BISHOP OLMSTED

When Pope Francis greeted Pope Emeritus Benedict at their initial meeting following the Papal Conclave, his first words were, “We are brothers.”

“Give me liberty or give me death,” Patrick Henry’s famous cry, at our nation’s birth, continues to stir hearts today; the struggle for freedom is no less urgent now, as evidenced in rallies and fortnights throughout our country protesting against the HHS mandates and other threats to religious liberty.

A wedding banquet was not when we might have expected Jesus' first miracle. Usually, His miracles cured the sick, healed the leper, fed a hungry crowd of thousands, gave sight to the blind. So why did He work His first miracle at a wedding banquet?

On this special edition of The Bishop's Hour, listen to Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted's remarks from the Sept. 23 "State of the Church" luncheon in downtown Phoenix.

Editor's note: This is an ongoing series of articles exploring the new English-language translation of the Roman Missal, which the Church will begin using...

Do not remain on the sidelines while the rest of us take a stand for religious liberty. It is more important than ever not to be ashamed to be identified with Christ and His Church in this historic test of our faith.

There is a close connection between service of the poor, freedom and evangelization. Catholic apostolates integrate service to the poor with joyful witness to Christ; they serve because they love Jesus. They freely receive God’s mercy; they freely give mercy to others in turn. They imitate Jesus in His solidarity with the poor.

On the 50th anniversary of his ordination as a priest, St. John Paul II published a memoir which offered a personal glimpse into his priestly heart. He focused on two words, two realities that were the most prominent in his life: mystery and gift — the mystery of Christ and the gift of believing in Him.

The common good is built by means of charity. While it is true that the government has a role to play in this endeavor, it is incapable of bringing about human flourishing on its own, since it cannot move people to act with charity.

Since the universal call to holiness demands of all a share in the Cross of Christ, it is not surprising that persons with homosexual inclinations face difficulties of various sorts as they, like all other followers of Jesus, seek to love God with all their mind and heart, and to love their neighbor as themselves.