Spirituality
If you’re living right, God is laughing
Effie Caldarola suggests imagining the work we do in life as not just our obligation but something in which God takes delight, and in which we are doing his will.
The value of confession for a person with dementia
Even if one can no longer remember one's sins, the sacrament of penance offers God's forgiveness and grace, writes Father Ken Doyle.
Experience and rejoice in God’s mercy, pope says at Mass
The Old Testament shows that even a prophet who is chosen by God and preaches God's word can end up thinking his work is more important than God's mercy, Pope Francis said at his early morning Mass.
Devil tricks, seduces with promises of wealth, power, pope says
Satan "sows snares and is a seducer. He seduces with charm, with diabolical charm, he leads you to believe everything. He knows how to sell with this charm, he sells well, but he pays badly in the end," the pope said in a morning homily.
Christ plays in 10,000 places, and many times that, in Phila.
Michelle Francl-Donnay finds context of the papal visit in a Jesuit’s poetry and the prophet Jeremiah. From her place among the masses, she saw Christ in the faces of people at the papal Mass.
In the days of Francis, praise the light overcoming darkness
Michelle Francl-Donnay reflects on the buzz rising in Philadelphia awaiting Pope Francis, and the witnesses of a light that lets us see Jesus in one another.
Coming for the papal visit? Think of the refugees’ hardships
Michelle Francl-Donnay is well aware of the discomforts ahead as she prepares to see Pope Francis in Philadelphia. Her disruptions are united to migrants in Europe and the displaced in California.
Church a tender mother, not a rigid association, pope says
If the church loses touch with its maternal side, the only thing that remains is "rigidity and discipline," Pope Francis told his top cardinal advisers at Mass today.
Parishioners ponder plastic vs. real flowers for altar
There is a preference for real plants as "a reminder of the gift of life God has given," writes Father Ken Doyle, but not a prohibition on plastic for the sanctuary.
Why a Catholic couple should not marry in a garden
A reader can't understand the rule prohibiting her daughter's intended outdoor wedding, so Father Ken Doyle explains. He also weighs in on the "disruption" of announcements at Mass.