VATICAN CITY - God never tricks, traps or tempts his children to sin or commit evil, Pope Francis said.

ROME – The clerical abuse scandal has caused everyone in the Catholic Church "pain and unbearable suffering," Pope Francis said, but it also is a call to repentance and the renewal of the church.

VATICAN – The holiness of God is a power that is constantly expanding and will defeat all evil once and for all, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN – When speaking to God as a father, Christians experience a love that goes beyond human love and affection, which can be unpredictable and mired by selfishness, Pope Francis said.

I left home in my teens; travelled afar, far from family and friends. Life in the new country was different,exciting, challenging. And horribly lonely. 

VATICAN – God shows his greatness through his tenderness toward his children like a loving father, Pope Francis said.

VATICAN CITY – Christians must learn to expect and recognize God's consolation and hold dear the peace and tranquility it leaves behind, Pope Francis said.

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 24 (Year A) Isaiah 55:6-9; Psalm 145; Philippians 1:20-24, 27; Matthew 20:1-16

We often search high and low for something precious that we cannot find. Convinced that it has been lost or stolen, we might even replace it. Then, lo and behold, we find it in the most obvious place, sometimes staring us right in the face.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Listen Up! Listen Up!”

In an emergency ward, in another country, I lay on a table awaiting the physician. Lightning flashes of pain shot through my body, weak from days-long inability to take in water and food.

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sept. 3 (Year A) Jeremiah 20:7-9; Psalm 63; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27

Jeremiah was thoroughly sick of his mission and ministry and wanted to quit.

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky.– Science teacher Jane Irwin isn't often left without words, but the total solar eclipse that swept across America left her in a quiet reflective mood.

BARRY’S BAY, Ont. – Man’s need for beauty springs from his profound hunger for God, artist and best-selling author Michael D. O’Brien told a conference at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College.

Transfiguration of the Lord, Aug. 6 (Year A) Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14; Psalm 97; 2 Peter 1:16-19

Daniel’s vision has a long afterlife. It has been burned into the consciousness of the three Abrahamic religions and is at the core of most apocalyptic theology.

In a fantasy movie, two fallen angels are on a quest. As often happens with quests, violence ensues. They battle it out, angels and humans, blood and wing-feathers flying. Towards the end of the movie, when it’s too late, God wakes from a long nap and wanders in, yawning.