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The Deacon's Bench

A Swiss Guard stands by a crib figurine during Pope Benedict XVI’s weekly general audience inside Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, December 19, 2007. Photo: by Filippo Monteforte/AFP, Getty Images

In some places, Christmas midnight mass is becoming too dangerous — or too disruptive. Is a tradition about to disappear? This item from the UK outlines some of the problems parishes are facing: A growing number of Catholic churches are cancelling midnight mass and holding Christmas Eve services earlier in the evening due to fears…

It sounds as if San Francisco just got an early Christmas gift: a Catholic radio station to herald the good news: At noon on Monday, December 10, Immaculate Heart Radio began broadcasting in San Francisco on 1260 AM. Though already broadcasting in several California cities, Immaculate Heart Radio’s expansion to San Francisco makes it the…

For a quarter century, a Catholic deacon in California has transformed his home into a cosmic light show for Christmas. Now, he’s at it again: It’s one thing to get the ladder out, drag the holiday light string up to the roof and pound the U-shaped nails into the gutter. It’s entirely another to have…

According to press reports, our German-born pope may be having second thoughts about sainthood for the pontiff who ruled during the Second World War: Moves to make wartime Pope Pius XII a saint have been delayed because Pope Benedict wants more study of documents, an Italian newspaper reported on Tuesday. Il Giornale reported that Benedict…

It’s “O” Antiphon time — and my cyberpal The Anchoress sent me this lovely link, with the antiphon for today. Enjoy.

A thoughtful reader sent along this article from a paper in East Texas, with the happy news that still more new deacons will be joining our ranks this month: Bishop Álvaro Corrada, SJ, will ordain 35 men to the permanent diaconate at four Masses this month. The group ordinations will be celebrated at 10 a.m.…

The good people at U.S. News and World Report have noticed a trend, and they’ve splashed it across their cover this week, just in time for Christmas. In a nutshell: the practice of traditional ritual is becoming more common among many religions: But this shift extends beyond the Roman Catholic Church. In Richardson, Texas, the…

Here’s a story worthy of Tiny Tim, during this season of affirmation and hope — a profile of a gifted Jesuit born with one arm, but seemingly limitless optimism: The life of the imagination has no physical boundaries and people with physical disabilities can use their imagination to face life’s difficulties. That is the enduring…

Below, a new shot of the Five Amigos, just ordained in San Bernardino: Congratulations, again!
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