrested in Phoenix, accused of the murder of a priest and the wounding of a second priest. KPHO, the local CBS affiliate, reports that Gary Moran, a homeless man with an extensive criminal record, was arrested Sunday night and jailed on suspicion of shooting the Rev. Kenneth Walker multiple times at Mother of Mercy Mission Catholic Church in south Phoenix on Wednesday. Moran was released from prison just two months ago, after serving nine... Read more
Brooks Hamby, salutatorian of his high school class, seems destined for greatness. He’s a mock-trial star and a cross-country runner. In summer 2013, sponsored by California Senator Barbara Boxer, he was selected to serve as a U.S. Senate Page in Washington DC. And now, the student at Brawley Union High School in Brawley, California, can claim another badge of honor: Fearless Christian. When Hamby’s high school administration rejected the first three drafts of his commencement speech, insisting that he... Read more
Well, I didn’t see that coming! Pope Francis has appointed three new auxiliary bishops for New York. The three auxiliary bishops will assist Cardinal Timothy Dolan in his responsibilities serving Catholics in America’s second largest archdiocese. The surprise announcement was made today in Rome and in Washington. According to a press release from the Archdiocese of New York: Bishop-elect John Jenik, 70, currently the pastor of Our Lady of Refuge Parish in the Bronx, Bishop-elect John O’Hara, 68, currently directing... Read more
In 1896, Pope Leo XIII became the first pope ever to be captured on film. Clearly, His Holiness did not understand the film industry. You can see him respond to an off-screen reminder that this is not a still-life photo, but a real moving picture. Back and forth, he waves his hand stiffly in the air–playing for the camera. * * * * * Some years ago, while serving as conference... Read more
“We have grown far too attached to our own knowledge, our technology, and our pleasures–such that we have forgotten God and what He has done for us.” Fr. Kenneth Walker, FSSP On June 11, 29-year-old Father Kenneth Walker, a priest of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP), was killed in what is believed to be a burglary. Father Joseph Terra, 56, who was with Father Walker at the rectory of the FSSP’s Mater Misericordia Mission, was also... Read more
Who was Theophilus? And why does the evangelist Luke talk about him so much? Theophilus’ name came up last week, in the first reading for the Feast of the Ascension. In the introduction to the Acts of the Apostles, which is read for the Ascension, Luke writes: In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commandment through the... Read more
Feeling hungry? How about a St. Honoré cake? * * * * * The St. Honoré cake is named for St. Honoré, the patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs. He lived in the sixth century and was the bishop of Amiens, in northern France. Check it out: This classic French dessert starts with a circle of puff pastry at its base, with a ring of pâte à choux (a light pastry dough) piped... Read more
Bryan Fischer has a message for Pope Francis. The Holy Father should not, according to Fischer, have allowed Muslim prayers to come from the Vatican because they were praying to a “demon god.” Fischer, radio host and director of issues analysis for the ultra-right wing American Family Association, was criticizing the Pope’s historic outreach to Israeli President Shimon Perez and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, who were invited to pray and speak for peace at the Vatican. * *... Read more
A few weeks ago, I and a crowd of fans, shoppers and curious onlookers spent a chilly Sunday afternoon touring Elmore Leonard’s house– browsing his bookshelves, checking out worn holiday decorations in the basement and rusty hand tools in the garage, fingering a favorite coffee mug. Elmore “Dutch” Leonard died in August 2013 at the age of 87, following a stroke. In March 2014, his heirs brought in a management company to hold an Estate Sale, parting with the trinkets... Read more
On June 9, the Catholic Church celebrates the memorial of St. Ephrem, poet, teacher, orator and defender of the faith. St. Ephrem was a deacon, and was the only Syrian to be named a doctor of the Church. He is patron of spiritual directors and spiritual leaders. As he neared the end of his life, the holy man wrote in The Testament of St. Ephrem, “Lay me not with sweet spices, For this honor avails me not, Nor yet use... Read more
Seasons of Grace
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