At its best, the United States defines itself not primarily by its borders, but by its values and principles.

If end-of-life care matters, surely it can be strengthened by beginning-of-life wisdom. On this first day of Lent and year-round, I want to model for my children clear-eyed acceptance of what we cannot control and agency in what we can.

His doctors have concluded, however, that “given the complexity of the clinical picture, the prognosis remains guarded,” meaning they do not consider him out of danger yet.

The European bishops were careful to note that their expression of solidarity was extended to Ukrainians “who have been suffering from Russia’s unjustifiable full-scale invasion for more than three years.”

A Homily for Ash Wednesday, by Father Terrance Klein

Lawrence "Larry" Cunningham, a longtime professor of theology at Notre Dame University and a well-known writer on spirituality, sainthood and more, died on Feb. 20, 2025.

Growing up, I loved my mother's traditional Guyanese pancakes but often was unsure why they were even called pancakes, as they barely resembled the American form. Today, I have renewed appreciation for her efforts and the tradition she continued.

The liturgy of Ash Wednesday has come to tell us something new about time, our time, and to invite us into a new understanding of the time in which we live.

In 2016, the Zaheda flew to Italy from Lesbos on the pope’s plane. “He’s a gift from paradise,” Hasan Zaheda said on Sunday. “Pope Francis, a gift from our God, that God sent us to save us.”

A Jesuit considers the series that has become an international phenomenon.

An informed Vatican source said today, “Pope Francis’ overall situation is stable, within the complexity of his clinical situation.” He underlined, however, that “the prognosis remains guarded, which means the pope is not yet out of danger.”

Caring for my senior dog was a masterclass in that Lenten refrain: “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” It was my soul that she was training.

Economist and Jesuit priest Stephen Pitts, S.J., weighs in on President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico.

Pope Francis experienced another setback today with “two episodes of acute respiratory insufficiency” caused by “a significant accumulation of mucus in the lungs.”

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, shared that, “The pope is reminding every one of us, all people, starting with us elderly, that we are all frail and therefore we must take care of each other.”

Martin Marty, a towering figure in the study of American Christianity, died last week. Joe McShane, S.J., one of his former graduate students, remembers him with gratitude.

“Endorsing utilitarian deregulation and global neoliberalism means imposing the law of the strongest as the only rule; and it is a law that dehumanizes,” the pope wrote in a letter to members of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Today’s update from the pope’s doctors dispels the widespread alarm by Friday’s bronchial spasm. An informed Vatican source confirmed that “there have been no negative consequences from that crisis.”

Pope Francis’ clinical condition “remains stable” and is better than yesterday, according to the latest medical report from his doctors in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, which the Vatican released just before 7 p.m. on the evening of March 1.