Joy is not decoration but central to Christian worship. Every liturgy carries a note of joy, even in the face of suffering. It is the abiding flavour of faith, an expression of hope in the risen Christ and the victory of life over death.

Empathy begins with recognition. Violence thrives on dehumanisation, but radical listening restores compassion. Gene Knudsen-Hoffman captured it simply: “An enemy is one whose story you have not heard.” To hear another’s story is to rediscover our own humanity and expand the boundaries of care.

Millennials and younger generations, Smith argues, grew up seeing religion as discredited or irrelevant. For them, faith didn’t add up. This generational shift has accelerated the cultural disengagement that left organized religion looking more like an antique than a necessity.

Religious attendance has long been linked to better health and happiness. But researchers are now asking whether virtual services, increasingly common since COVID-19, offer the same benefits. Duke University’s small study suggests the online experience falls short on several personal and communal measures.

Pope Benedict XVI’s legacy is deeply tied to translation. His insistence on word-for-word rendering left Catholics with a liturgy often alien to contemporary speech. Change will not come from Rome alone. English-speaking Catholics must rally together, pushing their bishops to request approval for the 1998 translation.

The Gaza famine is not a tragic accident but the result of calculated choices. A population stripped of food, shelter, and safety has been left to perish in full view of the world. Gaza’s suffering is engineered, not incidental.

Hope is found not in grand gestures but in countless small acts that build justice and peace. Together, these create a mosaic of goodness—the Reign of God alive in our own time and place.

National exceptionalism has long seduced nations into conquest, aggression and self-righteousness. From Israel to America, the dangerous fusion of faith and politics distorts Scripture’s call to justice and mercy, turning chosenness into a weapon of exclusion rather than a summons to service.

Being a good neighbor starts with citizenship — engaging in public life to promote justice, peace and environmental care. Loving our neighbor can feel overwhelming, but hope begins with small, concrete acts.

The world is staggering under war, climate crisis, and migration pressures. Fear dissolves solidarity and fuels cruelty, while populists exploit it for gain. Christians are called not to amplify despair but to interpret these signs as God’s summons to hope-filled action.