If you listen to people who work at Church of the Resurrection in Ellicott City and interact with Monsignor John A. Dietzenbach, its pastor since 2009, you hear of a dedicated Catholic who is the picture of work ethic, selflessness, humility, positivity and deep love for his parish and the Holy Trinity.

The Texas Supreme Court upheld a state law on June 28 banning certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures for minors who identify as transgender, allowing it to remain in effect.

Though it’s the third film in a franchise that kicked off in 2018, “A Quiet Place: Day One” (Paramount) serves, as its subtitle suggests, as a prequel to its predecessors. Accordingly, it recounts the opening stages of the series’ trademark showdown between resourceful humans and marauding aliens.

“A real pleasure,” says Monsignor Baker about his 43-year priesthood that has taken him from an associate pastor to the archdiocese’s director of vocations and for the last 23 years as pastor of bustling St. Ignatius in Hickory.

It’s no secret that in recent years many Catholics have absented themselves from the Eucharist and there are many reasons for this. But none of these reasons outweighs the depth, the beauty and the reality of Christ’s Presence and his power to change our lives by his transformative love.