Five Things To Remember On April 22

1.  Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), said in a press conference April 22 that “now is the time” to fix the nation’s broken immigration system.
“Let me say that now is the time to address this issue,” Cardinal Dolan said. “As we speak, persons are being deported and an untold number of families are being divided. Human beings continue to die in the American desert. This suffering must end.”

2. A recent column in the New York Times by T.M. Luhrmann about evangelicals relationship with God as a therapist, led Sister Mary Ann Walsh, media relations director for the USCCB, to write a letter to the editor defending the intimate relationship Catholics have with God each day. 

3. During the last several months, tragedies such as the Newtown shootings, the Boston Marathon bombing and the West, Texas plant explosion have brought communities together amidst incredible sadness. What those communities have rallied around is faith and the Catholic Church has been there at the center of the healing afterward. 

4. Pope Francis has taken the last week to really explore the nature of God's existence, which touches on issues raised by Sister Mary Ann's letter to the editor as well. His homily today reflected on the Gospel's account of Jesus as the "gate." He said, "Sometimes it's closed: we are sad, we feel desolation, we have problems with knocking, with knocking at that gate. Do not go looking for other gates that seem easier, more comfortable, more at hand. Always the same one: Jesus. Jesus never disappoints, Jesus does not deceive, Jesus is not a thief, not a robber. He gave his life for me: each of us must say this: 'And you who gave your life for me, please, open, that I may enter.' "

5. God loves you.