When St. John* XXIII opened the Second Vatican Council almost 54 years ago, he set the tone for that great gathering with these words: "Now the Bride of Christ wishes to use the medicine of mercy ...

More than 40,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square for Pope Benedict XVI's general audience on Oct. 19. The Holy Father devoted his catechesis to Psalm 130, one of the best-known penitential ...

Pope Francis on Wednesday said the Gospel is a “message of hope” founded on the belief that God is a merciful father and not a slave master. Using Rembrandt’s oil painting “Return of the Prodigal Son” ...

Pope Francis began a new cycle of general audience catechesis on mercy in the biblical perspective. The term merciful "evokes an attitude of tenderness like that of a mother towards her child". An ...

The simple answer is that because he loves us. His love does not alter even if we go against him. He will do everything to bring us back to him. He will offer forgiveness. He will bear with us the ...

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful… Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned” (Luke 6:36-42). I believe most people know the biblical parable ...

Dear Dr. Graham: My parents always told me I needed to be good, because God was constantly watching and would punish me if I did anything wrong. I know I’m supposed to love God, but I don’t. Can you ...

During Morning Prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours offers us a series of intensely spiritual canticles to accompany the basic prayers of the psalms. Today we have heard one example, taken from the third ...

I was sure Fr. Tristan Ferrera, SVD, our missionary awaiting deployment to Kenya, was not in his room. I saw him off yesterday afternoon for his home visit. That evening, I saw his lights were on.