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The Deacon's Bench

” As Moses taught in the Shema (cf. Dt 6:5; Lev 19:34) – and as Jesus reaffirms in the Gospel (cf. Mk 12:19-31), all of the Commandments are summed up in the love of God and loving-kindness towards one’s neighbour. This Rule urges Jews and Christians to exercise, in our time, a special generosity towards…

As the crisis in Haiti deepens, another crisis in this predominantly Catholic country may well turn out to be spiritual. From the Los Angeles Times: The woman wailed outside the ruins of the Notre Dame Cathedral of Port-au-Prince, the iconic Roman Catholic church that symbolized Haiti’s religious fervor. “This is what God did!” she cried…

Salt Lake City is preparing to ordain a new class of deacons, the first in several years: Twenty-one men will follow the steps of Saint Stephen when they are ordained as permanent deacons by the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake next week. St. Stephen, “a man full of faith and of…

With so much of the world gripped by the tragedy in Haiti, and so much seeming impossible to overcome, it might be fruitful to take a moment and witness how one young person did overcome the impossible. A friend sent this my way this afternoon. Take six minutes and watch it and feel something akin…

This news item popped up earlier today: Two Connecticut residents, including a deacon from Southbury, have been rescued from the wreckage after Haiti’s earthquake, the Hartford Courant reported on its Web site Wednesday morning. The executive director of Haitian Ministries for the Diocese of Norwich, Emily Smack, said two of the organization’s staff were pulled…

You never know what you may find when you wander into the bathroom. From the Washington Post: Soon after becoming president of Catholic University, the Very Rev. David M. O’Connell went in search of paper towels in his bathroom cabinet. Something on the bottom shelf caught his eye. Under a pile of junk, he found…

A blog at the New York Times takes note of a cultural curiosity, as the most secular of American cities (though named for a saint) still manages once in a while to show a strain of Catholic fervor: There was no neutral zone for mere spectators. On one side were thousands decked in green, representing…

On our refrigerator at home, there’s a picture that was taken about 10 years ago at the very spot where, tradition tells us, this episode of the gospel took place. The picture shows my wife and me, inside the large church in Cana, in Galilee. We’d gone there on a pilgrimage. Cana today is teeming…

The prayer below was sent to me by a friend. It was composed by Rose Marie Berger, who writes in Sojourners magazine. — Dcn. G. Most Holy Creator God, Lord of heaven and earth, we bring before you today your people of Haiti. It is you who set in motion the stars and seas, you…

After atheists spread around some “No God? No Problem” ads over Christmas, a church in Times Square decided to go on a counter-offensive: Pro-God ads will hit some 1,000 subway cars throughout New York City beginning Friday, announced the New York church sponsoring the campaign. Times Square Church, located in the heart of Times Square…
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