When life begins to fall apart, people often begin looking for God. Illness, injury, and the proximity of death tend to strip away our illusions of control. For many who are hospitalized — especially those facing the end of life — the heart opens in ways it may not have in decades. This vulnerability becomes holy ground, a final opportunity for grace to break through.
 

My favorite of this celestial company was St. Dympha . . . I found a frame for [her holy card] . . . and for many decades, it sat on my desk in Whitehall, to the amusement or consternation of my colleagues. I had the private enjoyment of knowing, alone among all who labour within the Foreign Office, that St. Dympha is the patroness of those afflicted with nervous disorders. In my profession I will accept all available assistance (Excerpted from “Enter the Lion: A Posthumous Memoir of Mycroft Holmes,” Hawthorn Books, 1979).

COLORADO SPRINGS. “The Gift,” a six week series beginning May 8, 6:30-8 p.m., will be held at Holy Apostles in Wicker Hall.

COLORADO SPRINGS. The annual diocesan celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday will take place April 27 at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Confessions will begin at 1:30 p.m., followed by exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Benediction, and the praying of the Divine Mercy chaplet. Mass will be celebrated at 3 p.m. For more information on the Divine Mercy devotion, visit divinemercyoftherockies.org. 

COLORADO SPRINGS. On March 17, Bishop James Golka announced plans to create a new diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Divine Redeemer Church, located at 927 N. Logan Ave., Colorado Springs. A dedication ceremony is tentatively scheduled for the weekend of July 5-6, 2025.