This is what the Pasch of the Lord accomplishes: it motivates us to move forward, to leave behind our sense of defeat, to roll away the stone of the tombs in which we often imprison our hope, and to look with confidence to the future.

"As believers, it is our duty to show what there is behind or underneath" proclamations of relativism and nihilism, that is, to show the truth and new life brought by Christ's resurrection, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa said in his homily on April 7 in St. Peter's Basilica.

Instead of presiding over the torch-led procession at the Colosseum, Francis will watch from the hotel where he lives in the Vatican.

In a Holy Thursday ritual symbolizing humility, Pope Francis washed and dried the feet of a dozen residents of a Rome juvenile prison, assuring them of their dignity and telling them “any of us” can fall into sin.

This week on “Inside the Vatican,” hosts Ricardo da Silva, S.J., and Gerard O’Connell discuss how the pope bounced back from bronchitis.

In Holy Saturday meditations, the late pope engaged postmodern thought in exploring the thorniest of church beliefs.

Building harmony is not only a way of improving the church or being polite, Pope Francis told them, but “an intrinsic demand of the life of the Spirit.”

A Reflection for Holy Thursday, by Jim McDermott, S.J.

Many young Catholics I know were compelled to be confirmed by family members who felt the sacrament was important. My situation was the opposite—I was confirmed of my own volition.

“Look at the closet of your soul—how many useless things you have, how many stupid illusions,” the pope said. “Let us return to simplicity, to things that are true, that don’t need to be made-up.”