The Catholic Sun

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- People often are tempted to think their relationship with God is some kind of commercial transaction where they buy God's grace with their hard work, Pope Francis said. Another temptation is to judge others and presume that they have not worked as hard to deserve God's love, the pope said Sept. 24 as he commented on the day's Gospel reading before reciting the Angelus prayer with some 18,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square.

GLENDALE, Ariz. –  A vision and idea in the making for four years came to fruition this past Saturday, as the official ribbon cutting and blessing of the new Administrative and STREAM Innovation Building took place on the campus of Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Glendale. 

PHOENIX -- The legal landscape may be different from 15 months ago, but the message and approach by Arizona’s 40 Days for Life campaign remains the same: letting women know God loves them and their unborn, and that there is an alternative to ending an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy. 

Fr. Ed was a priest from the Archdiocese of Detroit. He visited St. Paul parish annually to escape the cold weather and my whole family always eagerly awaited his visits! He radiated joy and fun, and when he presided at Mass he reflected God’s Presence, God’s love, and God’s grace. To this day, my sons still remember the “chopstick priest” who referenced utensils during his homily about God’s feast.

More than 160 priests from all over the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix gathered in Flagstaff this week for four days of prayer, fellowship and formation during the 2023 Priest Convocation. This year’s convocation had one of the highest attendances ever. Normally the event takes place every other year.

Scripture is filled with stories of real people, like you and me. Everyday folks, who, in the very midst of their brokenness, are called by name. Jesus didn’t (and still doesn’t) call people who are highly qualified or perfectly holy, rather He meets people right where they are, inviting them to His table, and offering them a place of belonging.

PHOENIX -- It was early 1975, the War in Vietnam was approaching its end. Eddie Ngo hadn’t been born yet. But a series of events already was shaping the life of the future Jesuit priest, who now serves as associate pastor, manager of Ignatian Faith Formation and Enrichment, and vicar for Hispanic Ministries at St. Francis Xavier in Phoenix, the Diocese of Phoenix’s only parish run by the Society of Jesus.

PHOENIX ---The celebrant’s greeting at the 9 a.m. Mass came with a light departure in advance of the Penitential Act. Bishop John P. Dolan joked that as he arrived, “Stepping out of my car, I found this gaggle of Jesuits. ”Laughter rippled across the congregation of 700 plus worshippers inside Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral. Oxford’s Learner Dictionary, defines “gaggle” informally as “a disorderly or noisy group of people.” But the noise here reflected joyfulness, one of the traits associated with Jesuits.

As temperatures soared this summer, Cam Benson (13) and Robert Berry (14) delivered water, food and umbrellas along with prayers to those out in...

Nearly 70 adults of various ages and stages of life dove head first into St. John Paul II's "Masterwork" by exploring the burning questions...