NATION/WORLD

INDIANAPOLIS - - God is omnipresent, but in a particular way, He’s also been present in the Eucharist aboard the International Space Station. That’s what Space Force Colonel and former NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins told a packed stadium on the final day of the National Eucharistic Congress. In September of 2013, Hopkins was getting ready to launch aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. He found comfort knowing that his wife and two sons were watching from an observation area.  

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Regardless of what people might imagine, archivists are the happiest people on earth, said the prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Archives, Bishop Sergio Pagano. "Even if people say we work amongst cobwebs and dust, that we are library mice," it does not matter, he said, because "we know how things went in the past so well that when we see how things are going now, we are not disappointed; we smile because we can see that it's the same thing over and over."

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has called on political leaders to be at the service of the poor, the unemployed and the common good. The world cannot promote "universal fraternity" without good politics, the pope said in a video message released July 30 by the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network. The network posts a short video of the pope offering his specific prayer intention each month. For the month of August, the pope dedicated his prayer intention to political leaders.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Every Christian, but especially seminarians, should set aside their screens regularly and spend time with a book of literature or poetry, Pope Francis said. In a world that so often prizes efficiency and accomplishment, "we desperately need to counterbalance this inevitable temptation to a frenetic and uncritical lifestyle by stepping back, slowing down, taking time to look and listen," the pope wrote. "This can happen when a person simply stops to read a book."

ROME (CNS) -- Whether or not Mary caused snow to fall in Rome on a summer day more than 1,600 years ago, Christians know that God's grace is always undeserved, always beautiful and literally awesome, Pope Francis said. Celebrating the feast of the dedication of Rome's Basilica of St. Mary Major and the related feast of Our Lady of the Snows Aug. 5, the pope watched a snowfall of white rose petals fall from the basilica's coffered ceiling.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Prejudices and preconceptions can block people from finding faith, Pope Francis said, even to the point of making them unable to recognize God standing before them. In the Gospel, the Judeans, who were "scandalized" when Jesus told them he came down from heaven, "are obstructed in their faith by their preconception of his humble origins, and they are obstructed by the presumption therefore that they have nothing to learn from him," the pope said before praying the Angelus in St. Peter's Square Aug. 11.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God will not judge people by how many university degrees they earned, but by how well they cared for the poor, Pope Francis told a group of priests and religious women. "The Lord won't ask us, 'What did you study?' 'How many degrees do you have?' 'How many works did you accomplish?' No, no. The Lord will say, 'Come with me because I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me to drink; I was persecuted and you protected me,'" the pope said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When receiving the Eucharist, Catholics should respond with gratitude and awe that Jesus offers himself as nourishment and salvation, Pope Francis said. Jesus "becomes true food and true drink," the pope said. "Thank you, Lord Jesus! Let's say, 'Thank you, thank you' with all our heart," he told visitors and pilgrims who joined him in St. Peter's Square Aug. 18 for the midday recitation of the Angelus prayer.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Knowing that one is loved by God and loving God in return provides a firm foundation for building healthy relationships and healthy communities even in a world that seems dark and threatening, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Devotions at a Marian shrine in Spain that communicate Mary's "close and affectionate presence" can and should continue, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said. Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, dicastery prefect, authorized the local archbishop to issue a document so that the Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows of Chandavila can "continue to offer to the faithful who wish to approach it, a place of interior peace, consolation, and conversion."