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.
Faith
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.
Today I heard about a theory of human personality which teaches that at the time of birth a child is given a false identity. This new person has a name that it did not choose. It has a family with which it is constantly compared as to relationship of age or of comparison of talent or wit. It lives in a world that it did not create.
Prayer is medicine for one’s faith and it reinvigorates the soul, Pope Francis said.
The annual Care Package Drive for the Honor Our Heroes Committee is well under way for the fifth year in a row. What started as a small idea has slowly flourished into a service project of massive proportions and a permanent ministry at Prince of Peace Catholic Community in Plano.
A recent graduate of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, Edith Torres Monzón arrived at the Diocese of Dallas in July to serve as the associate director of Outreach and Diversity Office of Youth, Young Adult and Campus Ministries.