The pope started crying and had to pause for a moment after he prayed, “Immaculate Virgin, today I would have liked to bring you the thanksgiving of the Ukrainian people for the peace we have long asked the Lord for.”

As the pope’s step faltered, his cries for peace increased, although not without controversy and criticism.

The Incarnation continues in the church, the body of Christ.

The Rev. Hans Zollner said the recent statement by the Jesuit order about the Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik “raised questions that, as far as I see, can only be answered by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.”

After Dorothy Day's death in 1980, her biographer William Miller wrote her obituary for America, noting that "the amazing thing about her life was the improbability of it all."

A Reflection for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, by Ricardo da Silva, S.J.

Centering prayer helps me find those places in my heart where God's grace is playing.

I typed “Why does God…” into Google to see what would auto-populate. The question, “Why does God hate me?” was number three on the list.

Look at the people with whom you live and work. How are they doing? How are they because of your role in their lives? These questions might reveal as much about your standing with the Lord as your list of sins.