COLORADO SPRINGS. The words “Talitha Koum” at first appear to be the name of a woman, but these are the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, when he goes to see the daughter of Ja’irus. The child is dying. When Jesus arrives, people say that she is already dead, but Jesus says, “The child is not dead, but sleeping.” (Mk 5:39) Jesus takes the young girl’s hand saying, “Talitha Koum; which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise.’” (Mk 5:41)

COLORADO SPRINGS. Twelve years ago, Annie and Tom Waits thought they were doing a fair job as parents of their three-year old, but when the couple adopted twin one-year-old daughters, their rosy perceptions of themselves were capsized by their daughters’ unexpected behavior.

COLORADO SPRINGS. A large group of youth and adults from the diocese traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate Jan. 20 in the March for Life, an annual demonstration which takes place as a response to the Jan. 22, 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court which legalized abortion in all 50 states. Prior to the ruling, states had their own laws about abortion. The march began the following year, 1974, and has continued ever since.

COLORADO SPRINGS. As daily news reports shift from mass shootings to depictions of war in Ukraine, it is easy to become desensitized to the suffering of the world. But St. Patrick Parish in Colorado Springs took the message of Pope Francis — to go to the peripheries and bring hope to the suffering — by reorienting their annual Giving Tree project to address needs beyond the boundaries of their local community.