The sacrifice of five Catholic priests who gave their lives ministering to people in Shreveport during the 1873 yellow fever epidemic is memorialized in stained glass at Holy Trinity Church in downtown.

The Advent season is a reminder that our own childlike faith can hardly imagine what God has in store for us.

With the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe closed for her feast to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Pope Francis said Catholics still can receive a plenary indulgence Dec. 11 and 12 for their Marian devotion if they follow certain conditions.

“Every day is the same,” one of my boys said sadly the other day.

Constant tears can signal depression and are not good signs. But tears that spring forth in solidarity with the suffering, that draw us closer to the kingdom Jesus came to call forth, those can be good tears.