Spirituality
God makes no one struggle with life’s challenges alone, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God is always by our side, never giving us more than we can handle, Pope Francis said.
Seeing, through art and nature, as a way of praying
Columnist Michelle Francl-Donnay reflects on St. John XXIII through the eyes of a local artist, and sees anew all that the hand of the Lord has made.
Jesus makes the church holy, transforms sinners into saints, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While it is true that the church is made up of sinners, it is also true that Christ has made the church holy and he can make sinners holy, too, Pope Francis said.
Why aren’t there as many healings today as of old?
Miraculous healings by God do still occur, writes columnist Father Ken Doyle. But there are also the graced moments that people experience, no less miraculous than a healing that does not occur.
Fight the blues with the Eucharist and Gospel, Pope Francis says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Receive Communion every Sunday and read the Gospel every day to keep discouragement and the blues away, Pope Francis said.
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.