Focus

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  When ordinary time is less than ordinary

  Feb 06, 2015

  From their earliest days, humans have felt the need to chart the passing of time.

  
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  Rereading the life of Christ in ordinary time

  Feb 06, 2015

  Take care not to disembody Jesus. That advice is derived from “The Joy of the Gospel,” Pope Francis’ widely read 2013 apostolic exhortation.

  

• Coming soon to the Vatican: haircuts for Rome’s homeless

  Feb 06, 2015

  The Vatican’s continued efforts to help the homeless of Rome have expanded beyond showers and bathrooms at St. Peter’s Square, with a barber shop set to open soon.

  
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  A love for peripheries, the link between Pope Francis and St John Bosco

  Feb 06, 2015

  Though he is member of the Society of Jesus, Pope Francis shares with the Salesians of St. John Bosco a love for the peripheries, and this is why he has often visited Salesian structures during his pastoral visits.

  
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  Does Francis like being Pope? A behind-the-scenes chat in the Philippines

  Feb 06, 2015

  During his pastoral visit to the Philippines Jan. 15-19, Pope Francis held an unscheduled meeting at the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila with 40 Jesuit priests and told them how it feels to be the Successor of Peter.

  

• Vatican condemns plastic surgery, calling it ‘aggression’ against women

  Feb 06, 2015

  A new Vatican document expresses a negative view of elective plastic surgery for women, warning that procedures such as facelifts and tummy tucks can become a form of “aggression” that threatens female identity.

  
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  Looking for the one God inside our denominational and faith divisions

  Feb 06, 2015

  Normally none of us like feeling sad, heavy, or depressed. Generally we prefer sunshine to darkness, lightheartedness to melancholy.

  

• Francis: Let us not privatise salvation like the elites do

  Feb 06, 2015

  God saves each human individually but at the same time as part of his “people”, “parish” or “community”.

  

• Food for Thought

  Jan 30, 2015

  In a 2013 speech to 100,000 people gathered in St Peter’s Square for a celebration of family life, Pope Francis drew the audience’s attention to a painting depicting Jesus’ presentation in the temple.

  
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  The presentation of the Lord’s biblical beginnings

  Jan 30, 2015

  When does Christmas end? Some think it ends on Dec. 25. Others observe the 12 days of Christmas. Our current liturgical calendar says the Christmas season ends with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, usually the Sunday after Epiphany.