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The Deacon's Bench

Some of you may remember my writing about Deacon Jim Hynes, my deacon classmate (and fellow Disney fanatic) who died tragically last year after a brief but valiant battle with cancer. They’ve just put a stone at his grave, and his widow Kathleen sent me the picture below. It depicts the emblem that Jim designed…

For those who have been clamoring for it, relax. Complete episodes of “Currents” are now archived at our YouTube channel. They go up the day after they air. Monday’s show is below. (You can also find other episodes of other shows from the NET at the YouTube link. Surf around. You might be surprised at…

More and more, people are learning to get by with less and less, and writer Pico Iyer has shared some of his thoughts on his own self-imposed austerity in this week’s New York Times: Though I knew that poverty certainly didn’t buy happiness, I wasn’t convinced that money did either. So — as post-1960s cliché…

Shuffle over to The Anchoress, who has posted today’s Morning Prayer podcast.

Here’s something altogether different: reflections of a Baptist preacher, who visited an Orthodox church with his family while on sabbatical, and was absolutely stunned: Saint Anthony the Great isn’t just old school. It’s “styli and wax tablets” old school. We arrived ten minutes early for worship and the room was already filled with people lighting…

News items like this one.

As is its custom, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is celebrating the upcoming ordination of nine new deacons by also saluting the candidates’ wives, who study by their sides during formation. What parishes get, it seems, is a two-for-one deal. The Tidings has a write-up with brief biographies of the couples. Blessings and prayers to…

Tough economic times — and a discernible drop in readership — is forcing one of America’s oldest and most familiar Catholic publishing houses to make some significant changes: The St. Anthony Messenger Press, the Cincinnati-based national provider of inspirational and educational Roman Catholic spirituality resources, announced Monday it is redefining its strategy and reducing staffing.…

Here’s an interesting bit of news, largely overlooked by the mainstream press yesterday: President Obama has announced that Alexia Kelley, founder of the antiabortion group Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, will serve as the director of the Health and Human Services Department’s Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, arousing the ire of some…

God bless my staff, which gave me this cake at the end of the day — thus offering further proof that bakeries are required by law to hire only people who cannot spell. Thank you, gang, for making my birthday so happy and blessed.
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