So, What’s a Deacon?
My friend Deacon Stephen Byers from the Diocese of Pittsburgh offers some excellent answers in this week’s edition of the diocesan newspaper: On Saturday, June 15, in a ritual dating back to the time...
View ArticleMy American Idol
It’s a weird thing to do, but I have to start this post on the evil of idols by talking about my idol. Her name is Elizabeth Scalia. She’ll hate that. She can’t stand it when people make a fuss over...
View ArticleJesus In Queens
Some of the Corpus Christi procession from my parish in Forest Hills this afternoon. Photos by Rosalind Chan-Ganzhi.
View ArticleFor Father’s Day: What It Means to Be a Dad
From the great Grassroots Films comes this short video that sums it all up beautifully. Happy Father’s Day, dads. (And a special prayerful wish for my own dad, shown here with a future deacon and my...
View ArticleQuiz: Which One is the Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Denver?
Okay, it’s not the second guy from the left. Shown above at the Catholic Media Conference in Denver, from left to right: J.D. Flynn, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Denver; Your Humble Blogger; John...
View ArticleJust Hanging Out in Denver
It’s not often that I find myself sandwiched between two archbishops, but I did Friday night, when I had the privilege of serving as deacon for a Mass concelebrated by Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez...
View ArticleStuff I Did in Denver
As you may recall, I spent most of last week at the 2013 Catholic Media Conference in Denver. If you missed my Facebook posts — what, you weren’t hanging on my every word? —here’s a quick photographic...
View ArticleBusted
If you have satellite radio, you can hear Your Humble Blogger this afternoon on the Busted Halo Radio Show, on Sirius XM. From their Facebook page: Friday, we are live 2-5p East. Guests: author of Dead...
View ArticleA Visit to “Busted Halo”
So, as I mentioned earlier today, I was invited to be a guest this afternoon on the “Busted Halo” radio show, on the Catholic Channel at Sirius XM Radio. I’ve done the show a couple times before, and...
View ArticleThank you, George and Mary Kandra
George and Mary Kandra, my grandparents, with their daughter, Anne, in the backyard of the their home in Taylor, Pennsylvania. Date unknown. A long time ago you came to this country in the bottom of a...
View ArticleOpen wide: Hundreds show up for Catholic Charities free dental clinic
From my Shamelessly Proud of Where I Came From file…a great story involving my alma mater in Maryland, St. Vincent Pallotti High School: The first two people in line arrived within 10 minutes of each...
View Article“Nothing short of a miracle”: mystery priest appears at crash site
You never see stories like this in the mainstream media, but here’s one from Missouri this week: Rescue workers want to thank a higher power for coming to the rescue early Sunday morning. Emergency...
View ArticleA prayer for Joe Funaro
Msgr. Funaro, seated, with the parish clergy, just before Midnight Mass 2012. My pastor emeritus, Msgr. Joseph Funaro, is gravely ill. Please whisper a prayer for him and all who love him. He...
View ArticleRest in peace, Msgr. Joseph Funaro
Yesterday, I asked for prayers for my pastor emeritus, Msgr. Joseph Funaro. Early this morning, his earthly journey came to an end. He was 76. O God, Thou didst raise Thy servant, Joseph, to the...
View ArticleWhen a priest dies
Since this is a subject my parish is now facing, I thought I’d share some details about traditions and customs surrounding the funeral of a priest. Fr. Joshua Janko blogged about this a few years ago:...
View ArticleRequiescat in pace
Lord God, You chose our brother Joseph to serve your people as a priest and to share the joys and burdens of their lives. Look with mercy on him and give him the reward of his labors, the fullness of...
View ArticleIn Queens this afternoon…
Msgr. Funaro had a great devotion to his patron, St. Joseph. The prayer on the back of the card: Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God. I place...
View ArticleA Maryland milestone: parish marks 200-year anniversary
St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Photo by Tom Fedor/The Gazette I stumbled on this bit of news this morning, about the Maryland parish where my wife and were married in 1986. From the Gazette newspapers:...
View ArticleFarewell
Well, it’s over. Msgr. Joseph Funaro, my pastor emeritus, has been to sent to his rest. The funeral Mass this morning was beautiful. On a glorious summer Saturday, the church in Forest Hills was...
View ArticleI’m going down the shore
Which, of course, means the Jersey Shore. I’ll be speaking at a conference in Long Branch, New Jersey, at the venerable San Alfonso Retreat House, run by the Redemptorists. The topic for the next four...
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