"Mercy, unlike pity, is not simply a passive experience; it is an active virtue. The merciful one will seek first to relieve misery but will not stop there. The causes need to be addressed, and the person supported in the struggle to attain fullness of life."

Three Stats and a Map - Zika, a virus spread primarily through the bite of the Aedes mosquito, has been making headlines recently because it has spread to 23 countries across Central and South America. It has no cure to date, but its origin can be traced back to 1947.

If there is one person who immersed herself in the "peripheries" Pope Francis is drawn to, it was Blessed Teresa of Kolkata. For many people, the Catholic Church's Year of Mercy will reach its culmination when Pope Francis canonizes Mother Teresa Sept. 4, recognizing the holiness of charity, mercy and courage found in her.

Christian life anchors itself in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Discipleship has been the hallmark of the committed Christian, inspired by the words of Jesus, "Follow me." Almost 2,000 years later and millions of committed followers, the good news of Jesus is still like seed on rocky ground. The winds blow and the seed is scattered. After many years in religious life, I have begun to wonder if following Jesus is the whole story and if this, indeed, is the mark of religious life.

"A vow is something that we continue to recommit to with our increasing maturity. Otherwise, it stays pretty mild and not strong enough for who we are becoming."

The National Religious Vocation Conference has been training young Catholics in media so they can effectively communicate with other young Catholics about why religious communities and their members are valuable to the church and to people of God.

Sr. Tamam Salame is sister superior of the Franciscan Sisters of the Cross' Notre Dame Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, and her colleagues include Dr. Amine Webhe, a physician on staff at the hospital, and Elie Rizkallah, the hospital's financial director.

In the Litany of Loreto, Mary is called "cause of our joy." There are many reasons for considering her such; many of them are caught up by the feast of the Assumption. This glorious feast, celebrated today, August 15, is a testimony to the power of the laity and of our devotion to the mother of God. It also underscores Catholic belief in the goodness of the human body and in its promised resurrection. The feast likewise counters any and all tendencies to think that the female human body is excluded from such goodness and from the possibility of glorification with God in eternity.

Abraham Núñez avoided dying by just a few steps. "I went in the mine Monday morning and came out later for coffee," Núñez, 36, recalled. "I went back in a half hour later. I heard a hellish noise. I was just going in, and I turned around and ran out." The noise he heard was a landslide that trapped 11 men in a mine in this mountainous area in July 2014. Eight of the miners died. The mine closed, but Núñez went back to work at another mine the next day.
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