Second Sunday of Easter (Year A) April 16 (Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 118; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31)

Unity is a source of great power and strength both for good and for ill. Totalitarian regimes of all types force their people to be as lockstep as possible. There is no room for individuality or independent thinking. We rightly fear this sort of unity, although there has been a disturbing drift in its direction in recent years.

Jesus never abandons anyone; he has come to save, serve and accompany everyone, Pope Francis told young inmates.

Resurrection of the Lord (Year A) April 9 (Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Psalm 118; Colossians 3:3-4; John 20:1-18)

There were no elaborate theologies in the preaching of the apostles. They kept their proclamation focused on the main points: who Jesus was, what He did and what He was going to do. Jesus had been baptized by John, then anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. His whole ministry was given to helping and healing people. God had vindicated Him and ratified His deeds and words by raising Him from the dead. He appeared to His followers and talked with them. 

Passion (Palm) Sunday (Year A) April 2 (Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22; Philippians 2:6-11; Matthew 26:14-27:66)

The job description for a prophet of the Lord is fairly simply but very exacting. He is no longer his own man; he belongs to God. This means that his own opinions, prejudices, plans and desires must be set aside. Rather than having a bully pulpit to hold forth on his favourite issues, he is strictly a spokesman for God and expresses the views of the one who anointed him. 

Pope Francis enjoyed a pizza "party" with staff on his second night at Rome's Gemelli hospital and was expected to be released from the hospital April 1, the Vatican press office said.

More than 24 hours after he entered the hospital, Pope Francis' doctors reported a "marked improvement" in his condition, which they attributed to treatment with intravenous antibiotics.

Pope Francis has updated the procedures for investigating allegations of sexual abuse or the cover up of abuse, specifying that the leaders of Vatican-recognized international Catholic lay associations and movements have the same responsibilities over their members that a bishop has over the priests of his diocese.

Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year A) March 26 (Ezekiel 37:12-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45)

For many people, dying far from home in a strange land, especially as a captive, is too grim and sad to even contemplate. 

Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year A) March 19 (1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41)

There are two ways of viewing the world in which we live and of experiencing life. The first is typically human and consists of looking and judging by outward appearances. Things that please the eye are accepted and praised, while unpleasing things are rejected and reviled. That is the way many people pass judgment on the world and on other people. Our culture, with its obsession with beauty, youth, bodily perfection and flashiness, thrives on this tendency.