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Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati of Santiago greets homeless guests and invites them into the cathedral Aug. 19.

Chilean homeless in tears at cathedral feast for Year of Mercy

SANTIAGO, Chile – Outside the cathedral, Ricardo Reyes, dressed in a black tracksuit, waited with nearly 250 other homeless people to pass through white metal barriers for a special dinner to celebrate the Year of Mercy. Inside the nave, 10 tables were covered with red and white tablecloths, waiting for the food and guests.

Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the Synod of Bishops, holds his copy of Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation on the family, "Amoris Laetitia" ("The Joy of Love"), during a news conference for the release of the document at the Vatican April 8.

Vatican newspaper: 'Amoris Laetitia' is authoritative church teaching

VATICAN CITY –Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation on the family is an example of the "ordinary magisterium" – papal teaching – to which Catholics are obliged to give "religious submission of will and intellect," said an article in the Vatican newspaper.

Father Brian Kolodiejchuk of the Missionaries of Charity Fathers, postulator for the cause of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, poses for a photo at the Vatican Aug. 19.

Mother Teresa knew what being unloved felt like, priest says

ROME – In the chapel of the first house Blessed Teresa of Calcutta established in Rome, Father Brian Kolodiejchuk of the Missionaries of Charity talks about her life, mixing the concrete and even mundane with the spiritual and even mystical.

In this 1996 black-and-white file photo, Blessed Teresa of Kolkata visits Catholic Relief Services headquarters in Baltimore, Md, accompanied by Ken Hackett, second from right, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See and former president of CRS, and Sean Callahan, left, and and Bishop John H. Ricard, second from left, of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Fla.

Mother Teresa embodied what Francis teaches

VATICAN CITY – If there is one person who immersed herself in the "peripheries" Pope Francis is drawn to, it was Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

Pope Francis calls for prayers for victims of recent terrorist attacks in Syria as he reads a statement during his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican May 25.

Mercy received must be mercy shared, Pope says

VATICAN CITY – God’s mercy is infectious and must be shared with others, Pope Francis said.

Priests carry the statue of the Black Madonna during a procession around the Church of the Black Madonna to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary on Aug. 15, 2016, in Letnica, Kosovo.

Pilgrims crowd church where Mother Teresa once prayed

LETNICA, Kosovo – The thousands of pilgrims who flocked to the bright white Church of the Black Madonna this year were hoping to receive the gift of grace that one of its most famous parishioners once experienced.

Pope Francis greets Bishop Kevin J. Farrell of Dallas in Washington in September 2015. Pope Francis has named the Texas bishop to head the Vatican's new office for laity, family and life.

Farrell headed to Vatican, says importance of marriage, family vocation at core for society's future

DALLAS – The importance of the vocation of marriage and the family is at the core for the future of not only the Catholic Church, but of society, Bishop Kevin J. Farrell of Dallas said at a news conference Aug. 17.

Fr. Scott Lewis talks about keeping an open mind about truth and God's wisdom will prevail

God’s wisdom will prevail

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 4 (Wisdom 9:13-18b; Philemon 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14:25-33)

Fr. Scott Lewis says humility comes with being comfortable in your own skin.

Be comfortable in your own skin

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Aug. 28 (Sirach 3:17-20, 28-29; Psalm 68; Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a; Luke 14:1, 7-14)

The virtue of humility gets a lot of bad press. It is often seen as an invitation to be treated as a doormat or as a lack of self-esteem. Humility can also be used to oppress people by “keeping them in their place.”

Fr. Ron Rolheiser writes that there shouldn't be a fear of missing the chance for salvation.

We have created our own fear of hell

Hell is never a nasty surprise waiting for a basically happy person. Hell can only be the full-flowering of a pride and selfishness that have, through a long time, twisted a heart so thoroughly that it considers happiness as unhappiness and has an arrogant disdain for happy people. If you are essentially warm of heart this side of eternity, you need not fear a nasty surprise awaits you on the other side because somewhere along the line, you missed the boat and your life went terribly wrong.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, is seen in Philadelphia Sept. 22, 2015. Pope Francis appointed him the new chancellor for the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family and new president of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Pope: Mercy, pastoral care should guide research on life, family

VATICAN CITY – Appointing Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia as the new chancellor for the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family and new president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Pope Francis said he wanted to make sure the two bodies help the church offer better care to people who are hurting.

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