In a message to President Joe Biden on inauguration day, Pope Francis said he is praying the new United States president will make decisions which respect the rights and dignity of every person, especially the poor and most vulnerable.

As January’s chill gripped the Baton Rouge area, staff members at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul prepared to activate the agency’s emergency freeze plan at its homeless shelters and family shelters. Only this year, such issues as social distancing and masking added a singular complexity to the planning. 

It is inspiring to meditate on the miracles performed by Jesus. Most powerful are the miracles we will hear during the next two weeks. The 4th and 5th Sunday or Ordinary Time Mass readings draw us into the deeper mystery of the healing ministry of Christ, where we see Jesus casting out, curing the sick and teaching, all with a “new authority” (Mk 1:27).

What is interesting about Groundhog Day, in which a humble mammal, also known as a “Whistle Pig” or “Ground Squirrel,” becomes a celebrity for a day, is that the secular tradition has its roots in the Catholic faith.

Archbishop Gomez noted that the bishops’ conference works with every president and Congress but added working with Biden will be unique since “he is our first president in 60 years to profess the Catholic faith.”

Out of their heartbreak of suffering three miscarriages a ministry was born for Emily and Jason Froeba to help provide families experiencing a similar loss the comfort of knowing their baby will lay in what the couple says will be a monument of life.

While Our Lord’s authority is transcendent, He doesn’t rule with a hammer or from a throne; rather, He chose to come into our fragility and experience the world as one of us. He chose to come and encounter those who are plagued with sorrow and grief. He chose to come and heal the sick, deaf and lame with His own human hands. It was not enough for Him to have the ability to do these miracles. He chose to come and personally look into our eyes as He healed us of our afflictions, like He did with the man in the synagogue.

Bishop Michal G. Duca welcomes nursing students from Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University who are attending classes at the Bishop Robert E. Tracy Center on the campus of the Catholic Center beginning January 20.

You were already chosen. You were chosen on the Cross. You were chosen by God and by your parents to enter this world. You were chosen to participate in the mission of the Church at your baptism and you affirmed that mission at confirmation. You are already on the team. All you need to do right now is start playing the game and rely on Christ to direct your movements. Let Him lead you and allow yourself to be led and together we will continue the work of a group of ordinary people chosen to help transform the world one play at a time, one catch at a time, one heart at a time.

Bishop Duca has released a letter with a renewed call to observe safe procedures in this time of pandemic. It will be presented at all Masses the weekend of the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

One of our seven grandchildren had a very different wish list for Christmas. Leo will be six years old this month, and when his grandmother, Lisette – he calls her Meresette – asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he said, “Seeds. I want seeds.”

"My first real memory of personally experiencing racism was when I was one of about 20 Black girls to integrate St. Anthony Catholic High School, a small and previously all-white, all-girls’ school in north Baton Rouge. "

There must be an end to lying and hypocrisy as the chief strategy of our politics.

Communities of color have known for years what the media began to devote more attention to during the COVID-19 pandemic this past year: that there are disturbing health disparities between white and non-white Americans. 

Talented Catholic High School in Baton Rouge track athlete James Robert III is now running full steam on the track as well as toward his dreams and goals in life with a prosthetic hand that was built for him by the LSU School of Engineering.

Pope Francis prayed Jan. 10 for the United States, asking the Immaculate Virgin Mary to help foster a “culture of encounter” after the recent violence at the U.S. Capitol.