A thirst for drinking water—and for the living waters of salvation—permeate the readings this Third Sunday of Lent. A thirst for water also permeates the dry Southwestern United States, especially California. The state is in the grip of a three-year drought that threatens to have devastating effects . . .

We are encouraged in the reading from the Letter to the Romans this Sunday to trust that "we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith." It’s hard to have much faith in Mideast peace prospects right now, as the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian talks appear on the edge . . .

The responsorial psalm this Sunday implores, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” While there may be few things more hard-hearted than encouraging a depressed person to commit suicide, a former nurse who did just that with despondent . . .

In this Sunday’s gospel, we hear that Jesus’ disciples were shocked to find him speaking to a Samaritan, and doubly so because he spoke with a woman. Discrimination against women is alive and well today, but at least one global . . .

"I usually close it to stop it catching fire as people tend to throw their cigarette butts onto it."

Coal is expected to overtake oil as the world's dominant fuel source by 2020, according to a consultant's study, with two-thirds of demand driven by coal-fired electricity power plants in China.