What good does it do to pray?

The terror shootings in San Bernardino continue to trouble me and make me sad.

Advent and a year for mercy

Like many of you, as I was celebrating Thanksgiving, I was also following Pope Francis’ African pilgrimage in the media.

Faithful citizens and the cause of human life

I am writing you this week from Baltimore, where I am taking part in the annual meeting of the nation’s Catholic bishops.

Loving the Church

Our faith in Jesus Christ is deeply personal. But we do not have faith as solitary individuals. We do not believe on our own.

After 30 years of helping gang members, Father Greg Boyle is slowing a bit but still determined

In a small mortuary in East Los Angeles, a mother wept over the silver casket holding her son. Behind the pews, photos of Roger Soriano showed a young man throwing up gang signs with friends, a tattoo reading “J13” for Jardin 13 etched into his scalp.

Our God is the God of the living

Our God is the God of the living, not a God of the dead.

I am thinking about these words from Jesus today.

Proclaiming the mystery of family love

The Synod of Bishops on the family concluded this weekend. As I have been reporting, the Synod Fathers worked hard during these past three weeks. And this weekend we presented a final document that offers our Holy Father Pope Francis some good solid pastoral perspectives on the issues facing the Church and the family in modern society.

Holy spouses, holy families

As synod 2015 began its final week of work, Pope Francis canonized a married couple, Louis and Zélie Martin, whose nine children included the Doctor of the Church, St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

Proclaim the beauty of God’s plan for the family

I am writing to you again this week from Rome, at the start of the second week of the Synod of Bishops on the family, which will run for two more weeks, when Pope Francis will celebrate the closing Mass on Oct. 25.