Spirituality
Can one pray at Mass with open hands, or not?
Questions by readers including whether to hold hands or raise them as does a priest, especially during the Our Father, show continued angst over bodily gestures. So Father Ken Doyle answers them again.
Pray with Pope Francis in March
Watch two videos of the pope's March prayer intentions, for families and persecuted Christians, and see our prayer resources.
God remembers dust, but not sins
Psalm 103 reminds Michelle Francl-Donnay about how God uses the intricate material of dust to remake the universe, and us. He mends the penitent soul without leaving a mark of scar.
Every soul matters because God is in each
You’re kind of a big deal, and so is every soul God puts within your reach, writes Chris Stefanick. Remember that and you’ll change the world.
God leaves us free, even to make mistakes, pope says at Angelus
When it comes to our God-given freedom, "it is up to us to put it to good use. This gift of freedom that God gives us always amazes me," he said March 7 before reciting the Angelus with visitors gathered in St. Peter's Square.
Pope: When it comes to our sins, God has a ‘bad memory’
"Once he forgives you, he forgets. This is great," the pope told a group of seminarians, new priests and priests who hear confessions in the major basilicas of Rome.
Sin makes us blind, but confession heals, pope says
Exercise a little courage and go to confession, turn away from selfishness and sin and back to God during the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis urged people at a Lenten penance service.
Have the ‘last rites’ expired?
Priests still administer three sacraments when a person is seriously ill, writes Father Ken Doyle, but he explains that unfortunately a family often waits until the last moment to request them.
How to debug the malware of your Lent
After Gina Christian’s laptop computer froze up, again, a helpful IT pro repaired the damage, but also got her longing for an angelic system administrator to troubleshoot her Lenten devotions.
Pope goes to confession, and wants you to as well
Pope Francis wants people to experience God's mercy in the sacrament of penance. He tells priests to ensure the experience is not so horrible that the faithful never come back.