I'm hoping that a softer approach to these 40 days will help prepare me for the more difficult ones I know are coming.

The thought of losing Pope Francis one day is a hard one for me to grapple with; I know my reasons why. What surprised me was how many of my non-Catholic friends, even those whose feelings toward the church are decisively negative, also expressed their care and concern.

Lesson one: I had to buy more stamps.

Young Latinos are constantly negotiating who they are as people of faith and as members of our society. Some feel alone, others rejected, others not fully understood. Yet all carry in their lives an element of hope to which the church must pay attention.

I know of nowhere saner or more steadying, especially in a world of acceleration and contention.

If end-of-life care matters, surely it can be strengthened by beginning-of-life wisdom. On this first day of Lent and year-round, I want to model for my children clear-eyed acceptance of what we cannot control and agency in what we can.