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Take a pass on many password changes

18 Apr 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist praises the Lord for being rescued from those who would do harm. If you think that frequently changing your online passwords protects you from cyber thieves, think again. This presumed security measure is often a big waste of time, according to a recent Microsoft study. The study found that instructions intended to spare us from costly computer attacks often exact a much steeper price in the form of user effort and time expended. "Most security advice simply offers a poor cost-benefit trade-off to users," said study author Cormac Herley, a principal researcher for Microsoft Research. The advice to change your password frequently generally doesn't make much sense because someone who obtains your password will use it immediately, not sit on it for weeks until you have a chance to change it. "That's about as likely as a crook lifting a house key and then waiting until the lock is changed before sticking it in the door," one observer noted. Source: Articles by Mark Pothier for the Boston Globe and Christopher Null for Yahoo! News

security microsoft cormac herley password cyber theft
Too bad thievery is not a relic of the past

19 Jun 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

God gave the world the Son “so that everyone who believes in him might not perish,” this Sunday’s reading from John’s gospel informs us. Parishioners at a Catholic Church in California pray that a relic stolen from the church has not perished, and they said they have reason to hope for its return: The 780-year-old object belonged to Saint Anthony of Padua, patron saint of lost items and missing persons. The relic was stolen from inside a cabinet beside the altar at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Long Beach on Monday, the feast day of the church's namesake. Father Jose Magana, the pastor, said he decided to bring it out this year, on the 780th anniversary of the death of Saint Anthony, because during rough economic times many of his parishioners have lost hope. The church opened its doors at 6 a.m. and when Magana turned to the relic during the 9 a.m. Mass, it had disappeared. Magana could hear his parishioners gasp when they realized it was gone, but he continued with the service and called police immediately afterward. The last time the relic was on view was eight years ago, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the parish. Magana said it is invaluable and deeply symbolic to his parish. "It's our history, so it's irreplaceable," Magana said. "It belongs to the church, not just the church here in Long Beach but the entire Catholic Church." "I'm hoping we've got some higher sources who’ve got our backs here and we can get it back," Magana said. "People here are pretty upset, but they're praying. They're praying to Saint Anthony for the return of his own object." ++ STORY UPDATE: Thursday evening, Long Beach police confirmed that the relic has been recovered in good condition and returned to the church and a suspect has been arrested in the case. Source: An article by Raquel Maria Dillon for the Associated Press

jose magana theft relics long beach st anthony catholic church anthony of padua
Thief has the heart of a saint

11 Mar 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

You would think that someone intent to rob a cathedral of a priceless relic might pause to consider the Book of Exodus’ admonition: “You shall not steal.” After all, says the psalmist this Sunday, the law of the Lord is perfect, trustworthy, clear, true, and--even if one’s motivation were monetary--“more precious than gold.” Alas, scriptural guidance was not enough to dissuade a thief in Dublin from making off with the 884-year-old heart of Saint Laurence O’Toole, stolen last weekend from the iron cage where it was kept in Christ Church Cathedral. “All I would ask is that whoever took it would return it with no questions asked. It's valueless to anyone but the cathedral here and our community and the community of Dublin . . . we're grieving over it, really,” Church Dean Rev. Dermot Dunne said Monday. Dunne said that the local Christian community is particularly devastated “that someone should deprive us of a special link” to their past and their Christian founder. Although Christ Church Cathedral belongs to the Anglican Church, Dunne said that both the Catholic and Anglican dioceses of Dublin venerate O'Toole as the patron of the city. “The outpouring of emotion of horror at such a crime is quite notable” among both communities, Dunne said. “It's showing how much Laurence O'Toole is in the hearts of people.” Centuries prior to the Protestant Reformation, O'Toole established the Augustinian religious order in Ireland's capital and has “been venerated as the person who established the faith in Dublin.” During a pilgrimage to Rome, O'Toole died in Normandy. His body was buried in France but his heart was returned to Ireland “because that's where his heart was really, in the life and city of Dublin,” the Anglican priest said. The relic, which was kept in a heart-shaped wooden box behind an iron cage, has been housed in the cathedral for over 800 years. Sources: Articles by Peter Taggart for CNN News, Shawn Pogatchnikfor the Associated Press, and Hillary Senour for the Catholic News Agency

theft relics laurence o’toole dublin dermot dunn christ church cathedral
Homily stories

01 Mar 2020 - First Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

Only fourth-grade boys in 1958 could conceive such a scheme to prove their toughness to each other. One at a time, we were supposed to go into Berger’s Drugstore and steal some candy, the type of which was determined by picking out of a hat. I was number four out of five of us and my selection was a package of sugarcoated, fruity Chuckles, which I loved. Initially I was tempted. But I knew if I got caught and Mr. Berger told my mother not only would she slap me, she would follow that by crying. And that would hurt even more. And I could always get Chuckles free from the candy counter in my dad’s grocery store. Quickly I realized it was a bad idea. We stood outside the store. Before Frank could go in first to heist a Baby Ruth, I made a choice. My grandmother was walking down Briar Place with a full shopping bag. I saw my excuse. I ran and grabbed the bag to carry home for her, I knew I risked days, maybe weeks, of mockery. The next day Jimmy, Larry, and David cornered me in the school playground. Frank had been caught. The rest of them never stepped foot into the store and so were safe. They told me I made the right choice. Still, I avoided the drugstore for a while. But to this day, when I can find Chuckles in an old-fashioned ice cream parlor or candy store, I buy myself a handful unless it’s Lent. They still taste great.

Authors Father Dominic Grassi

Temptation candy theft stealing

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