Columns

What do these readings offer us as we reach the halfway stage of our Lenten journey? First, they warn us against judging others, reminding us that nobody deserves the life God gives us and that God is never the source of suffering.

This Lent, we can act with curiosity, rather than leading with assumptions. We might be surprised to find out what led a person to choose their Lenten practice. We can encourage them and perhaps seek encouragement.

In our time, in the Spirit of our times, we have seen buried in the hearts of the popes who have gone before us their personal attempts to bring us through what the era demands but which we cannot see from long-range vision.

Seeing a need and responding is in the DNA of religious communities. CPS saw a need and responded with faith and prayer. Their commitment and generosity have provided a future filled with hope for hundreds of children.

Scripture for Life: In these first two weeks of Lent, we've begun a new stage of our Holy Year pilgrimage. We've seen human frailty and the glory of what humanity can become. 

Sr. Elsa Porcario finds in the Virgin Mary a steadfast spiritual presence in her consecrated life. After serving as a missionary and formator in the Congregation of Our Lady of the Rosary in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she embarked on a new path as a Servant of the Poor. In Mary, she discovers the strength to navigate uncertainty, fear and solitude, learning to trust, hope and love without knowing what lies ahead.

Rhetoric and U.S. policies criticizing immigrants reflect a loss of humanity, respect and caring love for our neighbor, writes Elia Cárdenas.

I had to wait for eight years to make my perpetual vows. These vows committed me to Christ forever. In the words of St. Paul, I was ready to lose everything to gain Christ.