nbsp The story of Hannah in the first book of Samuel always tears my heart a little when I hear it Hannah is childless is almost past hoping for a child Yet she persists in praying for a baby Her prayer is answered and she becomes pregnant She promises to repay God for the favor The price

We have long lived in an area of the mountains where we often lose our power during winter storms The wind howls the snow slices the air sideways and our electricity goes out The first power outage of the season usually catches us off-guard After that we know to have flashlights and candles ha

If marriage is a source of sacramental grace, why are we as a church so uncomfortable about sex?

By now most of us Catholics have tripped over one part or another of the most recent English translation of the Mass Even though most parishes provide helpful handouts in the pews highlighting the changes Catholics who have been responding by rote for decades can be caught off-guard For some of u

Not being a New Yorker I had never heard of Christine Quinn before catching a recent interview with her on NPR nbsp I was listening to Weekend Edition Sunday while diligently riding my exercise bike but my pace slowed when she was asked about the difficulty of being Catholic and lesbian The int

nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp My husband finally got me to watch the movie ldquo Hugo rdquo I rsquo d had no desire to see it when it was first out in the theaters because it had been advertised as a 3-D film I rsquo d also somehow had the impression that it

nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp It was my honor to interview Sister Helen Prejean during her recent visit to Bakersfield for two talks that took place May 4-5 Sister Helen is well known as the ldquo Dead Man Walking rdquo nun the face of the global movement to

Easter thoughts from the secular press http www bakersfieldcalifornian com lifestyle local x1538235657 Easter-is-dawn-to-a-new-season-of-hope nbsp

I went to evening Mass with a heavy heart having spent the greater part of Saturday at a memorial service for an old friend He was a fourth grade teacher who had taught two of our four children but more than that he was one of my husband rsquo s dearest friends and practically a part of our fam

nbsp A Christmas column from the Faith section of The Bakersfield Californian http www bakersfield com news columnist schultz x1797587210 Christ-was-born-one-of-us Valerie Schultz nbsp