Dr. Maher Ayyad describes the current dire situation of hospitals in the Strip: People “are living in small tents without any services—no electricity, no water supply, and, despite food recently coming across the border, no food.”

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christian hope is not about avoiding pain and suffering but about knowing that God gives people the strength to persevere and to love even when things go wrong, Pope Leo XIV said.

When Jesus allowed himself to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, he showed that "Christian hope is not evasion, but decision," the pope told thousands of people gathered in the Vatican audience hall Aug. 27 for his weekly general audience.

"The way that Jesus exercised his freedom in the face of death teaches us not to fear suffering, but to persevere in confident trust in God's providential care," the pope said in his address to English speakers.

"If we surrender to God's will and freely give our lives in love for others, the Father's grace will sustain us in every trial and enable us to bear abundant fruit for the salvation of our brothers and sisters," he said. 

A person of faith, the pope said, does not ask God "to spare us from suffering, but rather to give us the strength to persevere in love, aware that life offered freely for love cannot be taken away by anyone."

Jesus lived every day of his life as preparation for the "dramatic and sublime hour" of his arrest, his suffering and his death, the pope said. "For this reason, when it arrives, he has the strength not to seek a way of escape. His heart knows well that to lose life for love is not a failure, but rather possesses a mysterious fruitfulness, like a grain of wheat that, falling to the ground, does not remain alone, but dies and becomes fruitful."

Naturally, Pope Leo said, Jesus "is troubled when faced with a path that seems to lead only to death and to the end. But he is equally persuaded that only a life lost for love, at the end, is ultimately found."

"This is what true hope consists of: not in trying to avoid pain, but in believing that even in the heart of the most unjust suffering, the seed of new life is hidden," he said. 

After spending more than 90 minutes greeting people in the audience hall, including dozens of newlywed couples, Pope Leo went into St. Peter's Basilica, where hundreds of people who did not get a place in the hall had been watching the audience and waiting for their turn to see the pope.

The pope thanked them for their patience, which, he said, "is a sign of the presence of the Spirit of God, who is with us. So often in life, we want to receive a response immediately, an immediate solution, and for some reason God makes us wait."

"But as Jesus himself taught us, we must have that trust that comes from knowing that we are sons and daughters of God and that God always gives us grace," the pope said. "He doesn't always take away our pain or suffering, but he tells us that he is close to us."
 

Famine has taken hold in Gaza and is expected to spread further by the end of September, a top U.N. humanitarian has said.

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In a message to French elected officials, Pope Leo insists on the need for Christian political leaders to turn to Jesus, to live their faith without compromise and bear witness to Him in order to face modern challenges and make the world a better place.

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St. Augustine of Hippo is the patron of brewers because of his conversion from a former life of loose living, which included parties, entertainment, and worldly ambitions. His complete turnaround and conversion has been an inspiration to many who struggle with a particular vice or habit they long to break. This famous son of St. Monica was born in Africa and spent many years of his life in wicked living and in false beliefs. Though he was one of the most intelligent men who ever lived ...

The church in the United States expresses its grief and condolences following Wednesday's tragedy in Minneapolis, where a young man opened fire during Mass at Annunciation Catholic School. The attack resulted in the deaths of two children and around seventeen injured before the shooter took his own life.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV sent his "heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness" to all those affected by the "terrible tragedy" of a shooting at a Catholic church in Minneapolis that left two children dead and 17 people injured.

The pope's condolences went particularly to "the families now grieving the loss of a child," said a telegram to Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.

The shooting Aug. 27 took place while the children of Annunciation Catholic School were in the parish church for the first Mass of the school year.

Police said a gunman in his 20s, armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, shot through the church windows at the students in the pews and then killed himself.

The dead children were 8 and 10 years old. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters 17 other people were injured, including 14 children.

Police did not release the gunman's name or speculate on a motive for the shooting. 

The papal message to Archbishop Hebda said that "while commending the souls of the deceased children to the love of Almighty God, His Holiness prays for the wounded as well as the first responders, medical personnel and clergy who are caring for them and their loved ones."

"At this extremely difficult time, the Holy Father imparts to the Annunciation Catholic School community, the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and the people of the greater Twin Cities metropolitan area his apostolic blessing as a pledge of peace, fortitude and consolation in the Lord Jesus," it said.
 

WASHINGTON – In response to the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minn., Archbishop William E. Lori, vice-president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement.

“As a Church, we are following the tragic news from Annunciation School in Minneapolis with heartbreaking sadness. Whenever one part of the Body of Christ is wounded, we feel the pain as if it were our very own children. Let us all beg the Lord for the protection and healing of the entire Annunciation family.”

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Saint Monica, also known as Monica of Hippo, is St. Augustine of Hippo's mother. She was born in 331 A.D. in Tagaste, which is present-day Algeria. When she was very young, she was married off to the Roman pagan Patricius, who shared his mother's violent temper. Patricius' mother lived with the couple and the duo's temper flares proved to be a constant challenge to young Monica. While Monica's prayers and Christian deeds bothered Patricius, he is said to have respected her beliefs. Three ...

Foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor. Born in Catalonia, Spain, she overcame many difficulties in her youth and eventually became a teacher at Lerida. Desirous to enter the religious life, she failed to win entry into the convent at the advice of her spiritual director, decided to launch her own congregation. On January 27, 1872, at Barbastro, Spain, she began the Little Sisters of the Poor, called the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Age. Considerable zeal, she had founded by the time of ...