“Few of us love the law,” PreparetheWord.com scripture commentator Alice Camille points out in her reflection on this Sunday’s readings. “Do you love the law?” she asks. When it comes to extending controversial provisions of the USA Patriot Act, . . .

Jesus speaks of the fires of Gehenna at several points in his gospel admonitions this Sunday. Raging fire has taken a heavy toll on the usually festive preparations for Rio de Janeiro’s famous Carnival . . .

“We speak a wisdom to those who are mature, not a wisdom of this age,” Saint Paul writes in this week’s reading from the Letter to the Corinthians. While contemporary trends have led to a decline in the numbers of professed members of religious communities . . .

In this Sunday’s first reading the prophet reminds the people that they can choose between “life and death, good and evil,” but that God does not command anyone to act unjustly nor gives anyone “license to sin.” The recent fatal shooting of a Texas missionary . . .

Whoever breaks the commandments will have something to worry about, Jesus warns in this Sunday’s gospel. But those ready to atone for their shortcomings now have a mobile app to help them along. . . .

“We had people who were animatedly fearful of anything to do with Islam.”

A recent study found that more than 500 million adults worldwide--one in 10--were obese in 2008.