Terminally ill priest gets 'additional assignment'

In advance of the Church's World Day of the Sick on Feb. 11, the Feb. 7 issue of Our Sunday Visitor features a profile of a Wisconsin priest suffering from ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Father Dan Farley was serving as a chaplain in Afghanistan when he started having problems with his right leg. A doctor at an U.S. Army base in Germany gave him the bad news: He had the incurable, fatal neuromuscular disease characterized by progressive muscle weakness that eventually results in paralysis.

Father Farley told OSV he believes he has received an additional assignment from God: to let people know how much God loves them and desires his intimate union with them.

“Live in the moment and trust God is at work,” he said. “Welcome others into your journey, and commit yourself to being a person of prayer. Be open to the gifts he wishes to bestow, and rest in his peace.”

Click HERE to read the entire story.

Priestly call beats out the Big Leagues

Grant Desme was living out the dream of many young men. The 23-year-old Oakland A'sprospect won Arizona Fall League MVP honors, and it looked like he was headed to the Majors in short order.

Turns out God had other plans for Desme, who announced Friday he is retiring from baseball to enter seminary at St. Michael's Norbertine Abbey in Orange County, Calif.

"I want to give my life completely to God out of love because of everything he's done for me," he said in a story posted at MLB.com. "Something like this is even very little compared to what he's done for me."

Click HERE to read more about Desme's remarkable decision.

Pope urges priests to get on Internet

In a preview of his May World Day of Communications message, Pope Benedict XVI urged priests to use modern social media to reach their flocks.

In releasing the message on Jan. 24, the feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron of journalists, he said:

"Using new communication technologies, priests ... must learn, from the time of their formation, how to use these technologies in a competent and appropriate way, shaped by sound theological insights and reflecting a strong priestly spirituality grounded in constant dialogue with the Lord. Yet priests present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ. This will not only enliven their pastoral outreach, but also will give a 'soul' to the fabric of communications that makes up the Web."

Seminarian losses in Haiti

ZENIT recently reported on the dire situation among seminarians in Haiti, many of whom lost everything in the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince and surroundings. At least 30 seminarians were killed.

Click HERE to read the entire story.

Leader on field and at Mass

The Boston Globe has a remembrance of the late Father Edward Cowhig, 90, who was a star quarterback at Boston College before leaving to attend seminary. The priest died Jan. 6.

“Father Cowhig was a gifted athlete, an outstanding student who was first prefect of our class at the seminary, and a great Army chaplain who mixed easily with people,’’ Bishop Joseph Maguire, the retired head of the Diocese of Springfield and a former two-sport athlete at Boston College, told the Globe.

To read more about Father Cowhig, click HERE.

Miami priest: 'We don't know why'

Below is a special message from Msgr. Terrence Hogan of the Archdiocese of Miami on the tragedy in Haiti. Florida is the home to more than 350,000 Haitian immigrants, who are anxiously awaiting news of loved ones.

Blogging from Haiti

As the world learns more and more of the devastation brought on by the earthquake in Haiti — including the sad news that Archbishop Serge Miot of Port-Au-Prince was among those killed — an American priest who runs a charity in Haiti has been blogging about the disaster.

Father Marc Boisvert, whose Pwoje Espwa village houses more than 600 poor Haitian children, has been giving updates. Click HERE to read his blog.

North American College's big celebration

The Pontifical North American College in Rome celebrated its 150 anniversary of preparing men for the priesthood this weekend. Events included an audience with Pope Benedict XVI, who said that he was "confident that ... the College will continue to produce wise and generous pastors capable of transmitting the Catholic faith in its integrity, bringing Christ’s infinite mercy to the weak and the lost, and enabling America’s Catholics to be a leaven of the Gospel in the social, political and cultural life of their nation," according to the Catholic News Agency.

On Sunday, various alumni concelebrated Mass, which was offered for deceased alumni of the college. Cardinal William C. Levada, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was principal celebrant. Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, another alumnus of the college, gave the homily.

Ad Multos Annos from North American College on Vimeo.

Notre Dame president profile

University of Notre Dame president Father John Jenkins, who was in the center of a firestorm last spring over the school's invitation to President Barack Obama to speak at commencement, is profiled in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

In the story, he addresses the controversy and the school's Catholic identity.

Click HERE to read the story.

Remembering Father Neuhaus

From Catholic News Agency:

Tomorrow, January 8, will mark the one year anniversary of the death of Father Richard John Neuhaus, the famous intellectual, Catholic convert and editor-in-chief of First Things. To observe the occasion, admirers and friends of the late priest will be able to gather in New York City for a memorial Mass on Friday evening.

The memorial Mass will be celebrated by the Holy See's delegate to the United Nations, Archbishop Celestino Migliore. The homily will be delivered by Father George Rutler, and Fr. Benedict Groeschel will offer a post-Communion reflection.

The liturgy will take place on Friday, January 8 at 7:30 p.m. in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, located in New York City.