VATICAN CITY - Here are excerpts from Pope Francis' first encyclical, "Lumen Fidei" ("The Light of Faith"), released July 5:

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis' first encyclical, "Lumen Fidei" ("The Light of Faith"), is a celebration of Christian faith as the guiding light of a "successful and fruitful life," inspiring social action as well as devotion to God, and illuminating "every aspect of human existence," including philosophy and the natural sciences.

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) July 14 (Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Psalm 69; Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37)

VATICAN CITY - The cardinals and archbishops who are members of the Congregation for Saints' Causes met July 2 and, according to Italian news reports, took steps to advance the sainthood causes of Blesseds John Paul II and John XXIII.

TORONTO - After 41 years of celebrating Mass in the Greater Toronto Area, Fr. Fructuoso Garcia is getting ready to hang up his collar and return home to Spain.

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) July 7 (Isaiah 66:10-14; Psalm 66; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12, 17-20)

As a young seminarian in the late 1960s, I was very taken by the writings of Andrew Greeley, a priest in Chicago, who was churning out books on popular spirituality.

The German philosopher Nietzsche once described Christianity as a religion of the weak. He argued that religion, especially Christianity, denied the human person free will because it removed the freedom to make choices by relying on a God who, he argued, does not exist.

As we mark Pope Francis’ first 100 days in office, it would be impossible to argue that they have been anything other than successful. Some might say wildly successful.

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) June 30 (Kings 19:16, 19-21; Psalm 16; Galatians 5:1, 13-18; Luke 9:51-62)

Elisha was completely blindsided. As he went out to plow that morning, he probably thought the day would be like any other, but his life would never be the same.