The best sermon I ever heard was delivered by Fr. Philip Merdinger, the founder of the Brotherhood of Hope, a religious community dedicated to campus ministry. Father preached a retreat for us Daughters of St. Paul, and the gist of his sermon was: “You are not the most important thing in the world. God is.”

VATICAN CITY -- Reaffirming the principles that led the Vatican to severely limit private celebrations of Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in the early morning, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, the new archpriest of the basilica, said exceptions would be made for "groups with particular and legitimate needs."

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican is putting an end to the practice of priests going into St. Peter's Basilica early every morning to celebrate their own Mass at a side altar with just an altar server.

The doors to our Catholic church swung open again on Sunday morning, weeks after in-person Masses were shut down for the second extended period of the coronavirus pandemic.

QASR AL-YAHUD, West Bank -- For the first time in 54 years, a Mass will be celebrated Jan. 10, the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, at St. John the Baptist Chapel on the banks of the Jordan River.

OTTAWA -- In a small parish on the outskirts of the nation’s capital, the new year is starting like 2020 ended — with a close eye on the weather forecast.

EDMONTON, Alberta -- A 25-year-old Edmonton man was charged with a hate crime after he allegedly disrupted Mass at a church and briefly posted an obscenity-laden video online.

The days of living-room Mass, celebrated while still in pyjamas, are no longer the only option as churches have slowly re-opened for public services. 

VATICAN CITY -- The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments has approved a special "Mass in the Time of Pandemic" to plead for God's mercy and gift of strength in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

MONTREAL -- The bishops of Quebec have taken the unprecedented step of suspending all celebrations and events in churches across the province.

Once upon a Sunday in Ordinary Time, I happened upon a church in Toronto. It was a pleasant — and all too rare — inconvenience to find the pews so packed that people had to stand outside the front doors just to hear the words of the Mass. At the time, it was a scene so unfamiliar to me that it made me reflect more deeply on how precious the Mass truly is.

VATICAN CITY -- Anyone who wants to experience the consolation and tenderness of God simply needs to go to confession, Pope Francis said at his morning Mass.

VATICAN CITY -- God makes his presence known not by those who claim to have great faith but by those who are little and humble, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY -- The sounds of ululations and drums and a litany of saints filled St. Peter's Basilica Dec. 1 as Pope Francis celebrated Mass according to what is commonly called the Zairean Rite.

It was when she and her husband were leaving a movie theatre that Debbie Frey first came across the concept of a sensory-friendly zone.