I’m not naïve enough to think that more deliberate encounters during the sign of peace will alone create more peace in the world. But I am audaciously hopeful that it can enhance our capacity for proximity.
Faith in Focus
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The aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination: If we have to look at violence, let’s do it the right way.
Perhaps we, enslaved as we are to the logic of violence, are looking at the image of violence and trying to solve it or even to turn it into a solution. Perhaps we are still trying to overcome it by force.
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I attended Pope Leo’s Mass for the Care of Creation. Here’s what it taught me about love of neighbor.
Despite the formalities that accompanied Pope Leo’s presence, the experience was strikingly familial. I was moved by the perceptible sense of interconnectedness that enveloped the space. Surrounded by the warmth of the sun, a cool breeze and the soft chirping of birds, I found myself completely calm and fully present.
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Five lessons learned as director of the Vatican Observatory
After a delightful 10 years in the post, Sept. 19 is my official retirement date as the director of the Vatican. As I depart, I thought I would pass along a few words of advice based on my experience.
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Meet the longest-serving Native American Catholic deacon in the United States
Deacon Black Bear made it his mission to integrate Native American spiritualities and Catholic rites and rituals.
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Carlo Acutis and I: The (complicated) spiritual connection of a shared cancer journey
It is precisely because of our shared cancer journey that I fondly recall first hearing about Carlo Acutis, whose cause for canonization was opened on Oct. 17, 2012, shortly after I learned my own cancer was in remission.
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On the ground for the canonization of Saints Acutis and Frassati: Crowds, communion and Cheez-Its
It was only their first day on the job as canonized saints, but Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati were already fulfilling their roles of drawing people to Christ.
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Father James Martin: Pope Leo wants to continue Francis’ approach to LGBTQ Catholics
The message I received from Pope Leo, loud and clear, was that he wanted to continue with the same approach that Pope Francis had advanced, which was one of openness and welcome.
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How St. Ignatius’ Examen has shaped my poetry
As a poet, I often use the examen to remind myself to be fully present to what I’m experiencing, and to let those moments ferment and mature.
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Why the Minneapolis school shooting hits home for Catholic school parents
My heart breaks because the children who have died from gun violence—at Annunciation and throughout the nation—are ours, all of us belonging to one another.