The pope whom the Lord has given us differs from any pope in my lifetime ...

This is how Jesus begins His prayer to the Father: "Father, the hour has come."...

The last, long discourse reported in the Gospel of John gets punctuated by disciples’ questions. These begin with different words.

When Jesus says that Mary had chosen “the better part,” He raises a couple of issues not always explained very convincingly in commentaries (Luke 10). First, what “part” had Martha chosen? ...

When you think about Nicodemus and read John 3, it’s easy to get stuck on the rabbi Nicodemus’ need to keep his discipleship quiet. Lots of commentators weave some solid and insightful commentaries on it. Some of them add it was Nicodemus who suggested that the Sanhedrin might give Jesus a formal trial before they condemn him. Took courage to say that out loud. But not a lot of them add ...

All of the prayers assigned to the liturgy – the Eucharist and the breviary – on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus focus on the Christ. The focus makes good sense, since we are trying to remember that God’s love is so infinite as to be unimaginable and so intimate as to be unbearable without the Spirit’s help.
 
On the other hand, the focus on the Heart is meant to make sure we know that Jesus is not only the Christ but is also of Nazareth. He was born of His lady Mother and held by the one she called “your father,” Joseph son of David.
 

When we sin, we know that God cares because we feel guilt. We feel God's displeasure - that's what our guilt really is.

Well, why are we so slow to feel God's pleasure when we do good - when we go about doing His will? ...

This is about Pope Francis’s Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel. You can find it on line in several places, and you can buy a book-sized copy of it from USCCP at www.usccbpublishing.org – and you’ll want to have a copy of it, I promise you.

Here, I just want to say three things (I think it’s three – let’s see).

On the way from Loyola to the town of Javier - where Francis Xavier was born, baptized, and grew up - we prayed in silence. Being bussed along, securely and in silence, helps a group of pilgrims reach quiet of spirit. We surely did, in that green, steep-hilled countryside.

When we pilgrims got to Loyola, we found ourselves in a deep valley. We couldn't see the Loyola castle: it's encased in a humongous grey building crowned with an equally humongous dome.