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.
Faith in Focus
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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.
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Fasting for peace in Gaza: What Pope Leo’s call really means
I can’t will myself into a spiritual experience, into a sense of solidarity or meaning or nobility or deep and somber union with God and man. I can will myself into doing regular daily things and recording them and seeing what comes of it all.
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Catholics: Act like God’s (worker) bees
Maybe if Catholics were to think of ourselves and conduct ourselves as God’s workers and drones, as holy bees within God’s holy hive, the world would benefit.
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From Spectacle to Sacrament: How Burning Man led me into the Catholic Church
For years, Burning Man felt like my spiritual homeland. But then something shifted. The illusion of unbridled freedom began to crack. A question broke through: Is this all there is?