Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Jan. 24 (Year B) Isaiah 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 25; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20

The mission of Jonah was far more dramatic than the edited snippet in the lectionary would have us believe. When God ordered Jonah to prophesy against Nineveh, he ran the other way. He wanted no part of it, but God did not care about Jonah’s likes and dislikes.

It has been a year of shame and humiliation for the Church. The clerical abuse scandals have scarred thousands of victims and mortified the faithful worldwide. They have also spurred appeals for repentance and renewal, appeals that are appropriate at Easter.

First Sunday of Lent, Feb. 18 (Year B) Genesis 9:8-15; Psalm 25; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15

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We begin the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday on Feb. 14, only a few weeks after our celebration of the Christmas season. That’s early, so we may feel that we are not “ready” yet.  

VATICAN – Going to Mass regularly, praying and doing good works are not enough to make a person a good Christian, Pope Francis said.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield has issued a decree that people in same-sex marriages should not present themselves for holy Communion nor can they receive the sacrament of anointing of the sick or have a Catholic funeral unless they "have given some signs of repentance."

LONDON, England – Ahead of the Church of England’s General Synod, the Archbishop of Canterbury is reportedly preparing a statement that will recognize the violence of the English Reformation.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis announced an extraordinary jubilee, a Holy Year of Mercy, to highlight the Catholic Church's "mission to be a witness of mercy."

ROME - With the aim of ensuring that the public display of the Shroud of Turin promotes conversion and healing, the archbishop of Turin has given priests throughout the archdiocese special faculties to offer absolution to women who confess to having had an abortion.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Pope Francis told Sri Lankans seeking reconciliation after two-and-a-half decades of civil war that, before they can forgive each other, they must repent of their own sins.