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The Deacon's Bench

There is a remarkable mini-industry that has sprung up on YouTube: home-made music videos crafted from Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.” Clearly, this film has resonated with people, and moved them to create something deeply personal from that interpretation of the life of Christ. The video below is an example: a beautiful meditation…

One of Catholicism’s most insightful observers, John Allen, had some sage words for the faithful recently in Denver. He was invited to speak by his friend, Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput, and brought up an intriguing theme: mega-trends in the Catholic Church. Catholic Online has the write-up, from the Denver Catholic Register: The first mega-trend facing…

A few readers have been wondering just what kicked up the kerfuffle in Belleville, and what exactly Bishop Braxton had done to incur such animosity among his priests. As usual, I turned to the definitive source on episcopal matters, and found a few newsworthy nuggets. He has a very good overview of the situation right…

Wednesday of this week marks what has been known for centuries as Spy Wednesday — traditionally, the day on which Judas spied for an opportunity to betray Jesus. It’s thought to be the day when Christ’s betrayer may have clinched the deal with the high priests. I stumbled on an interesting explanation of the liturgies…

Coming into the Church this Easter? New? Just browsing around? Pull up a chair and stay awhile. And if you have a few free moments, wander over to this terrific blog, Catholic Converts. I stumbled on it when it got a mention in Amy Welborn’s blog — and it looks to be a wonderful and…

As we continue our journey through Holy Week, I got an e-mail from a reader, alerting me to a new and, I think, very interesting voice in the blogosphere. It is aimed at those suffering with cancer — both those who have the disease, and those who love them. It’s called Helping Others With Cancer,…

Our good friends over at Zenit have posted a little something on the Exultet, of which I wrote a at some length a few days ago. Seems someone was curious about where this chant originated — and why it’s sung so often these days by lay people and cantors, instead of priests and deacons. The…

We should live in such a way that in our last hours we will not regret having loved too little. — Chiara Lubich, whose funeral mass was celebrated today in Rome, at St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. I don’t think she could possibly have had this regret in her own life.

A joyful h/t to Jim Martin at the America blog, for pointing out this momentous event: I wanted to celebrate today, March 18, the 50th anniversary of a great epiphany that changed the course of Thomas Merton’s life. After years of feeling “separate” from other men and women (as a result of his choosing to…

The first cardinal from the Lone Star State used an opportunity recently to speak up — and speak out — on television and the media. He spoke in late February at the seventh annual Catholic Television of San Antonio (CTSA) leadership luncheon. This, from Catholic Online and Today’s Catholic: Cardinal Daniel DiNardo served as a…
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