Inspiration Faith & Prayer Health & Wellness Entertainment Love & Family
Newsletters Special Offers

The Deacon's Bench

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oilCrushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;And wears man’s smudge and shares…

That’s one of Bill Geist’s “50 Ways to Tell You’re 50.” I’m ahead of the game. I was doing that at 48. Happy birthday to me. 🙂

It’s something that doesn’t happen all that often, but it just did in Washington, DC: a man ordained to the priesthood received his fifth sacrament at one church. From the Catholic Standard: For Father Andrew Davy, it seemed only fitting to be ordained a priest at the same parish where earlier in his life he…

The 2009 Official Catholic Directory is out, and the numbers are in: The number of patients served in Catholic hospitals and the number of clients assisted by Catholic charitable agencies went up. Fewer baptisms, first Communions, confirmations and marriages were performed in Catholic churches last year. The number of Catholic parishes and elementary schools in…

That’s “D” for deacons. In addition to the ordination yesterday of nine men in Gary, Indiana, St. Louis also saw several ordinations: Bishop Robert Hermann ordained 11 men to the Order of the Permanent Diaconate at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 6, at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, Lindell Boulevard and Newstead Avenue in the…

What does a priest do when he’s unexpectedly facing the final days of his life? This story from the Boston Globe offers an answer — and a lesson: Father Field is having one of his good days. It’s Pentecost Sunday – the birthday of the Christian church – and the pews are packed. The parishioners…

Some happy news for a Sunday morning: Indiana has nine shiny new deacons for the Diocese of Gary: Many are called. Few answer. Dennis Guernsey jokes he’s a little deaf, but God’s call came loud and clear in mid-life. “I feel ready,” said the 55-year-old former Marine, dressed in the light cream vestments and gold…

Signs carried by demonstrators near the Kansas funeral of slain abortion doctor George Tiller. PHOTO: by Charlie Reidel/AP

One of the movies that always pops up on TV during an election year is “The Candidate,” with Robert Redford. I saw it years ago, and caught it again on cable last fall. It’s the story of a young, idealistic lawyer in California who is persuaded to run for the Senate. As the movie unfolds,…

Some interesting news from the heartland today: After a five year drought where the Grand Island Catholic Diocese did not ordain a single new priest, Friday they ordained three — including the state’s first married priest. It was with nervous anticipation, wedding day jitters almost that Father Sidney Bruggeman was ordained as a Catholic priest.…
archives most recent
search this blog
More from Beliefnet and our partners