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The Deacon's Bench

Not long ago I read about a woman whose life would have been great material for the National Enquirer. Or, at least, Page Six. She had led a colorful life when she was young. She’d had several lovers – some of them famous – and lived with a couple of other men for long periods…

As a newly ordained clergyman who happens to be married, I find the challenge of balancing family, faith and work sometimes daunting. I told someone this week that I feel like the plate spinner on the “Ed Sullivan Show”: trying to keep all the plates on their wobbly poles without anything smashing to the floor.…

On the Left Coast, a fresh tide of new permanent deacons has just washed ashore — as reported, providentially, in The Tidings, the paper for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. “Seven reputable men” were ordained, echoing the very first diaconate class 2000 years ago. Roger Cardinal Mahony presided at the mass concelebrated by Auxiliary Bishops…

Okay. Just one more incredible YouTube from “Britain’s Got Talent.” Hat tip to my BFF The Anchoress, who e-mailed this to me with the note: “Competition for Paul Potts.” She’s right. Click below and watch something miraculous unfold: St. Paul thrown from his horse can hardly compare with what happens to Simon Cowel in about…

Someone has taken the time and trouble to post this on YouTube: a film of most of the Easter mass from 1941, at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Chicago. Narration by Fulton Sheen. And, if I’m not mistaken, you may see a deacon or two (transitional, ‘natch) hovering around the altar. It’s a fascinating…

A pastor in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Rev. Rona Tyndall, has penned a thoughtful op-ed piece for the local paper about preaching with more than just words: St. Francis is quoted as having once said, “Preach the gospel continuously, using words if necessary.” What gift has the Holy Spirit bestowed upon you, to enable you to be…

I don’t know many priests who really enjoy doing weddings. Many of my brother clerics have adapted a contemporary word to describe the blushing young woman at the center of it all: “Bridezilla.” A lot of these women come to meet the priest (or, increasingly, deacon) armed with swatches, fabrics, binders of ideas and –…

On Friday June 15th, the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I’ll be delivering the homily at an 8th grade graduation. I’ve never preached to a group of 13-year-olds before. But here’s a draft of my homily. I’ve never had a sheep, so I can’t tell you what it’s like to lose one.…

It’s rare to find a Catholic homily bristling with fire and brimstone. But a bishop in Illinois evidently gave one a few weeks back: “In the face of a pagan and utterly corrupt culture, in the face of 35 or 40 years of relentless hostility from a degraded mass media, with the frequent cooperation of…

This popped up on Andrew Sullivan’s blog yesterday, and it’s too good not to share. There is a potent sermon in here. Really. Grab a box of Kleenex and just watch. UPDATE: My pal The Anchoress has posted a link with an update on Paul Potts. It doesn’t get much better than this, does it?
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