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The Deacon's Bench

Remember that ad? This sweet video below gives new meaning to it — and it will really make you smile. Enjoy.

A soulful hymn for a Sunday morning. This glorious old spiritual will be sung by our choir later today — a song of consolation and restoration for all who are hurting, for any reason, in any place… There is a balm in Gilead To make the wounded whole… 

For most of us, by this time, the new year is old hat. We’ve gotten the hang of writing “2010” on our checks. We’ve taken down the Christmas lights and thrown out the fruitcake and added the name “Jenny Craig” to our vocabulary. But in the gospel this Sunday, the newness hasn’t worn off. The…

“All I ask of you, especially young people … is one thing. Please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism — it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will…

“It was a new thing for everybody. No one would call you ‘Deacon.’ Now it’s like it’s your first name.” — Deacon Silvio Mayo, recalling his ordination in 1976, as Salt Lake City prepares to ordain 21 new deacons today. Ad multos annos! You can read more about them here. Keep them in your prayers!

The rising star of the Oakland A’s announced yesterday that he’s quitting baseball to begin studies for the priesthood: The A’s prized prospect exited the season with a head-turning presence, accompanied by a bat that produced 31 home runs and a speedy 6-foot-2 frame that stole 40 bases in Class A ball — making him…

Longtime readers know of my affection for and devotion to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, the Trappist house outside Atlanta. Flannery O’Connor was a frequent visitor, and Dorothy Day was known to drop by when she was in the area. I have many friends there among the monks, and have visited there several times…

God of perfect peace, Violence and cruelty can have no part with you. May those who are at peace with one another hold fast to the good will that unites them; may those who are enemies forget their hatred and be healed. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, Who lives and…

Earlier in the week, I posted the story about bible verses being engraved on some weapons used by the U.S. military. But now, that’s about to change: A Michigan military contractor said Thursday (Jan. 21) it will remove encoded scripture references on weapons it builds for U.S. military after a firestorm of complaints arose from…

With another anniversary of Roe v. Wade come more questions about what can be done to stop abortion. This provocative essay by Sr. Bernadette M. Reiss, fsp asks questions some of us may not have considered: How can the presentation of the Church’s teaching be balanced so that women would be more likely to come…
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