CNS file photo by W. H. Keeler CNS description: With rosary in hand, Pope John Paul II scans the crowd as his helicopter circles Colorado’s Cherry Creek State Park before the closing Mass for World Youth Day Aug. 15, 1993. “Place your intelligence, your talents, your enthusiasm, your compassion and your fortitude at the service ...read more

Father Matthew-Anthony Hysell was ordained tonight at St. Joseph’s Basilica in Edmonton. Archbishop Richard Smith presided the joyous occasion. Father Hysell will celebrate his first mass at Providence Renewal Centre on Saturday morning, December 8, 2012. He is pictured here with David LeRoss and Cheridan Sanders of the Salt and Light team. Stay tuned to ...read more

CNS file photo Pope John Paul II kisses a rain-soaked tarmac as he arrives in Jakarta, Indonesia, on a pastoral trip in 1989. ...read more

2563 The heart is the dwelling place where I am, where I live; according to the Semitic or Biblical expression, the heart is the place “to which I withdraw.” The heart is our hidden centre, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and ...read more

Where does prayer come from? Whether prayer is expressed in words or gestures, it is the whole man who prays. But in naming the source of prayer, Scripture speaks sometimes of the soul or the spirit, but most often of the heart (more than a thousand times). According to Scripture it is the heart that ...read more

Solemnity of Christ the King – November 25, 2012 Homily of Pope Benedict XVI Your Eminences, Dear Brother Bishops and Priests, Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today’s Solemnity of Christ, King of the Universe, the crowning of the liturgical year, is enriched by our reception into the College of Cardinals of six new members whom, following tradition, ...read more

CNS photo from the Vatican The caption on the photograph reads: “Pope John Paul II (center, in red boots) prays with a group of skiers before heading down a slope in this 1984 file photo. The pontiff, who enjoyed skiing in his native Poland before his election, was able to slip away to ski only ...read more

When a bishop becomes a cardinal, he receives a new red hat and several new jobs within the Church, among them that of pastor for a Roman parish. Six bishops from different parts of the world will become Roman pastors this Saturday. Pope Benedict XVI announced on October 24 that he would elevate six bishops ...read more

Sebastian Gomes attended the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization in Rome this past October as a correspondent for Salt + Light.  In this first of three articles, he discusses the change in mentality at Vatican II to one of openness and adaptation. During the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization for the ...read more

“If you knew the gift of God!” The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being. It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us. ...read more