Emptying and filling our interior buckets is hard work. In fact, it can’t be done apart from the grace of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who enables us to heed Jesus’ invitation, “Come to me, all you who are burdened and I will give you rest.” Jesus invites us to exchange our heavy yoke for his lighter burden – peace, forgiveness and thankfulness.  

Check out the most-read local stories and commentaries on CatholicReview.org for 2025.

Before the final countdown to the New Year, Christians should take a moment to remember all God’s blessings of the past year and to reflect honestly on how they responded to those graces, Pope Leo XIV said.

On Dec. 21, Puerto Rico’s Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón approved Law 183-2025, which amends the Civil Code of Puerto Rico and recognizes the unborn child or “nasciturus” — a Latin legal term referring to “conceived but not born” — as a natural person from conception.

Bishop Earl K. Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, has granted a dispensation from Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation to Catholics without authorization to stay in the United States, as well as those who “reasonably fear” being pursued in the ongoing immigration crackdown across the country.