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The Deacon's Bench

Let us pray [on this day of Ascension as we watch and wait for Jesus’ return] Father in heaven, our minds were prepared for the coming of your kingdom when you took Christ beyond our sight so that we might seek him in glory. May we follow where he has led and find our hope…

It isn’t easy to tell people these days you’re going to be a priest. But that doesn’t seem to have dampened the zeal of men at a seminary in Rome, according to the BBC: It seems, despite a scandal that has been building for years, that there are many who still receive the calling. Like…

Easy. Just ask the people who fly every day for a living. The New York Times did, and got some great tips: To make room for these new travel necessities, many flight attendants roll their clothes rather than fold them to save space. Nerea Gomez-Cambronero, an attendant with Air Europa Líneas Aéreas in Majorca, Spain,…

An interesting observation here, from blogger Joe Ferullo: My 23-year-old cousin from Italy has been staying with us for three months. A lot of things have surprised him about Los Angeles — the wide streets, old buildings that were only built forty years ago, and that fact that people actually fill the churches around here.…

The ink is still damp on this new study out of Georgetown on the permanent diaconate. But here are the major findings: • Twenty-one arch/dioceses report having more than 200 permanent deacons, with Chicago (646 deacons), Trenton (442 deacons), and Galveston-Houston (383) among the top three. Deacons currently minister in all but one diocese in…

“Attacks on the pope and the church come not only from outside the church, but the suffering of the church comes from inside the church, from sins that exist inside the church. This we have always known but today we see it in a really terrifying way. The biggest weight on the church doesn’t come…

He broke barriers nearly 50 years ago — and last weekend, he took home an honorary degree from the school where it happened: A legacy of sharing, and even a little daring, was celebrated at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College Saturday, as a Jewish rabbi who once made world news by teaching there returned for an honorary…

The president’s latest nominee to the Supreme Court is already being met with criticism from one Catholic group: Today Catholic Families for America, one of the largest groups of lay Catholics in the country, announced its opposition to the nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court, citing “grave concerns” about her…

St. Damien, brother on the journey, Happy and generous missionary, who loved the Gospel more than your life, who for love of Jesus left your family, your homeland, your security, your dreams, Teach us to give our lives with a joy like yours, to be in solidarity with the outcasts of the world, to celebrate…

Alrighty. After two weeks of relative peace and quiet, I’m bringing back comments. The past several days have been both restful and instructive – and I’m profoundly grateful to the various bloggers and readers who have offered advice, counsel, support and prayers. The Anchoress, Googling God, Deacon Scott Dodge, the Concord Pastor and Jim Lackey…
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