On my last night in Iraq and amidst the terrorist attacks in Baghdad, Beirut, and Paris, I joined other Christians in praying to Mary for peace. My time in the birthplace of civilization has given me a strong belief of how faith lived in the existential peripheries of the world can transform society. Despite their… Read More Hope and Prayer as I Depart from Iraq

“I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.” Jesus tells us this is one of the top criteria that God will use to judge our lives. If Jesus is right, Fr. Yanis is a saint. After Syrians and Iraqis were kicked out of their homes by ISIS, this desert monk opened his monastery on the… Read More A desert saint on the border of Iraq and Iran

Just when we thought the pope’s private meetings in the US might recede from the limelight, CNN is reporting: The day before Pope Francis met anti-gay county clerk Kim Davis in Washington last week, he held a private meeting with a longtime friend from Argentina who has been in a same-sex relationship for 19 years.… Read More CNN: Pope Met Privately with Same-sex Couple During US Trip

“I have a dogmatic certainty: God is in every person’s life. God is in everyone’s life. Even if the life of a person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by vices, drugs or anything else—God is in this person’s life. You can, you must try to seek God in every human life.”… Read More Philadelphia Inmates Craft Chair for Pope Francis’ Upcoming Visit

The Vatican today confirmed the rumors that started last week: Pope Francis will indeed visit Cuba days before his trip to the United States this fall. Francis played a prominent role in President Obama’s decision last December to begin the process of restarting diplomatic relations with the small Communist country ninety miles south of Florida.… Read More Breaking: Pope Francis to visit Cuba before US visit this fall