Beloved Nativity set brings back memories, reminds us to trust

The Child Jesus enters our broken, fallen world with His purity and innocence and fragility. He is born in the most humble of circumstances, in a temporary shelter, among sheep and oxen, and laid in a manger. He shed His first drop of blood for us eight days later at His circumcision, a foretelling of the blood that would flow from the terrible wounds of crucifixion.

Decades later, determination to overturn ‘Roe’ as strong as ever

I was 9 years old when the U.S. Supreme Court invented the right to abortion. I still remember Dr. Carolyn Gerster, one of the...

Young man’s sacrifice sparks solidarity with the poor

Anyone who’s ever had the joy of having a houseful of teenage and 20-something males knows what I mean when I say that it’s all about the food. One local teenager stands apart from the crowd.

Love of a lifetime: Elderly couple shows the world what it takes

Dr. Nicholas Johns and his wife, Doris, are celebrating 76 years of wedded bliss and were recognized by the Worldwide Marriage Encounter this month as the longest married couple in Arizona. At 97 and 96 years of age, they’ve been married longer than most people on the planet have been alive.

God speaks to us in everyday moments

You’ve seen them. Holding cardboard signs with scrawled pleas for help, they stand at freeway exits, hoping for a handout. Should you give them money? Should you circle around and return with food and water?

Praying for food: Who will answer?

Plowing through a formidable stack of mail that accumulated while I was away last month, my eyes fell on a large envelope from Food for the Poor. Inside was a tabloid newspaper with a bold red headline: “Answering the Call.”

Journey of the heart: Distance between two cities diminishes through faith

Phoenix is more than 7,000 miles from Mosul. And yet as I sit and pray here in sunny Arizona, my heart turns to the beleaguered city in Iraq.

‘The Giver’ offers thought-provoking message sure to spark discussion

It’s not very often that a movie has you pondering its message long after the credits roll. “The Giver” (The Weinstein Company), which opened in theaters Aug. 15, is just such a movie.

The New Evangelization: We are called and gifted for a mission

Behind some doors were tragedies; behind others were love stories or even comedies. By far the most compelling aspect was that that each story always centers on a person.

In the footsteps of St. Francis: Radical surrender to mercy and grace

Some of the greatest saints the world has ever known were utterly changed by God’s mercy. And although we revere them now as models of sanctity, the saints weren’t always so saintly.