The Catholic Sun

How do we teach our children to face challenges — and where is God in it all?  Somehow, I ended up on the Struggle Bus, a season of hardship, this year. As the days melted into months, I kept looking for my stop — my chance to hop off and step into a season free of stress or conflict. But that stop never came. So, I settled in for the long ride and wondered how to bring my family along.  Years ago, during a time of grief, I asked a priest how to shield my children from the pain my husband and I were facing. His answer was one word: “Don’t.” I’ve thought about that advice a lot this past year. If we hide life’s hard parts from our kids, we do them a disservice. Just as we model love and kindness, we also have the opportunity — and the responsibility — to model fortitude, courage, perseverance and surrender. If we shield them from struggle, we give them an incomplete picture of adulthood. 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV paid a private visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace of Mentorella, high in the Monti Prenestini mountain range of central Italy. On his last full day in Castel Gandolfo, Aug. 19, the pope made the hour journey northeast to pray in the shrine church and the Cave of St. Benedict, where a pious tradition holds that St. Benedict lived for two years early in the sixth century. Pope Leo visited with the Polish priests of the Resurrectionist order, which has cared for the shrine since 1857, and they helped him ring the church bells at noon before praying the Angelus together.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God never gives up on anyone, even when the person betrays God's love, Pope Leo XIV said. Christian hope flows from "knowing that even if we fail, God will never fail us. Even if we betray him, he never stops loving us," the pope said Aug. 13 at his weekly general audience. Arriving in the Vatican audience hall, Pope Leo welcomed the visitors in English, Spanish and Italian and explained that the audience would be held in two parts -- in the hall and in St. Peter's Basilica -- so people would not be forced to stay outside under the very hot sun.

When Jeannie Buggle walks through the door, it’s the highlight of Marilyn Grimaldi’s week. Marilyn, 89, is bedridden and unable to attend Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel (OLMC) in Tempe, Ariz., where she’s been a faithful parishioner since the early 1960s. She watches the weekly TV Mass broadcast from Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral on CW 7, but it’s just not the same as being at her beloved parish. That’s where a soft-spoken, cheerful Buggle comes in. She’s been leading the Ministry of Care at OLMC for the last two years, bringing the Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist to hospital patients and the homebound every week. People like Marilyn.  

Walk through the doors of Nazareth Seminary’s houses, and you’ll find a brotherhood unlike any other.   The men discerning the priesthood in the Diocese of Phoenix come from all walks of life: fresh out of high school, seasoned professionals, former teachers, even an astrophysicist who once worked for NASA. Some have worked as lawyers, others as bartenders, listening to life’s stories unfold across a countertop.  They come from different cultures, speak different languages and have taken different paths to get here. But one thing unites them: a call to serve. 

Fr. Fernando Camou was installed by Bishop John Dolan as the rector and pastor of the historic St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix on Sunday morning. Fr. Nathaniel Glenn and Fr. Jesus Martinez, who will be supporting him in his new role, concelebrated the Mass alongside Bishop Dolan and Fr. Camou.   Dcn. Fernando Camou Sr., Fr. Camou’s father, also served at the Mass.  

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Stories about "the first 100 days" are standard fare at the beginning of a U.S. president's four-year term; the articles usually focus on how much the new president was able to accomplish and how quickly. But a pope is elected for life and without having promised voters anything or having presented a platform. Pope Leo XIV was elected May 8, making Aug. 16 the 100th day since he stepped out on to the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica as the new pope. He will celebrate his 70th birthday Sept. 14.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While enjoying a summer break from school or work, Catholics should not neglect "the Lord's invitation to prepare our hearts by actively participating in the Eucharistic sacrifice and by doing generous acts of charity," Pope Leo XIV said. Speaking in English at his weekly general audience Aug. 6, the pope summarized his main talk, which focused on how Christ prepared to sacrifice himself out of love for humanity and how Christians, in response, must prepare space in their hearts and lives for him.

For Fr. Joseph Nguyen, his first year as a priest has been a journey filled with grace, growth and unexpected blessings. Ordained on June 1, 2024, he was soon assigned to St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Avondale, Ariz. — a vibrant community of more than 8,000 families. Though surprised at first, he quickly realized that God had prepared him for this mission. “A few days before I got the call, I prayed about where I would be sent,” Fr. Nguyen recalls. “St. Thomas Aquinas appeared in my prayer, and when I heard the news, I really believed that God had sent me there.”

I’ll never forget the day I yelled at God. I was in seminary, and I had recently lost my sister, Therese, and my brother-in-law, Joe, to death by suicide on the same day. This came years after my brother, Tom, had died by suicide when I was in eighth grade. I was hurting, I was angry and I had no idea why God let all of this suffering take place. At the time, I was studying at the University of San Diego. I went for a walk in my unrest and found myself at a large, empty field that overlooks Mission Bay.