Book Reviews – December 2021

Christmas Around the Fire. By Ryan N.S. Topping. Reviewed by Mark McCann. (skip to review) Meet the Gentle Jesus: First Communion Preparation Program. By Liguori Publications. Reviewed by Mark McCann. (skip to review) The Healing … [Read more...]

The “Female Diaconate” after the Amazon Synod

The Mystery of Human Sexuality in the Woman at the Well and the Vital Sacrament of Apostolic Succession

In light of the recent Amazon Synod, the question of the female diaconate has once again been raised. It is more than obvious that novelty and change are today’s signs of progress. In the twentieth century, for example, scientific a … [Read more...]

The Diaconal Call to Spiritual Martyrdom

The Foundation of the Servant Mysteries of Christ

“Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”[1. Matthew 20: … [Read more...]

Late Autumn Book Reviews

All the Pope's Saints: The Jesuits Who Shaped Pope Francis, by Fr. Sean Salai, SJ (Our Sunday Visitor, 2017) 144 pages; $15.00. Reviewed by Deacon David Paternostro, S.J. How I Stayed Catholic at Harvard, by Aurora Griffin (Ignatius … [Read more...]

Re-evaluating the Diaconate

The Liturgical Potential of the Deacon

Robert Cardinal Sarah, the Prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, delivered a riveting, yet controversial, address to the attendees of Sacra Liturgia Conference in Rome in July 2016. The Prefect … [Read more...]

Questions Answered

Question: Would you care to comment on women deaconesses? The question of reinstating them has been raised by a Cardinal. Answer: The question of women deaconesses is a long and complicated one. It has arisen because the Church is clear … [Read more...]

Late Fall Reading

What Does It Mean to Be Catholic? by Jack Mulder, Jr. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2015). Reviewed by Dr. Rick Janet. The Heart of the Diaconate: Communion with the Servant Mysteries of Christ by James K … [Read more...]

Women Deacons: At What Price?

(This article was originally published in the print version of Homiletic & Pastoral Review, July 1996.) Now that Pope John Paul II has "definitively" ruled out women priests in his apostolic letter to the bishops, others are … [Read more...]

Winter Reading for February 2015

Masters of Preaching: More Poignant and Powerful Homilists in Church History, Vol. 2. Ray E. Atwood (Lanham, MD: Hamilton Books/University of America Press, 2014) xiv + 469 pages. (Reviewed by Fr. David Vincent Meconi, … [Read more...]

Vocation for the Wives of Ordained Permanent Deacons

Women who pray for the Church, and who are spouses of permanent deacons (or those in formation), are undoubtedly responding to a unique grace of personal mission that comes to them as a result of their baptism.   I was at a retreat in … [Read more...]