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The Deacon's Bench

Some figures from Catholic News Service offer an interesting snapshot of the new Congress: When the 111th Congress is sworn in Jan. 6, more than a quarter of its members will be Catholics, roughly matching the percentage of Catholics in the U.S. population and consistent with the statistical trends of the past decade. Four years…

If you have five minutes, wander over to The Anchoress to see this astonishing video of avowed atheist Penn Jillette. It may be the best five minutes you spend today. And that’s all I’m going to say about it. Go. Now. Really. What are you waiting for?

I couldn’t help but feel a little surprise — and nostalgia — when I heard an ad for this on the radio today. They still sell these? Now I know what to get my pastor for Christmas!

Shortly before I was ordained, a teacher asked my class if anyone knew the one moment in scripture that was depicted more often in art than any other. Everybody agreed: it must be the nativity. But we were wrong. It’s this moment we encounter in today’s gospel. The Annunciation. Artists have painted it, sculpted it,…

A new book is taking a fresh look at one of the landmark events of the 20th century, and the New York Times’ Peter Steinfels offers a preview: Was the Second Vatican Council, as the cultural historian the Rev. John W. O’Malley proposes, “quite possibly the biggest meeting in the history of the world”? Obviously…

Six days before Christmas, we New Yorkers finally got our first big snow of the season. Below, the Brooklyn Bridge, from the New York Times photographer Michael Nagle.

The short film below by Maureen Cotton is a beautiful glimpse at life in a Franciscan monastery, where they really do live the Prayer of St. Francis. It’s a lovely meditation for a snowy day in Advent. You can also visit the Little Brothers of St. Francis website for more about their life. Ridiculous and…

“I don’t see how any review could really spoil what may be among the most transcendently, eye-poppingly, call-your-friend-ranting-in-the-middle-of-the-night-just-to-go-over-it-one-more-time crazily awful motion pictures ever made. I would tell you to go out and see it for yourself, but you might take that as a recommendation rather than a plea for corroboration. Did I really see what…

You never know what you’ll find around the blogosphere, and one of my recent happy discoveries is a shiny new blog (with an appropriately Celtic green tinge) that belongs to Patrick McNamara, from (surprise!) the Diocese of Brooklyn. Patrick is an archivist for the diocese, and has just launched McNamara’s Blog, a treasure trove of…

“Catholics who get caught up in complaining about how the press or Hollywood treats us are wasting precious airtime and energy, and they sound like every other whining, hurt-feelings group on the planet — crabbed and weak. The gospel message is not contained in any of that. Catholics need to remember that the challenges of…
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