Dear Fr. Leo: What happens to our souls when our bodies die? Does it go with our spirits up to God for initial judgment? I have a good friend from a new religious movement who believes that the soul remains with the dead body until Christ returns. At the same time, I would like to…
In the summer of 2019, Daughter of Charity Sister Mary Peter Diaz left Anchorage for a new assignment on the vast Navajo Reservation in the Southwestern United States. Like all of us, Sister Mary Peter, who had worked here in both Hispanic and Native ministry, had no idea what was in store in 2020. So,…
2020 is a year that none of us will ever forget. The challenges faced by all of us, as organizations, parishes and individuals, were unanticipated and beyond what any of us could have conceived. Illness and uncertainty followed all of us this year. And the most vulnerable—those in poverty, elders, the ill, and children, were…
“May we be in this world a ray of that light which shone forth from Bethlehem, bringing joy and peace to the hearts of all men and women.” Pope Francis This message from Pope Francis during Advent of 2013 to the crowds in St. Peter’s Square is just as relevant now as it was then,…
By Anna SchultenThe North Star Catholic As 2020 draws to a close, we spend an Advent season preparing our hearts to receive Christ ever more fully this Christmas season. As Catholics, our lives do not exist in isolation: we come to faith and grow in relationship with God in the context of a Christian community….
This time of year is spent in preparation and waiting – waiting for the celebration of Christmas and the birth of Jesus Christ. The season of Advent this year brings great anticipation and preparation for both the celebration of Christ’s birth and the hope of a vaccine and better tomorrows on the horizon. I often…
By Annie Albrecht The North Star Catholic Back when 2020 was still fresh and new and full of hope, I wrote an article on marriage for Inside Passage, the newspaper of the former Diocese of Juneau. The thesis of that article can be summed up in a simple statement: your marriage matters to the world….
Dear Fr. Leo: When we say the Apostles Creed, we say, “He descended into hell.” It seems to be a direct contradiction to the Bible when Jesus told the thief as they hung on the cross, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Did Jesus go to Heaven or…
On a cold November day, I noticed on Twitter Sister Helen Prejean, the Catholic death penalty opponent, announcing that her friend Bill Pelke had died in Anchorage, Alaska, where he had retired. He was shoveling snow when he suffered a heart attack. I had heard Bill speak years before and had tried to schedule a…
Dear Fr. Leo:Jesus got one hundred percent of his earthly stuff from his mother…her blood type, her DNA, her good looks, etc. So, when we receive the Eucharist, which IS the body and blood of Jesus, aren’t we also receiving her? – M Dear M:An interesting speculation. The crux of the matter lies in the…