Details:  “Wonderful things happen when God is a part of our lives. I believe a deepening awareness of God’s presence is one of the gifts of old age. It is His way of getting our undivided attention.! It moves you to deeper prayer and reflection. What will I say I have done with my life when I stand before God? My answer will be: I tried to be a good priest and to bring others to Christ. It might sound... Read more

Details:  Good news for Jim Gaffigan fans who couldn’t get a ticket to the comedian’s sold-out Pabst Theater residency: A fourth show has been added for Dec. 30. Even better news: All of the ticket sales for the fourth show will benefit the Riverwest Food Pantry. Established in 1979, the Food Pantry distributed 235,000 pounds of food in 2015, said its director, Vincent Noth. It serves meals at two sites to about 12,000 people a year, about a third of them children.... Read more

From CNS:  The Catholic bishops of Texas Oct. 10 called for the abolition of the death penalty, denouncing its effects not only on victims and others immediately affected, but also on society. “Capital punishment vitiates our hearts’ capacity for mercy and love,” the bishops said in a statement released by the Texas Catholic Conference in Austin. “The death penalty not only does not correspond to the common good, it actually does great harm to it.” The statement, released on the... Read more

Big news from the Vatican this morning: Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich was awarded one of the Roman Catholic Church’s most prestigious titles next to the papacy Sunday, when Pope Francis announced in St. Peter’s Square Sunday that he will elevate Chicago’s church leader to the rank of cardinal. Cupich will receive his red hat in Rome Nov. 19, the day before the church’s Year of Mercy ends. The elevation means he will have a vote in future papal elections. Pope Francis elevated... Read more

Last week, as Rosh Hashanah was beginning, the Jewish writer Ruth Wisse wrote a beautiful essay in the Wall Street Journal, calling attention to five words that are familiar to many of our Jewish neighbors: “Know Before Whom You Stand.” She explained: “These words, inscribed above the ark holding the Torah scrolls in many synagogues, assume added significance between Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. During these Days of Awe,” she wrote “Jews... Read more

Details, from CNA:  The Catholic political advocacy group CatholicVote.org has joined calls for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to step down following his lewd comments about women in a leaked audio recording from 2005. “Newly released comments by Donald Trump…are disgusting and simply indefensible,” the organization wrote in an Oct. 8 statement. “Catholic voters rightly will be unnerved by these developments.” “In our own opinion the viability of Donald Trump’s candidacy is now in question. Furthermore, the good many hoped... Read more

From Crux:  Baseball fans across the country were saddened at the end of an era on Oct. 3, when Vin Scully, the voice of Dodgers’ baseball for the past 67 seasons, signed off for the last time, calling the San Francisco Giants’ 7-1 victory over Los Angeles in the city by the bay. But the man known as the voice of baseball is back, this time lending his voice to an audio recording, “The Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed... Read more

Nathan Schneider writes in America: I’ve only ever met one person of my generation—just barely young enough to be millennial—who claimed a calling to be a deacon. He was an Episcopalian. He was studying for a master of divinity degree at an eminent university more accustomed to producing graduates who aspire to lofty titles like chief executive officer and bishop. But he spoke about the deacon’s special role as a bridge between the hierarchy and the people, and about the... Read more

The devastation in the Caribbean has been severe, and the toll is only expected to climb as the storm barrels through Florida and up the American coast. In the midst of this, there are growing efforts to help. We received this press release a short time ago: Hurricane Matthew brought 145 mph winds, torrential rains and devastation to Haiti assuring a long season of recovery and rebuilding for one of the world’s poorest countries. More than ever, this year the children... Read more

This appeared in St. Louis, but it’s been popping up all over the country. The story:  St. Louis Muslims are assuring people, in case they’re still unclear: Muslims are against ISIS as much as anybody else. A new billboard on Manchester Road near Weidman Road reads, “HEY ISIS, YOU SUCK!!! From: #ActualMuslims.” “We as a community are trying to get the word out, you know, that we are as much affected by this ISIS issue,” said Tariq Malik, a Chesterfield... Read more