We live in troubled times. Perhaps this is a truth we’ve known for some time; perhaps only recently have we realized the extent of this truth. Regardless of the timing of our knowledge, it’s hard to deny this fact in light of our recent presidential election.

This week, the church celebrates the Feast of All Souls and the Feast of All Saints, beginning the month of November as the month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory. As we watch the weather begin to cool and the leaves begin to fall, it seems natural that we turn our attention to those who have gone before us.

We are called to show mercy because mercy has been shown to us,” said Pope Francis when he began the Jubilee Year of Mercy. This quote forms the mission of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Respect Life Program, a year-long pro-life program that began at the start of this month.

This year I decided to try something different in my classroom. Since I’m teaching a course that requires service within the community, I opted to make my class collaborative. I even thought that by using the term “collaborative,” somehow students would see it as more than simply group work.

Influence. Every day we encounter the effects of this term, but rarely do we take the time to fully examine its impact on ourselves and everyday actions. Influence, Merriam-Webster says, is “the power to change or affect someone or something: the power to cause changes without directly forcing them to happen.” Our lives don’t happen in a vacuum; our decisions and lived day-to-day experiences are shaped by the world around us and the people and communities surrounding us.

Benedict XVI, who began his papacy describing himself as a “humble servant in the Lord’s vineyard,” described his retirement as a time of being a “simple pilgrim, who begins the last stage of his pilgrimage on this earth.” The 85-year-old pope arrived in Castel Gandolfo Feb. 28 about two-and-a-half hours before the end of his pontificate.

At the end of their weeklong Lenten retreat, Pope Benedict XVI thanked members of the Roman Curia “for these eight years during which you have helped me carry the burden of the Petrine ministry with great competence, affection, love and faith.” During the retreat Feb. 17-23, the pope and members of the curia spent hours each morning and evening praying in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel in the Apostolic Palace and listening to 17 meditations offered by Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture.

At his first public appearance since he announced that he would resign at the end of February, Pope Benedict XVI thanked the faithful for their love and prayers and asked them to pray for his successor.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The biblical account of creation isn’t a textbook for science, Pope Benedict XVI said. Instead, the first chapter of Genesis reveals the fundamental truth about reality: that the world is not the result of chaos, but is born of and continually supported by God’s love, the pope said Feb. 6 at his weekly general audience.

When the Christian creed refers to God as “father,” it is affirming a trust that the God who created the universe loves each individual and will never abandon anyone, Pope Benedict XVI said. “It isn’t always easy” to explain to people what it means to believe in God the father, especially when today’s fathers and their children experience such difficulty communicating with each other, the pope said Jan. 30 at his general audience.

To believe in God means allowing his commandments to guide the concrete choices one makes every day, even when the values reflected in the choices are countercultural, Pope Benedict XVI said. “To believe in God makes us bearers of values that often do not coincide” with those of popular culture and which give believers criteria for judgment that nonbelievers may not share, the pope said Jan. 23 at his weekly general audience.

Lord Jesus Christ, You have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father, and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him. Show us your face and we will be saved. Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew from being enslaved by money; the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness only in created things; made Peter weep after his betrayal, and assured Paradise to the repentant thief.

As part of the ongoing promotion of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, the archdiocesan Office of Evangelization offers the following background on the “Jubilee Indulgence.” The indulgence can be obtained by walking through the Holy Door at St. Louis Cathedral or by visiting the other specially designated pilgrimage sites listed below.

The archdiocesan Office of Evangelization has compiled a list of key concepts for the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. The Clarion Herald’s series continues with five more: Compassion Compassion means, literally, “to feel with” (CCC #1503 ff.).

Over the next several issues, the Clarion Herald will offer brief explanations of key concepts – related in various ways to the central theme of mercy – that will be woven into articles, homilies, catechetical presentations and liturgical celebrations in churches and dioceses throughout the world during the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

In a liturgical action performed throughout the world on Dec. 8, Archbishop Gregory Aymond blessed and then opened the front doors of St. Louis Louis Cathedral – the holy doors – to usher in the Jubilee Year of Mercy called for by Pope Francis.

The Ninth General Synod of the Archdiocese of New Orleans was promulgated by Archbishop Gregory Aymond last summer, and now the office charged with guiding the implementation of the synod’s five priorities and 21 goals over the next three to ve years is encouraging parishes to give esh to the plan.

Encountering Jesus, Witnessing with Joy As a result of the work of the people of the Archdiocese and the Synod participants, over the next several years the Archdiocese of New Orleans is committed to these priorities and goals: 1.

It was called a “mega session,” and it lived up to its name. Nearly 90 members of the Archdiocese of New Orleans – priests, deacons, women and men religious and laypersons – attended an important discernment session of the Ninth General Synod March 5 at Notre Dame Seminary.

The 9th General Synod of the Archdiocese of New Orleans has been picking up steam. Can you give us an update on what’s been happening and where we’re going? I want to first express my profound gratitude to everyone involved in the discernment process.