Editorials

It was the pinnacle of a Triduum made difficult by my 18-month-old. My husband and I spent Holy Thursday taking turns walking with him in our parish’s narthex, and on Good Friday I held him as he slept, unable to kneel or stand with the rest of the congregation.

On March 22, Kara Tippetts died of cancer. She was a 38-year-old mother of four, a pastor’s wife and a writer in Colorado Springs. She chronicled her illness at her blog, Mundane Faithfulness, where she presented to the world not only the ups and downs of living with cancer, but also the deep Christian faith that grounded her. Her final post, written by a loved one, was an obituary. Its title: “Homecoming.”

Envision the family portrait. The husband and wife stand in Victorian dress with their five adult daughters, all in habits. It’s nothing I’ve seen on any Christmas card, but it’s an icon Catholics should expect this coming year in preparation for the canonization of Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin, parents of St. Therese the Little Flower. The couple, married in 1858, had nine children — seven daughters and two sons — but only five girls survived infancy. All five joined the convent; one became a Visitation sister, and the others Carmelites in Lisieux.

The competition is giving some Catholic groups the opportunity to raise awareness about a problem that’s prominent in many of the World Cup’s competing countries, one that no soccer fan is cheering: the scourge of persistent poverty and its debilitating effects.

Few people are as aware of that gift and the need to treat it with respect as our nation’s farmers, who rely on the land, water and other resources to make a living and grow the food that sustains families locally and around the world.

When it comes to immigration, word choice is among the debated issues.

Mercy isn’t a popular word in our culture today. “People get what they deserve.” “Payback is sweet.” “I’ll never forgive them for what they’ve done.” These sentiments pervade our politics, our entertainment industry and our own lives.

More than 30 years after Carl Sagan brought the beauty and wonder of outer space to millions of TV watchers, a new version of the popular “Cosmos” series debuted on several cable channels last Sunday.