In this Sunday’s gospel Jesus responds to the hostile reaction he received from those in Nazareth who “took offense” at his prophetic message. In a parliamentary meeting Wednesday, furious British politicians took offense at Bob Diamond, former chief executive of London-based Barclays . . .

“Our eyes are fixed on the Lord,” says the psalmist this Sunday, adding, “to you I lift up my eyes who are enthroned in heaven.” The eyes of the world’s astrophysicists this week were fixed on Geneva, Switzerland, where scientists working at the world's biggest atom smasher . . .

The Lord finds the Israelites to be “hard of face and obstinate of heart” in this Sunday’s first reading. Contemporary Israel recently softened its hard-line condemnation of Pope Pius XII’s conduct toward the massacre of Jews during World War II. Following a long diplomatic dispute with the Vatican . . .

The Catholic Church in Brazil might take some solace in Saint Paul’s message in this Sunday’s selection from Second Corinthians, where he says he is content with his weaknesses, hardships, and constraints because “when I am weak, then I am strong.” That is due to the fact that fewer than two thirds of Brazilians now identify as Catholics . . .

“Our faith journey isn't just about showing up on Sunday for a good sermon and good music and a good meal. It's about what we do Monday through Saturday as well, especially in those quiet moments, when the spotlight's not on us and we're making those daily choices about how to live our lives.”

Between 2007 and 2010, 130 members of the U.S. Congress or their families traded stocks in companies that were lobbying bills before the lawmakers' committees.