Swiss Guard

MATAMOROS, Mexico — Idalia Reyes remembers the desperation that drove her to seek out smugglers to take her children, unaccompanied, to the United States. Reyes and her children lived in a tent camp along the Rio Grande, where they endured crime, cold snaps and infestations of insects and snakes.

WASHINGTON — Long before she burst into the public spotlight delivering her inauguration poem, Amanda Gorman got a standing ovation from fellow parishioners of St. Brigid Church in Los Angeles for reciting a poem she wrote about the parish.

Jane Wagner remembers the raw emotion she experienced when her daughter Mary Wagner was first arrested in Vancouver in 1999 for her crusades on behalf of the unborn.

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jan. 31 (Year B) Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 95; 1 Corinthians 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28

What happens when a great prophetic figure passes from this Earth? Who takes their place and how do people once again hear the voice of God?

An early December editorial cartoon struck a sympathetic chord with me. It depicted a weary Father Time, sitting at a bar and pleading to be relieved of duty early. Enough is enough, his hoary visage seemed to say.

Pope Francis announced the “Year of St. Joseph” on Dec. 8 to inspire believers of Christ across the globe to venerate the man who “accepted Mary unconditionally,” taught the value of “participating in the work of salvation” and was a tender earthly father to Jesus.

“I am enough” is a mantra I’ve carried close to my heart these last few years. Brené Brown taught me about being enough with her meditations on the Gifts of Imperfection. Parenthood forced me to acknowledge both what I cannot do and how to show up imperfectly for my kids. And I have been teetering for the last several weeks on an edge of enough I had not seen before.

Eric Ciccolini seems adjusted to the reality of life as a student athlete in the midst of a pandemic.

The end of our long COVID crisis may be in sight, but until we get there churches and faith leaders still have a job to do, Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam told over 1,300 faith leaders on a Jan. 20, nationwide Zoom call.

VATICAN CITY -- A former president of the Vatican bank and his lawyer were found guilty of money laundering and embezzling millions of euros from property sales.