love

“Our concepts of holiness might look considerably different from our concepts of love, but they shouldn’t.”

In my work as a Catholic writer, my favorite question is my closer: “What do you know for sure?”

In an interview with The Central Minnesota Catholic, the former Rome bureau chief of Catholic News Service talks about his memories of the retired pope and his impact on the future of the papacy.

“When we suffer the death of a beloved person, can we also live in a small way the commandment: ‘Do this in memory of me’? Give all, give your blood, your flesh, in releasing this person you love and long to hold onto, letting only God hold your beloved.”

“Often we picture God like an umpire: crouching down whenever we step up to the plate, waiting to call strikes and outs, watching for the least infraction. But ours is a God of justice and mercy. Not simply the judge with the rulebook and the last word, but also love incarnate.”

At the opening festival, with some 4,500 people in the Vatican audience hall, Pope Francis said he wanted the church to be a “good Samaritan that draws near to you and helps you to continue your journey and to take a step forward, however small.”

Jesus “invites us to dive into the good without the fear of losing something, without calculating too much, without waiting for others to begin.”

Why would a parish celebrate the 179th anniversary of someone’s birth?