HAMILTON, Ont. - The practice of Christian Baptism at Easter, preceded by several weeks of instruction, prayer and other rites, dates as far back as the fourth century. In early times, candidates for the Catholic Church, known as catechumens, recited a creed on Holy Saturday to signify the completion of their studies and then, at dawn on Easter morning, were immersed in a font and baptized.

VATICAN CITY - The prayers of the faithful, not the pope, bishops, priests or nuns, have the power to make miracles happen in the most impossible situations, Pope Francis said at his morning Mass.

VATICAN CITY - In his first video prayer message of the year, Pope Francis asked people to join him in praying that interreligious dialogue lead to "peace and justice."

In one of his books on contemplative prayer, Thomas Keating shares with us a line that he occasionally uses in spiritual direction. People come to him, sharing how they used to have a warm and solid sense of God in their lives but now complain that all that warmth and confidence have disappeared and they’re left struggling with belief and struggling to pray as they used to. They feel a deep sense of loss and invariably this is their question: “What’s wrong with me?” Keating’s answer: “God is wrong with you!”

It seems unimaginable that America’s incomprehensible deadlock over gun control could become any stranger. Yet somehow the quasi-ritualized mass slaughter of citizens by other citizens with high-powered weapons has produced the unfathomable effect of making prayer a victim.

The world Synod of Bishops on the family is not a parliament where participants will negotiate or lobby, Pope Francis said, but it must be a place of prayer where bishops speak with courage and open themselves to “God who always surprises us.”

Pre-Vatican II babies remember it as if it were yesterday: Who made you? God made me? Why did God make you? To love Him in this world and to serve Him and be with Him in the next world.

VATICAN CITY - The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation should be a time for individuals to examine their lifestyles and the way they impact the environment, Pope Francis said.

WASHINGTON - Standing beside a statue by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz called Homeless Jesus, Msgr. John Enzler pledged to spend a night with the city’s homeless before Pope Francis’ visit in September.

Most of today’s American Catholic parents don’t go to Mass, provide any Catholic education for their children or stress the basic sacraments beyond baptism.

QUITO, Ecuador - When Pope Francis enters the Jesuit church here July 7 for a moment of private prayer, he will step into an architectural gem where trees once grew up through the floor.

With more than 195 countries using the Instapray app, the world is more connected through prayer than ever before. 

Every year, more and more people join, making it easier for everyone to share their prayers through a status on social media and enabling people to pray, share and comment on others’ prayer. It is a global community available to all, and it’s free. 

The early evening was warm and the sun had brought out the convertibles with their roofs down and music blaring. I was walking down Jarvis Street and passing Allan Gardens.

In a nation where violence is no stranger to its youth, a group of Salvadoran teenagers stand as a hope for their country’s future.

3 Moments of the Day by Christopher S. Collins, S.J. (Ave Maria Press, 138 pages, softcover $17.60).

Prayer is a conversation with God — but are we delivering a one-way monologue? It can sometimes be difficult to hear God in prayer. However, 3 Moments of the Day presents a refreshingly simple, straightforward method to help us encounter God not only in prayer but throughout the day.