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The Deacon's Bench

I stumbled on this awesome little movie trailer over at Happy Catholic — a big fat hat tip for this one, Jules! — and now I have to agree: this could be a wonderful movie. I’m hoping so, anyway. Take a look. Or visit the official website right here. The movie opens in August. Henry…

Over at Beliefnet, Rod Dreher this weekend blogged about an ongoing conversation with an old friend of his, an ex-priest. Dreher himself is a convert to Catholicism, who left the Church after the scandals of ’02, and is now in the Orthodox Church. So he has, you might say, issues. But in a letter, his…

That is how this article describes the experience of one newly ordained deacon, who says his spiritual journey was something like Paul on the road to Damascus. It’s a great yarn, from the Grand Forks Herald: His spiritual re-awakening in the mid-1990s, sparked by an evangelical men’s movement, nearly led Stephen Thomas to leave the…

An alert reader sent me word that the great Randy Pauschwas featured this weekend at the graduation ceremony at Carnegie Mellon. The local press takes note: The crowd rained a second standing ovation warmly on Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon computer science professor whose inspirational book, “The Last Lecture,” has attracted worldwide attention. Dr. Pausch,…

I wish I had a dime for every e-mail I’ve received that has started with those six words. That’s usually followed by a request for more information. How long do you study? Can I keep my job? Do you get paid? (Ha. That one always cracks me up.) There are precious few resources on the…

My father-in-law sent this to me and it slays me every time. I don’t know what’s funnier: watching Tim Conway, or watching Harvey Korman’s reactions. Enjoy. And keep Kleenex handy. You’ll be in tears by the end.

Astonishing stories don’t get more astonishing than this one, from Rod Dreher’s column in the Dallas Morning News: On the afternoon of May 4, Jessica Johnson Palmer took her three children to a park to meet her former boyfriend. According to the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, the boyfriend and his current girlfriend lured…

Where were you on May 19, 2007? This is where I was: face down, on the floor of a basilica in Brooklyn. It was one year ago that I was ordained to the order of deacon. Congratulations and blessings to all my brother deacons. Ad Multos Annos! I still can’t believe the wonders and graces…

I can’t quite believe it, but it was one year ago this weekend that I was ordained a deacon. Incredibly, I’m still here. Periodically, people ask me, “What is your favorite part of being a deacon?” Well, first, I think, is preaching. I’m fortunate to have a lot of opportunities to do that here. But…

An astute writer over at the Washington Post’s On Faith blog has taken a hard look at the Catholic League, and the recent dust-up over John Hagee. The writer is, in a word, skeptical: The Catholic League is not the “All Catholic” League. It is not official Catholicism: still less does it speak for each…
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