NEW YORK. The year 2019 saw the release of quality films across a wide range of genres, from a comic book-based extravaganza and a family drama about a Chinese American clan to a crackerjack murder mystery.

Below — in alphabetical order — are the Media Review Office of Catholic News Service’s picks for last year’s Top 10 movies overall.

COLORADO SPRINGS. Bahkita Mountain Home, a safe home in Colorado Springs for victims of human trafficking, is closer to becoming a reality.

One of my favorite hymns is a recent addition to our Easter repertoire, Three Days. It begins with an expression of despair — “Three days our world was broken; the Lord of life lay dead,” but then builds to a triumphant conclusion: “Though still Christ’s body suffers, pierced daily by the sword, yet death has no dominion: the risen Christ is Lord!”

CLEVELAND, Ohio. Rabbi Howard Jay Hirsch, who founded the Center for Christian-Jewish Dialogue in Colorado Springs in the mid-1990s, died April 15 at age 82. Rabbi Hirsch was born Sept. 3, 1937, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He graduated from Case Western University and was ordained from Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City in June 1964.

COLORADO SPRINGS. Even though parishioners at St. Gabriel the Archangel weren’t able to attend any Masses during the month of April, the parish not only held its regular monthly food drive but held an extra drive that resulted in a 3,500-pound food donation to Marian House soup kitchen.

COLORADO SPRINGS. When Colleen (Walker) Berenguer ‘11 graduated from St. Mary’s High School, a career in nursing wasn’t on her radar. Yet, nine years later, her days have been filled with caring for patients in Meridian, Idado, with a virus that just a few months ago no one could have imagined. Berenguer is one of several St. Mary’s graduates who are on the frontlines caring for COVID-19 patients across the nation.

At just the right time, the Catholic Church is blessed by a renewed kindling of love and devotion to St. Joseph. This new book is an outgrowth of that love, and a practical guide to renewing our own devotion to “our spiritual father.”

Of all the half-truths and misinformation being circulated during the COVID-10 pandemic, one of the biggest misconceptions is that our Catholic parishes are “closed” and that the Catholic Church has somehow abandoned her mission out of fear of a virus.

Water should be in the top three of our most treasured blessings. We need it to survive. So many different elements of our lives depend on water. It is important to conserve it, use it wisely and thank God every day for it.

COLORADO SPRINGS. Bishop Michael Sheridan will ordain Deacons Timothy O’Connell and Chance Billmeyer to the priesthood on May 30 at 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral.

COLORADO SPRINGS. The impacts of the coronavirus pandemic will ripple through society for years to come, but one of the groups most immediately and directly affected by the pandemic are engaged couples who were planning weddings this year. These couples have been faced with a difficult choice — move forward with a wedding where only their parents and possibly siblings can attend, or postpone it for an indeterminate period of time.

De todas las medias verdades y la información errónea que circuló durante la pandemia del COVID-19, una de las mayores ideas falsas es que nuestras parroquias católicas están «cerradas» y que la Iglesia Católica ha abandonado de alguna manera su misión por miedo a un virus.