If heaven is like a wedding banquet, then purgatory may be understood as preparation for a great celebration. It is not a dreary waiting room at the D.M.V., but a place of lively hope.

I use a motorized wheelchair and communication device because of my disability, cerebral palsy. Parishes were not prepared to accommodate my needs nor were they always willing to recognize my abilities.

Flying bishops, eminent birthdays and getting lost in translation: Funny stuff that Father James Martin heard inside the synod hall.

I am struggling to smile and nod and accept the message from well-intentioned people, whom I love, that everything will be fine, that I should trust in God, and not despair.

Pope Francis’ encyclicals have drawn from and lead to this truth: What the world needs is heart—not sentimentality, but integration, presence and fortitude to stay in the tensions of our current reality.

What I saw at the U.S.-Mexico border reminded me of the solidarity with migrants so often lacking in our country today.