Focus on Faith

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence. That is, limited to a single, full meal and abstinence from meat.

“Parents want their children to be ‘good people,’ which is inclusive of many elements of a Catholic worldview, but what parents seem to struggle doing is sharing a conviction about the importance of practicing the (Catholic) faith and speaking to a personal relationship with God,” said Susan M. Timoney, associate professor of practice, pastoral studies area, and associate dean for undergraduate studies at The Catholic University of America’s School of Theology and Religious Studies.

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Feb. 19, 2023)

First reading: Lv 19:1-2, 17-18
Second reading; 1 Cor 3:16-23
Gospel: Mt 5:38-48

“Co-responsibility and participation” by all the baptized are the key building blocks for a church that is united and in solidarity with the poor, said the pope.

Pope Francis met with Jesuits in Congo and in South Sudan and responded to their questions during his visit to the two countries Jan. 31-Feb. 5.

While Valentine’s Day is culturally celebrated as a romantic holiday, attorneys have cited the week, and particularly the day after, as driving an uptick of people contacting law firms to file for divorce — a phenomenon some call a “Valentine’s Effect.”

The pope has reorganized the vicariate of Rome establishing two new bodies: an office dedicated to safeguarding minors and vulnerable people; and an independent supervisory commission of papally-appointed experts who report and check on the work and administrative and economic affairs of the vicariate.

To help local parishes, schools, other groups and individuals reflect on the practical and concrete action they can take to help tackle today’s environmental challenges, the Vatican and the Stockholm Environment Institute have released a guidebook.