And the Easter Mass that moved her

It is a profound thing, when society has labeled you a criminal and a felon, to think that at the center of the world’s most populous faith tradition is a man whom those in power at the time condemned as a criminal.

I'm hoping that a softer approach to these 40 days will help prepare me for the more difficult ones I know are coming.

The thought of losing Pope Francis one day is a hard one for me to grapple with; I know my reasons why. What surprised me was how many of my non-Catholic friends, even those whose feelings toward the church are decisively negative, also expressed their care and concern.

Lesson one: I had to buy more stamps.

Young Latinos are constantly negotiating who they are as people of faith and as members of our society. Some feel alone, others rejected, others not fully understood. Yet all carry in their lives an element of hope to which the church must pay attention.