In a world of hardened hearts and titillating distractions, Christians need to keep the Gospel message simple and live what they teach with love and joy, Pope Benedict XVI said. The best place to start is with one’s own family, he said, learning to spend time together, listening and understanding one another, and “being a sign for each other of God’s merciful love.” During his weekly general audience Nov. 28, the pope spoke about the challenge of communicating the saving truth of Jesus to today’s men and women whose hearts are “often closed” and whose minds are “sometimes distracted by the glitz and glam” of the material world.

There were so many men to be ordained as permanent deacons Dec. 1 at St. Louis Cathedral – 20 in all – that the carpeted sanctuary was not big enough to accommodate them for the centuries-old liturgical ritual of lying prostrate in front of the altar for the Litany of Supplication.

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