“Pope Francis’ message is really about a personal relationship with Jesus,” Kizito Kiyimba, S.J., to America’s Vatican correspondent. “His message remains after him.”

Ahead of upcoming general elections on Feb. 25 and March 11, Nigerian Catholics want their next national leaders to address the difficult political and socio-economic issues facing the country.

A Homily for the First Sunday of Lent

“Today, I join Christians worldwide in observing Ash Wednesday,” Biden wrote on Twitter. “The Lenten season is a time for reflection and discernment and an opportunity to recommit ourselves to God and to one another.”

History and Ash Wednesday illustrate a mutual truth: Ideas are much easier to suggest than to suppress.

“The rite of the imposition of ashes serves as the beginning of this return journey. It exhorts us to do two things: to return to the truth about ourselves and to return to God and to our brothers and sisters.”

This week, I gave Playground, a more customizable version of ChatGPT, a series of prompts for Ash Wednesday homilies. And the results were pretty astonishing.

Each Ash Wednesday, our pews are overflowing. How can we turn our Lenten promises into a dialogue with those who might not usually attend Mass outside of this day?

I didn’t know Bishop Dave as well as others did, so part of me also feels like my sadness is unjustified. And then there is regret.