Summer is most associated with vacation and fun activities. Perhaps it is appropriate, then, that the unofficial end of summer is a holiday that celebrates workers – Labor Day. The Catholic Church, which honors St. Joseph the Worker with a feast day on May 1, has a good deal to …

El verano está más asociado con vacaciones y actividades divertidas. Tal vez sea apropiado, entonces, que el final del verano, no oficial, sea un día feriado que celebre a los trabajadores: el Día del Trabajo. La Iglesia Católica, que honra a San José Obrero con una fiesta el 1 de …

The name Joseph has a long history in my family. Both of my parents were named Joseph (Josephine.) One great-grandfather and an entire herd of cousins bear the name. I was called “Little Joe” until I was 10 and passed Dad on the yardstick.      When I think of …

By Walt Schaefer      Over its 150-year history, St. Aloysius Parish in Shandon has grown in size and moved from a small church in the Butler County hamlet to a large one on a hillside out of town.      But, parishioners agree, one thing has remained steadfast over …

Who is a deacon? There are three groups, or “orders,” of ordained ministers in the Catholic church: bishops, priests, and deacons. Deacons are ordained as a sacramental sign to the church and to the world of Christ, who came “to serve and not to be served.”  What do deacons do? …

One of the first deacons of Rome, St. Lawrence was one of the victims of the persecution of Valerian in 258.  At the beginning of the month of August, 258, the emperor issued an edict, commanding that all bishops, priests, and deacons should immediately be put to death (“episcopi et …

An ancient calling meets modern marriages; taking Fridays off By Walt Schaefer Deacon Mike and Kathy Hinger The plan is for Deacon Mike Hinger to take Fridays off with his wife.      Hinger, a deacon at St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish in Liberty Township, finds his vocation to God and …

By Walt Schaefer The story of the permanent diaconate has been an evolving one over the past 50 years.   The archdiocese has seen the ministry of these men blossom into a respected and necessary ministry in almost all parishes in the archdiocese.      “Deacons are very important in …

Traditionally, the beginning of the order of deacons is traced back to the story in Acts of the Apostles, Acts 6: 1-6.      Whether this pertains to the history of the ordained order of deacons as they developed in the early centuries of the church is in dispute, but …

By Eileen Connelly, OSU Administrators, faculty, and students at two area high schools are moving forward and using the racial slurs shouted during a February basketball game as a teachable moment. The incident involved students from Elder High School’s cheering section taunting St. Xavier athletes.       In addition to …