EL PASO, Texas While Pope Francis didn’t step foot in El Paso on Wednesday, his presence was widely felt across the West Texas city, and the pontiff even paused during his Mass in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to acknowledge the symbiotic relationship between the two border communities. Thousands of people from El Paso as well as […]

Five years ago, this month, my family lost our 7-year-old daughter, Ruth. We had adopted her about six years before from a children’s home in Uganda. Ruth had severe cerebral palsy and was profoundly deaf, but she sure could smile. Despite being unable to walk or talk, Ruth was as bright and funny and as […]

“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Matthew 21:22 Prayer Changes Things When I was growing up my mother had a bookmark with a picture of praying hands on it, and under it these three words, “Prayer Changeth Things.” But what does prayer change if we don’t always get […]

BRUNSWICK “ The Shoemaker,” a recently composed church opera by Stephen Paulus, will be presented by the First Parish Church Choir, chamber orchestra and soloists on Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. at Bowdoin College’s Studzinski Recital Hall in Brunswick. This one- act work was composed in 2012 by Paulus with English libretto by poet Michael […]

BRUNSWICK When eighth-grade teacher Rachel Johns hoisted her empty tissue box in the air, a group of yellow-clad students in the back of the parish hall erupted with cheers. Normally, this would be a strange scene at St. John’s Catholic School in Brunswick, but during Maine Catholic Schools Week, which took place last week, excitement […]

When I was growing up, my mom often sang in church. It was the late 1970s, and even in our small Oregon farming community, most of the other mothers wore lipstick and high heels and pantyhose on Sunday mornings. Embarrassed, I scrunched in my pew when my sheep-farming mother walked up the center aisle with […]

WASHINGTON Delivering his last annual sermon to Washington’s elite, President Barack Obama on Thursday warned of the corrosive impact of fear in public life and urged a bipartisan group of powerbrokers to abide by their faith “even when no one is watching.” “Fear does funny things. Fear can lead us to lash out against those […]

PORTLAND Despite the Patriots missing out on a trip to the Super Bowl this weekend, young Catholics from around Maine will still be cheering, but their rooting interest will be toward getting as many donations as possible to benefit the annual Souper Bowl of Caring, a weekend of giving and serving on Feb. 6-7, during […]

With two children playing basketball, our family of seven is in the thick of junior varsity and varsity seasonal playoffs. Not only does this mean lots of driving, late night dinners and cash for concessions, it also means lots of excitement, high hopes, and sometimes dashed expectations. While my husband, Dana, loves the sport and […]