“My word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will,” we hear in this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Isaiah. Though words alone won’t heal the deep scars left by clerical sex abuse, Pope Francis on Monday promised . . .

In this Sunday’s second reading, Saint Paul writes to the Romans of the suffering of all creation, which waits in hope to be “set free from slavery” and to share in “the glorious freedom of the children of God.” Many of the children arriving to the U.S. border in droves . . .

The psalmist this Sunday praises God for enriching the people’s harvest. During the recession that began in 2008, countless people with savings or investments suddenly went from enriched to impoverished. The downturn appears to have taken more than a financial toll.

In explaining the parable of the sower and the seed in this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus indicates that seed sown in good soil will be cultivated as a good harvest. A career spent cultivating academic excellence resulted in a precedent-setting harvest for Franciscan Sister Mary Melone, the first woman to be named rector of a pontifical university.

“The church isn’t so much on a campaign to revive exorcism as it is to recover its influence over how it’s practiced.”

Nearly three-quarters of Americans (73 percent) say there should be a way for people in the United States illegally to remain in this country if they meet certain requirements, while just 24 percent oppose this.