We need to share our riches with the poor

We need to give away some of our own possessions in order to be healthy. Wealth that is hoarded always corrupts those who possess it. Any gift that is not shared turns sour.

Rome official: Retired pope to attend canonizations; spokesman cautious

VATICAN CITY - Retired Pope Benedict XVI is expected to attend the canonization of Blesseds John XXIII and John Paul II April 27, said Msgr. Liberio Andreatta, head of the Vatican-related pilgrim agency, Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi.

Vatican: Pope didn't change church teaching in call to Argentine woman

VATICAN CITY - Reports that Pope Francis told an Argentine woman civilly married to a divorced man that she can receive Communion "cannot be confirmed as reliable," said Jesuit Father Federico, the Vatican spokesman.

Letters left at John Paul's tomb show pilgrims see him as friend

VATICAN CITY - Every day, countless visitors to the tomb of Blessed John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica leave letters and notes addressed to him.

Holy Fathers: Is being pope a shortcut to sainthood?

VATICAN CITY - "They call me Holy Father and that is what I must be," the future St. John XXIII wrote in his diary.

Resurrection reveals God as redeemer, not rescuer

Before you get serious about Jesus, first consider how good you are going to look on wood!

No substitutes for the Lord

Second Sunday of Easter (Year A) April 27 (Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 118; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31)

The Church had very simple beginnings. There were no impressive church buildings or elaborate liturgies. In those first generations of the faith, believers met together in their homes. Their new faith was not just a religion but a new way of life lived together and in common. The presence of the Spirit and their shared, unified life were the source of energy and power. There was no “mine and thine” attitude, for they shared all that they had, ensuring that no one was deprived of the basics of life. Their shared ideals and union of minds and hearts bound them together in what they called the body of Christ. This resulted in a community in which the trust and support level was very high. But far more powerful was the observation that they ate their shared meals with “glad and generous hearts.”

Jesus wants everyone to serve others with love, Pope Francis says

VATICAN CITY - In the humble act of washing his disciples' feet, Jesus is showing all Christians how he wants them to serve others with love, Pope Francis said.

Pope to remember abused, violated in Station of the Cross

VATICAN CITY - The often silent plight of sexually abused children, victims of domestic violence, prisoners, the abandoned elderly, the unemployed and immigrants facing hostility will be given a powerful voice during the Stations of the Cross at Rome's Colosseum.

Selfless love takes us on God’s path

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

Christians do not often sound joyful and excited when describing the wonderful deeds of Jesus. Perhaps more disturbing is the fact that many would be hard pressed to describe the activity of Jesus in today’s world or in their own lives.

What dark nights do for us

After Mother Teresa died, her diaries revealed something that shocked many people. During the last 60 years of her life she struggled to imagine that God existed and had no affective experience of either the person or the existence of God. Yet, during all those years, everything in her life incarnated and radiated an exceptional, one-in-a-hundred-million selflessness, altruism and faith commitment.