Death and sin have been conquered; life and grace reign supreme. We just have to have a major gala of happiness and rejoicing.

A Word from Pope Francis

Selfishness leads nowhere and love frees. Those who are able to live their lives as a gift to give others will never be alone and will never experience the drama of the isolated conscience. Jesus says something remarkable to us: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Love always takes this path: to give one’s life.

The desert can be a dangerous and desolate place, but seven Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity are changing that. They’re bringing the love and joy of God to the Arizona desert through their work at the Gila River Indian Community at St. Peter Indian Mission School.The Franciscan friars of the Saint Barbara Province founded St. Peter’s in 1923 in Bapchule, a town about 30 miles southeast of Phoenix. Since 1935, the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity (FSCC), whose motherhouse is Holy Family Convent in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, have been teaching the children at the mission.

“Bless me Father for I have. . . . ” Perhaps one of the hardest things we do is admit to our own wrongdoing. It’s hard to say that we have sinned—and be willing to turn our life around to avoid that sin in the future. But we know that it is spiritually and psychologically healthy to do so. So where’s the hang up?

In 1988, Ted Turner, the founder of CNN, a multimillionaire, and a man of strong opinions, addressed the National Press Association in Atlanta about the Ten Commandments. He said, “We’re living with outmoded rules. The rules we’re living under are the Ten Commandments, and I bet nobody here even pays much attention to them because they are too old.” If effect, he said, “Get rid of them.”

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38).