‘Toward the top’

Source and summit central to Bishop Mark Beckman’s ministry By Bill Staley A Dominican, a Franciscan, a bishop, and a pope go on a hike. Bishop Mark Beckman’s life can be viewed as one large hike up to this base camp of his episcopacy. Over the next decade or so, …

A bishop and the liturgical life of his diocese

Sacred power is given to the shepherd to build up ‘his flock in truth and holiness’ By Father Randy Stice “The bishop is the chief steward of the mysteries of God and the overseer of all liturgical life in the Church entrusted to his care.” This is how the Ceremonial …

Trusting in God’s great plan

Moved to tears by ‘Les Mis,’ writer has hope in the Lord and Bishop Beckman By Claire Collins If you’ve never seen the 2012 movie adaptation of the musical “Les Misérables,” prepare yourself for a spoiler alert (in fact, go watch it and then come back to this column). During …

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The vicars of Christ

Bishops give life to the local Church by proclaiming the Gospel, leading ministry By Deacon Bob Hunt Congratulations to newly ordained Bishop Mark Beckman, the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville! Bishop Beckman, I believe you will find the Catholics of East Tennessee eager for your leadership and open …

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Thank you, Lord. Can we keep him?

A seminarian’s skill with the tetherball crowd hinted at greater things to come By George Valadie I first met the young man on the playground where I was principal. He and the other students were doing battle in a wild and woolly game of tetherball. He was older, though. Bigger. …

A look at the Rite of Ordination of a Bishop

It is composed of the preparatory rites, the essential element, and the explanatory rites By Father Randy Stice On July 26, Bishop-elect Mark Beckman will be ordained and installed as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville. In this column I want to explain the Rite of Ordination of …

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The gift of laughing with your spouse

In 47 years of marriage, he has learned that God’s grace has many forms, including that gift “… And it’s the way that she looks with the rice in her hair” By George Valadie “Eating burnt suppers the whole first year “And asking for seconds to keep her from tearing …

Asking the right questions in a survey

Is a recent poll of Catholics about the Real Presence reflective of Church teaching? By Deacon Bob Hunt My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to talk about the Eucharist. There has been lot of talk about the Eucharist over the last couple of years, with the Eucharistic …

To trust in the big things, we must start small

Let every moment of every day be a radical act of trusting completely in God By Claire Collins Trust in the Lord with all your heart…” (Proverbs 3:5). What does it mean to trust? If you’re like me, trust has been a hard concept to nail down. I’ve mostly seen …

Two keystones of Catholic moral tradition

They are the intrinsic dignity of the human person and the social nature of human life By Deacon Bob Hunt On April 2, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published Dignitas Infinita, a declaration reaffirming the Church’s teaching on the intrinsic dignity of the human person and addressing …

The ending prayer of the Communion Rite

The Prayer After Communion offers a rich theology on the Eucharist’s transforming power By Father Randy Stice This column is the last of a three-part series on the three proper prayers of the Mass. In previous columns, I have discussed the Collect and the Prayer Over the Offerings, so in …

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‘I just hate it when He talks like that’

A columnist hopes Christ’s words leave open room for a comeback when he makes mistakes By George Valadie A confession: the homily wasn’t speaking to me. So, I found myself leafing through the parish bulletin from this church we were visiting before also thumbing through their missalette, looking ahead to …