The aesthetic and artistic elements surrounding the liturgy must foster prayer and a sense of communion, Pope Francis said.
Faith
Travis Nolan paused outside the campus Catholic center at Southern Methodist University to snap a quick photograph of a building framed against the early morning sky. His progress across the parking lot on Feb. 4 marked an early start to an otherwise quiet, sleepy Saturday morning.
I read a wonderful book recently that I think lots of people should read, especially science-minded people: Vestige of Eden, Image of Eternity by Daniel Toma. Dr. Toma is a geneticist at Minnesota State University, as well as a wide reader of Catholic theology from both the eastern and western traditions.
As we come into a new year, many of us are contemplating how we’ll live in this new year. Many of us have made — or are still making — new year’s resolutions. As we all contemplate what our resolutions will be, let’s remember to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in making our resolutions, and then to help us keep them. Make your new resolutions a point of prayer.
Catholic leaders around the world who had been praying for retired Pope Benedict XVI reacted with sorrow to news of his death Dec. 31 but expressed gratitude for his years of service to the Catholic Church as a theologian and pope.
As God lives in our hearts, we need to keep them clean so that we can hear his voice. A clean heart avoids places that pollute the mind; a clean heart speaks words that build, not destroy; a clean heart catches the tongue before it gets loose into profanity; a clean heart listens to others and is empathetic to others’ needs; a clean heart doesn’t wish evil for anyone.
Stopping to gaze at and perhaps pray before a Nativity scene is one of the best ways to remember the real meaning of Christmas, Pope Francis said.
Being so distracted that one does not notice God’s presence in daily life is a warning sign that one is not being vigilant enough, Pope Francis cautioned. Vigilance during Advent is key, Pope Francis said, because Jesus “warns us: there is the danger of not realizing his coming and being unprepared for his visit.”
Bahrain’s National Stadium became an oasis of multiple cultures, languages, nationalities and backstories, all united by their Catholic faith and to celebrate Mass with Pope Francis.
Living out and proclaiming the Gospel are inseparable aspects at the heart of an authentically Christian life and witness, Pope Francis said in his message for World Mission Sunday.