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The Deacon's Bench

An alert reader sent this my way.  I don’t know what’s more amazing: that someone actually wrote this (and that it rhymes) or that someone took the time to find pictures and create a video out of it. At any rate: in a few days we’ll be hearing the genealogy of Jesus on Christmas morning.…

The New York Times Magazine this weekend offers a detailed answer, with an in-depth look at a man who is arguably the leading (and most influential) Catholic intellectual in America. A snip: George’s role as an adviser to (these) bishops began more than 20 years ago, when he was a young professor and recent Ph.D.…

You can find lots of intriguing history in this deciphering of the most famous holy day on the Christian calendar. A snip: Around 200 C.E. Tertullian of Carthage reported the calculation that the 14th of Nisan (the day of the crucifixion according to the Gospel of John) in the year Jesus diedc was equivalent to…

A favorite of mine this time of year: “Not That Far From Bethlehem.” The Christian singing trio Point of Grace did the definitive version a few years back, but I like this one, by a group called The Jordans, too.

New York City, early Sunday morning, December 20th, 2009.

To raise awareness of AIDS in Africa, Starbucks on December 7th staged a simultaneous singing of “All You Need is Love,” featuring representatives from more than 150 nations around the world, all chiming in at once. The result is below. Very cool. Check out this link for more about the event, and how you can…

We send ’em. We get ’em. We love ’em. We hate ’em. Christmas letters. You know: the photocopied laundry list of Great Achievements that are folded inside Christmas cards and usually make most of us feel like abject failures. (“Kent finally passed the bar and Millicent is volunteering in Malaysia and Trip may finally have…

Once in a while I like to wonder over to the website for The Responsibility Project, a wonderful undertaking by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. They’re sponsoring a series of short independent films with rich moral lessons. The one below, directed by Ron Shelton (“Bull Durham”) is inspiring, uplifting — and true. Take seven minutes and…

Years ago, when I was working at CBS, they came up with a brilliant advertising campaign for the network. It was so successful, they actually used it for a couple of years. Instead of pushing the idea that this was just a TV network, in a box in your living room, they took a different…

I’m sure the bishop has his reasons for this, but this strikes me as a little heavy-handed: Belleville Catholic Bishop Edward Braxton has set a deadline of this weekend for all parishioners who attend Corpus Christi Church: You must kneel during the high point of the ceremony, the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Braxton sent a…
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