Spirituality
Pope to social climbers: Head for hills, not the church, for ambitions
"There are climbers in the church!" Pope Francis said May 5 during his homily at daily Mass. "There are many who knock on the door of the church," looking for an advantage, he said. "But if you don't mind, head north and do some alpine climbing. Don't come to the church to do your climbing!"
If you leave church before Mass is over, does it ‘count’?
Father Ken Doyle tells a reader the obligation to participate in the Mass is fulfilled if one leaves before the priest's final blessing. But it's almost besides the point: why would you want to leave early?
The significance of the sign of the cross
"In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." Jesuit Father William Byron writes that even when we casually make the sign of the cross, its meaning is immense for us and the whole world.
Eternal happiness without one’s children?
Father Ken Doyle provides the best answer he can to a reader's question about whether she might not see her children in heaven. He offers a more definitive answer to another reader's question about the ways one may receive holy Communion.
Pope: Don’t dwell like bats in darkness; live gladly in Christ’s light
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Don't live the faith as if it were a "nonstop funeral," Pope Francis said. Because Jesus isn't "up there," faraway, but is close by, don't be afraid of reaching out to him and experiencing his joy, the pope said April 24.
Breathe Easter, let the resurrection billow in the heart
After last winter and the just-ended Lent, Michelle Francl-Donnay wants nothing more than to let God’s breath, as at the creation, fill her soul at Easter. She notes how saints and poets urge us to realize we were created not to be separated from God, but joined to his very breath.
Easter should last all week, including in your Bible reading, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Trusting that people took his Lenten advice and either downloaded a Bible app or bought a pocket-sized edition of the Gospels, Pope Francis encouraged Christians to re-read the accounts of the Resurrection during Easter week.
Explaining the cross to a child
Father Ken Doyle admits he isn't a parent, but he offers helpful advice for explaining the image of Christ crucified for a 4 year old. Also, a reader wonders, "How clean is the chalice at communion?"
God is on side of abused and violated, pope will say on Good Friday
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The often silent plight of sexually abused children, victims of domestic violence, prisoners, the abandoned elderly, the unemployed and immigrants facing hostility will be given a powerful voice during the Stations of the Cross at Rome's Colosseum on Good Friday, for which Pope Francis will preside.
Spotting all the crosses of holy week, and every week
Columnist Michelle Francl Donnay hopes the narratives of Jesus’ passion help her to see people bearing their cross. Will we help them carry their cross, and see Jesus in a thousand places?