The Catholic Sun

The most underused sacrament of our Catholic faith is arguably the one people need to receive more frequently — reconciliation.

Nestled at the foot of Camelback Mountain, the Mount Claret Retreat Center stands as oasis of sorts in the midst of a bustling city. Tom McGuire, the new director of the facility, is hoping more and more Catholics will seek God’s presence there.

Countless Catholics have approved and shared — via social and traditional networks — Pope Francis’ acts of humility in the five weeks since his election. Catholics devoted to the Franciscan way of life or are simply part of a mission or parish named after the well-known saint have felt an even deeper connection to the new pontiff.

Alex Vera grew up in St. Joseph, Mo., during the 1940s — a time when European immigrants arrived fleeing World War II. Although she was baptized Catholic by her mother, Vera was actually raised as a Methodist.

A Prescott teenager and a New York artist are among the countless Catholics who was moved to action after hearing about the explosions (with video courtesy of Sacred Heart Parish in Prescott).

Emergency personnel were carefully combing through blocks of wreckage in this town of 2,900 a day after a chemical fertilizer factory caught fire and exploded with the force of a small earthquake April 17, injuring perhaps hundreds and killing others.

The state’s unemployment rate has declined slightly in the last six months and it’s possible that staff at St. Joseph the Worker had a little something to do with it.

He struggled with drugs as a 12-year-old. That led to other bad choices for Duane Dodds over the years. “Well, I’m going to hell for that one,” Dodds recalled saying throughout his youth.

The Profession of Faith is a central component of the Christian faith. It is both a communal and personal expression of Catholic core beliefs.

In his first weeks as head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has echoed many of the concerns that he and fellow prelates raised in a conference of Latin American bishops six years ago.