Apple’s iPad 2 shortage has spread to the afterlife as Chinese families in Malaysia rush to buy paper replicas of the popular new gadget to burn for their dead as part of a centuries-old rite. During the Qingming festival, also known as the tomb sweeping festival, Chinese communities in Asia honour their ancestors by burning Read more
As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper’s cemetery in the Kentucky back country. As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and Read more
Fair bargaining recognises employment relationship must be built on good faith. But with jobs harder to find, employers have the chance to push the envelope a bit. On 1 April the following stament was issued to the employees at a business, which for the time being, will go unnamed. To all employees Effective now Dress Code It is Read more
Yes, well it is Lent, and yes, maybe he would prefer something stronger, but how about buying your priest a beer this week? Here’s the deal: Catholics need to be nicer to their priests. It used to be that priests were members of a happy, bustling community—almost universally respected, pampered and well-fed by the empty-nesters Read more
A study conducted by Northwestern University researchers has found that young adults who attend church services at least weekly are more than twice as likely to become obese than those who do not. Church attendance linked to obesity in young adult. Previous studies had linked frequent church attendance with better health; Matthew Feinstein, who wrote Read more
Mea Culpa is the simplest and safest way to remember those sins you need to confess the next time you stop in at the confessional. Among it’s features, it offers 400 sins that you can choose from, easy navigation between them, and for your convenience they’re pre-packaged into lists of Venial and Mortal. With an Read more
In the past 30 years, Sister Madonna Buder from Spokane has completed more than 325 triathlons, including some 40 Ironman races, consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26-mile run. At age 80, a time in life when most people her age may be considering a little slower pace, Sister Buder, Read more
From their little shop in Rome, the Gammarelli family has been outfitting popes, as well as cardinals, bishops and priests since 1798. “Mes Chaussettes Rouges” (My Red Socks), a Paris-based online retailer, is selling red socks, the ones worn by Pope Benedict to the general public.
A Lutheran convert is being ordained as a Catholic priest in Germany and is being allowed to remain married to his wife who is already a Carmelite nun.