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Jorge Mario Bergoglio was a 50-1 betting long shot to be elected pope in 2013, when the former Argentine cardinal beat the odds and took the name Pope Francis.

Bettors are banking on another long shot to succeed Pope Francis, who died April 21 at age 88.

While Italian cardinal Pietro Parolin and Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle continue to...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: My grandmother keeps warning me not to make bad choices in life. I respect her as one who has always made good decisions, and our family has benefited greatly. But does God really care about the decisions we make, and if so, why? Isn’t the natural pathway of life to just live and learn from our ...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: We live in dangerous times. Young people are committing suicide; the elderly and sickly consider the right to die. Is the breath of life in our hands to give and take? – L.B.

A: Ultimately, our lives are in God’s hands; even the next breath we take is a gift from Him. If He were to withdraw His...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: The media has revealed the president’s parenting rules to his youngest son. Is it right for parents to give kids rules? Giving our children freedom to make their own decisions and learn about life is how they learn. Isn’t that what the story of the prodigal son is all about? Besides this story, ...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: There is a lot of talk about a coming Golden Age in the political realm. There’s also a religious book by the same title, but it is about Jesus Christ returning to Earth. There was a time that I felt it was an idea of some fanatical religious sects, but the more I watch events in the Holy Land, ...Read more

Many notes of reflection on the passing of the pope. This from my friend F in Wisconsin:

“When he was a teenager, he loved to play basketball. Then, in his 20s, he had life-threatening pneumonia and part of a lung was removed. No more basketball for that young man! He became a priest after being inspired by a priest. John Paul II made him...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: What is the difference between physical poverty and spiritual poverty? – P.S.

A: Man’s spiritual poverty is even more wretched than his physical poverty. His failure to do what he ought to do and be what he ought to be proves that there is something inherently wrong with him. The Bible puts it ...Read more

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: There are many peace talks happening right now, and I’m hoping and praying that negotiations between the nations can come to fruition. Since 9/11 particularly, people are ready to have some quietness on the world stage and a sigh of relief in their hearts. Is it foolish to pray for something that ...Read more

Q: Many Christian readers, fresh off their Easter Communion services, wrote to me to ask me about the actual Christian belief about the bread and wine turning into the body and blood of Christ. Thankfully, you don’t have to rely on a rabbi’s interpretation. C, from Walla Walla, Washington, helpfully wrote in with her understanding of this ...Read more

As Easter approaches and Passover fades away this week, I offer to you, dear readers, and your families, a two-word prayer to help each of us gain a measure of hope in these troubled times by taking the true meaning of our sacred stories into our lives.

A story from my tradition. The rabbis asked, “After the children of Israel ...Read more

Go figure! This old question about a dog taught me everything important I needed to know about Passover and Easter.

Q: I have a dilemma. Bo is my Labrador Retriever and he is always with me. He rides in my truck, comes on my boat and sleeps in my bed. My girlfriend says he smells and she is allergic to him and tells me that ...Read more

In this season of sacred holidays for Judaism (Passover), Christianity (Easter), Islam (Ramadan) and Hinduism (Holi) it seems to me like a good time to face the challenges of interfaith dialogue on a deeply personal level.

What are we to do when the challenges of understanding the faith of our neighbor is not the result of some ...Read more

As we prepare to welcome spring (March 20) and Passover (April 12) and Easter (April 20). I offer up a prayer for remembering how our spring holidays divide us and unite us and how springtime makes all our celebrations part of a renewal of hope.

Passover and Easter are ...Read more

I recently wrote about how the Golden Rule (“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”) is a part of every single world religion. This note lifts my spirits by showing me that it is also a part of the moral education of every compassionate family,

Q: My husband and I were raised ...Read more

Springtime brings us a wide variety of joyous and colorful celebrations in the cycle of sacred time. People do not realize that religions cannot only fill our lives and our years with stern limitations and restrictive rules, but that faith must also be fun.

The two weeks at the end of March and at the beginning of spring put us squarely in the ...Read more