The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” (Jn 1:14) In the mystery of the Incarnation, all the dimensions of our human nature, including our bodies, are now joined to God’s Eternal Word in Jesus…

Dear Brother Bishops:

At the opening session of the recently concluded Roman Synod on the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on Psalm 118, that magnificent chorus praising the law, the order,…

uring the three weeks of the Synod of Bishops on the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church, I thought often of the ways we use Sacred Scripture in personal prayer; and I recalled Pope Benedict’s…

On Oct. 5, bishops from all over the world began to meet with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome to consider the Word of God in the church. This Synod of Bishops, as it is officially called, meets every three years…

The doctrine that Mary of Nazareth was without sin from the first moment of her conception in the womb of St. Ann was officially defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854. Four years later, in 1858, Mary appeared in Lourdes,…

During their meeting last [month], the Catholic bishops of the United States heard two reports about the state of religious groups in our country, with particular application to the numerical status of Catholics in the general population.About 10 percent of…

The Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by a soldier’s lance while Jesus still hung on the cross after his death, is a symbol of God’s infinite mercy. God’s desire to forgive our sins becomes visible in Jesus’ wounded heart; we…

The escalating statistics on homicide, especially the killing of school children, in the city of Chicago leave many profoundly disturbed. There is the tragedy of mothers and fathers whose children have been killed, the tragedy of families further broken. There…

t the end of his encyclical letter, Spe Salvi (”Saved in Hope”), Pope Benedict XVI, wrote of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the star of the sea, a beacon that guides us on the voyage of this life to Christ, the…

Easter Sunday celebrates Christ's victory over sin and death. This victory is directly and immediately the work of God, and Easter is therefore the day the Lord has made. The first creation of the world went astray; the re-creation of the world dawns on Easter when all is made new. "This is the day the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad" (Ps 118: 24).

The astonishment of the holy women at the tomb, of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, of the apostles who found the tomb empty gave way to joy in their meetings with the Risen Lord. "Jesus is Lord," they exclaim, and everything and everyone gets a second chance at everlasting life and eternal joy.