Stewardship in the Easter Season is a joyful response to the countless blessings God pours into our lives. As we celebrate the Resurrection, we are reminded that everything we have-our faith, our families, our time and our resources-are gifts flowing from Christ’s triumph over sin and death.

I taught for many years, mostly in Catholic high schools. There was one student I came to notice over time. He always seemed to be around when trouble was brewing. At first, that didn’t seem like a good thing. But with closer attention, I realized something else was going on. He was often the one stepping in—with parental permission—to help a classmate who had gotten into trouble.

April is recognized as Autism Awareness Month. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most recent data estimates that 1 in every 31 eight-year-olds in the United States is on the autism spectrum.

CHASTANG — The Archdiocese of Mobile Department of Multicultural Ministry sponsored its second annual “Lenten Tent Revival” March 18–20 at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Chastang, with the theme “A New Spirit.”

Abril ha sido designado como el Mes de la Prevención del Abuso Infantil, lo que sirve como un recordatorio fundamental para que todos en la Arquidiócesis de Mobile den prioridad a la protección y el bienestar de nuestros jóvenes. Como arzobispo, les aseguro que nosotros, como arquidiócesis, estamos atentos a esta prioridad. He formado parte del Comité de Protección de Niños y Jóvenes de la USCCB, me he reunido con víctimas y sobrevivientes y sus familias, y he colaborado con nuestra propia Oficina Arquidiocesana para la Protección de Menores y Adultos (OPMA) para garantizar que nuestras parroquias cumplan con la capacitación en materia de protección de niños y jóvenes. La OPMA también es auditada cada año por una firma independiente contratada por la Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de los Estados Unidos (USCCB) para verificar su cumplimiento. El año pasado, se capacitó a un total de 7.877 menores y se realizaron 1.302 verificaciones de antecedentes de nuevos empleados y voluntarios. Además, la arquidiócesis llevó a cabo 303 sesiones de capacitación grupal.

It is very easy to move through the day, simply going with the current of what comes our way. We move from one activity to the next, staying busy but rarely stopping to ask whether we are using our time well.

Find your peace in the anticipation this Lent. Throughout our lives—young, old and somewhere in between—we may find ourselves in a season of life that leaves us desiring to hurry up and be on with the next phase. At times, Christ invites us to test ourselves against temptation by trusting that He will bring about everything that we need at exactly the moment we need it.

This past January, I was blessed to participate in Project Homeless Connect. I was present, not only to support our own Catholic Social Services, but also to become more aware of other resources provided to assist the homeless.

At an age when most teenagers are scrolling social media or listening to podcasts, 15-year-old Win Tapia is doing something different — he’s hosting one.

El pasado enero, tuve la suerte de participar en el Proyecto Homeless Connect. Estuve presente no solo para apoyar a nuestros Servicios Sociales Católicos, sino también para conocer mejor otros recursos disponibles para ayudar a las personas sin hogar. Las personas sin hogar fueron transportadas en autobuses a The Grounds, donde se les ofrecieron diversos servicios. Quienes llegaban, al cruzar las puertas, eran recibidos por un guía —un estudiante de la Universidad del Sur de Alabama, designado para guiarlos hacia los servicios de cuidado específicos que se ofrecían—. Los diversos servicios ofrecidos incluían servicios médicos, servicios legales (sí, había tribunales en sesión), asistencia para la elaboración de currículums laborales, ayuda para personas afectadas por violencia doméstica, información sobre albergues y viviendas para personas sin hogar, comidas, cortes de pelo, por nombrar solo algunos.

How is Lent going for you? I started off OK but ate meat on the first Friday after Ash Wednesday.

When we hear the word stewardship, it is easy to think it applies only to those with financial abundance or special talents. Stewardship is not reserved for a select few, it is a way of life, and we are all called to be good stewards.

Queridos hermanos y hermanas en Cristo: Recientemente, estuve con mis hermanos obispos en un retiro. En el programa del retiro siempre se reserva un tiempo para celebrar el Sacramento de la Confesión. Uno de los obispos mencionó: «Dejó de acudir al confesionario porque era demasiado duro consigo mismo con sus penitencias». Por supuesto, nosotros, como obispos, no acudimos a nosotros mismos para la celebración del sacramento. Al igual que ustedes, también necesitamos acudir a un obispo o a un sacerdote para celebrar este maravilloso sacramento de amor y misericordia. Aprecio sinceramente la oportunidad de celebrar este sacramento en mi propia vida.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Recently, I was with my brother bishops on retreat. Within the retreat schedule, there is always time set aside to celebrate the Sacrament of Confession. One of the bishops mentioned, “He stopped going in the mirror for confession, because he was far too hard on himself with his penances.” Of course, we as bishops do not go to ourselves for the celebration of the sacrament. We need, like you, to also go to a bishop or a priest to celebrate this wonderous sacrament of love and mercy. I truly appreciate the opportunity to celebrate this sacrament in my own life.

Sr. Mary Eileen Wilhelm, R.S.M., who served in the health care ministry for 35 years—including time as president and CEO of Mercy Medical, Inc.—passed away March 6 at the age of 87.

Don’t fear the confessional this Lent! One of the hardest things to explain to someone who is not Catholic is why we go into a closed room, often with some kind of noise machine after waiting in a line with 10 other people and then spill our secrets to a man with a “purple scarf.”

We have just begun the season of Lent. It is a blessing and at the same time, a bit of a cross to enter into this season of sacrifice. None of us like to deny ourselves things that are not intrinsically bad, we like comfort. Why can’t we just have some more Ordinary Time? We can still get holy, right?

La Iglesia celebra la memoria de Nuestra Señora de Lourdes el 11 de febrero. El papa San Juan Pablo II declaró este día festivo como Día Mundial del Enfermo. Afirmó que este Día Mundial del Enfermo es «un momento especial de oración y de compartir, de ofrecer el propio sufrimiento por el bien de la Iglesia y de recordarnos que debemos ver en nuestros hermanos y hermanas enfermos el rostro de Cristo, quien, al sufrir, morir y resucitar, logró la salvación de la humanidad».

The Church celebrates the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes on Feb. 11. Pope St. John Paul II declared this feast day as World Day of the Sick. He stated that this World Day of the Sick is “a special time of prayers and sharing, of offering one’s suffering for the good of the Church and of reminding us to see in our sick brothers and sisters the face of Christ who, by suffering, dying and rising, achieved the salvation of humankind.”

I was honored to participate in the closing liturgy and ceremony for Sr. Thea Bowman’s Cause for Canonization in the Diocese of Jackson, Miss. on Feb. 9. This was the end of the diocesan phase of collecting the documentation and narrative of the life of the Servant of God, Sr. Thea. The multiple boxes of materials were sealed and are to be sent to Rome, continuing the process of this Servant of God on the path to becoming a canonized saint.