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The Deacon's Bench

God’s ways are not our own — and tragedies like this one can only serve to deepen the sense of mystery that surrounds His plan. Take, and read, and pray: Fifth-grader Christopher Rodriguez sat down Thursday at his piano for his weekly lesson, arched his fingers over the keys and began to play. Across the…

Anyone who’s driven through southern California knows the familiar bright signs of Carl’s Jr. Hamburgers. They’re almost as ubiquitous as McDonald’s. But word came today that the founder of that fast food empire — a devout Catholic, to boot — has died. The LA Times reports: Carl Karcher, who parlayed a single hot dog pushcart…

Here’s a riveting story, from the Hartford Courant: a first person account of what it is like to have been home-schooled. It’s part of the Courant’s “I Am…” series, complete with a short video: There are a lot of misconceptions about home-schooling. We’re not crazy. We don’t do these things because we’re anti-social. We do…

Looking for a quick (very quick) spiritual pick-me-up? A church in Roanoke, Virginia is trying out an idea: short services, with short sermons. Very short. This article on the church comes from The Roanoke Times: The hereafter is an eternity, but sermons must be much shorter than that at Greene Memorial United Methodist Church’s Wednesday…

The candidate’s Catholic boosters have their very own blogsite now. McCain’s people don’t have a Catholic website, but his campaign did announce the involvement of several prominent national Catholics last month. For what it’s worth, there’s also a splinter group of Catholics in Utah — yes, Utah — supporting Barack Obama. I haven’t found anything…

President Bush with a group of nuns during a visit to the Church of the Beatification on the Mount of the Beatitudes in Israel, on Friday January 11. Photo by: David Furst, AP

Following custom, Pope Benedict performed several baptisms today. But he broke with recent custom in at least one significant way, according to this report: Pope Benedict XVI baptized 13 babies in the Sistine Chapel during a Sunday Mass celebrated at the altar at the foot of Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” wall fresco. In a departure from…

A fitting clip for Sunday’s feast of the Baptism of Jesus: Zeffirelli’s beautiful depiction of that event from his landmark television epic, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Which leads me to wonder: whatever happened to Robert Powell??

How can the church appeal to the young? That’s a question on a lot of minds these days, and this piece from the Cleveland Plain Dealer looks at a few answers: There are a lot of differences between the late Sunday afternoon Mass at St. Ambrose Catholic Church and the regular morning Masses throughout the…

A friend sent this item my way with the question: “Do you think he’ll convert after he leaves office?” I suppose anything is possible. It does seem that the president enjoys hanging out with nuns and priests and assorted Catholics, doesn’t it? Read on: Immersed for two days in the intense and arcane world of…
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