Catholic News

Por el obispo Peter F. Christensen ¿Alguna vez te has sentido tan cautivado al contemplar algo en la naturaleza que, al instante, te ha dejado sin aliento? Tal vez un colorido atardecer, una majestuosa montaña nevada o una rosa en flor en un jarrón: esos momentos que te transportan al asombro y a la maravilla mientras te deleitas con la belleza de lo que contemplas. Hace poco, una fotografía que me enviaron unos queridos amigos me cautivó profundamente. Era una foto recient

“New strength will come. He asks only one thing: to let Him into your lives deeply for His use and purpose. He knows that you’re capable — and what you’re capable of doing in this life with His grace. He will stand with you to fulfill His plans through you.” Two of the men ordained are from north Idaho, and two are from the Treasure Valley.

The Church asks all Christians to conform to the example of Christ, but deacons are called “to do so with great intentionality,” he explained, while encouraging the candidates with a passage from the Gospel reading (John 15:9-17), in which Jesus said that the disciples did not choose Him, but that He chose them and “appointed them to go and bear fruit that will last.”

In the process of this spiritual growth at seminary, however, the consolation of God’s love has been constant. “The best part about seminary is receiving the love of God the Father through all the difficult places in the journey. He has poured it out through the Sacraments. Also, His grace has been through the priests who have formed me and my wonderful brother seminarian brothers.”

Members of God’s Squad during the Idaho Catholic Youth Conference 2026, sharing their faith and joy with fellow participants. (ICR photo/Vero Gutiérrez) By Philip A. Janquart ICR Editor Over 1,500 youth from across Idaho attended the annual Idaho Catholic Youth Conference in Boise, held March 13-15. “ICYC ’26 was a great blessing for our diocese, with powerful moments of testimony, powerful talks, incredible praise and worship, beautiful liturgies and an amazing evening ador

Answering the call is more than receiving the Sacraments. “It is about becoming saints,” he said. “The journey ahead — especially these coming weeks of Lent will not simply be about learning more prayers or memorizing teachings. It will be about conversion, about allowing Christ to examine your heart. It is about trust and surrender.”

Lent is not first a season of our effort or self-improvement. It is, above all, a season of God’s mercy and action in our lives through the gift of the Holy Spirit. At the same time, this gift is never forced upon us. The Holy Spirit is freely given, but he must also be freely received.

“My brothers and sisters, wisdom comes from God and spending time with God in our own private prayer, communal prayer, in being obedient to his commandments, and living as he desires us to live. Seeking God’s presence in our life is where it all begins.”

In a culture that can confuse identity, weaken commitment and reduce love to feelings alone, the Church proclaims with confidence and compassion what Jesus Himself reveals: that marriage is not a private experiment, but a divine gift — an enduring covenant of faithful love, ordered toward communion and fruitfulness, and elevated by Christ to the dignity of a sacrament.

“We need to be courageous in spreading the Good News of our Lord’s agape love for others, by our words and our actions,” Bishop Peter continued. “If we do so, abortion will be no more.”

“The Idaho Supreme Court has made it clear that a woman does not need to be in imminent risk of death for a doctor to act,” she said. “But unfortunately we hear misinformation about Idaho’s laws. They say that doctors can’t practice medicine here or that they must transfer women out of state in medical emergencies. And that is not true.” Proponents of RFPA, she explained, are using misinformation to trigger empathy in voters and convince them to make abortion legal in Idah

“Everything in our lives is God working to bring us all home."

“Brother Juan, you are now a part of that jour­ney of coming into a deeper relationship of the transformation at the altar,” Bishop Peter said. “As priests, as celibates, Jesus becomes our all in a very special way.”

Our beloved Holy Father, Pope Francis, died today.