My confirmation homily this year begins with a question addressed to the confirmands: If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? In more direct terms, what is different about my life because I am a Christian, a Catholic? Can those who know me tell the difference Jesus makes in my life? Can I?

Ultrasound images have become a powerful tool in saving the lives of those still in the womb. Ultrasound exams use ultrasound waves to scan a women's abdomen, creating a picture or "sonogram" of the baby in uterus.

I recently taught a Continuing Education course in Catholic social teaching at Christ the King Seminary, and during one of our discussions a participant pointed out that it is hard to pay attention to so much of what is going on in the world when we are busy working, raising a family, caring for parents, and just trying to keep things together.

Pope Francis, in calling the Church to celebrate this Jubilee Year of Mercy, invites Catholics everywhere to "gaze even more attentively on mercy so that we may become a more effective sign of the Father's action in our lives."

In June of last year my priestly ministry underwent a significant shift in focus as I left my work as parochial vicar at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Niagara Falls and began a new role as director of Vocations for our diocese.

The diocesan celebration in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took place on Sunday, Jan. 17, at St. Martin de Porres Parish in Buffalo.

Many of us in the pro-life movement have heard someone make the claim that they're firmly against abortion but see nothing wrong with contraception. This statement shows a common confusion that blurs the truth, espoused and cherished by our Church, about the gift of life and the dignity of every person.

When unbaptized adults (or older children) seek to join the Catholic Church, they are "embedded" in their parish community for a time of faith formation called the Catechumenate, which culminates in the celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation and full membership in the Church.

This Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis invites us all to not just meditate on this theme but to also get involved, reach out and get others with this gift that we so many times are given undeservingly by our heavenly Father. We are given it practically every single day and may not even realize it.

Bishop Malone opens the New Year with a number of thoughts and reflections.

They say hindsight is 20-20 and we have now had almost 50 years to look at the evolution of our culture since the availability of the birth control pill and since Pope Paul VI wrote the encyclical "Humanae Vitae." The last half century of practice reveals some of the truths about both of these watershed events in human history.

In the span of just over two weeks last month, the ISIS terror network claimed responsibility for downing a Russian passenger jet, carrying out a suicide bombing in Baghdad, deadly explosions in Beirut, and multiple, coordinated attacks in Paris, killing hundreds and wounding hosts of others.

The iGeneration, Y-Generation, Millennials, Mosaics - whatever the label, they may be the game-changer generation for our parishes.

I write this month from Baltimore, where the bishops of the United States are gathered for our annual Fall Plenary Meeting. As we concelebrated the Eucharist early this Sunday morning. I offered Mass for all of you who constitute the community of faith that is the Diocese of Buffalo. (Did you know that diocesan bishops offer one Mass each Sunday and holy day of obligation pro populo, that is, "for the people," just as pastors are required to do weekly for their parishioners?)

The pilgrimage to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families and Washington, D.C., to see Pope Francis took plenty of sacrifices. We traveled by bus, train and foot, walking sometimes miles to see him.

In proclaiming an "Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy," Pope Francis has called us all to embrace mercy and recognize it as, "God's loving concern for each one of us." He states emphatically that God's mercy has no limits, and that all of us should strive to follow His example by always being ready to forgive.

Twenty-Eight years ago the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops had the foresight to anticipate the retirement needs of Congregations of Women and Men Religious who had worked for the Church in the United States since the late 18th century. Most of these congregations, whose focus had been on providing services to the Church and its pastoral, educational and health care needs, were without adequate savings or investments for the care of retired members. It was at this time that dioceses throughout the country were asked to take up an annual collection to assist these religious congregations in providing funding for the anticipated retirement needs of their members.

Imagine leaving your home on any particular morning and noticing that the cars in your neighborhood all have flat tires. Up and down the block, in driveway after driveway, are cars parked with flat tires. And imagine that on your daily commute, the vast majority of cars on the expressway are actually making their way through traffic in cars without any air in their tires.

We have all been horrified by the senseless terrorist attacks in Paris. Join me in fervent prayer for victims of the massacre, for justice for ISIS leaders and killers, and for world peace.

In the six days that Pope Francis visited the United States, he was able to command the attention of virtually everyone in the country. By spending time in the nation's Capital, the home of the United Nations and Wall Street, and the birthplace of American freedom, he was able to speak to and reflect on the great icons of what it means to be American.

This past October, Father Chester Smith, SVD, asked everyone at the Revival what time was it and everyone would yell out, "It's prime time!" As I recall the excitement of the pope's visit, his homilies, his messages through words and actions our response to this should be, "Prime Time!" What does it mean? I believe it's when we cannot let the excitement and joy of his message die. We have to not only bring the good news of Christ to others, but also we must do it through our actions of love, hope and charity.

A couple of months from now when the Christmas season rolls around again, I know that my wife and I will once again watch her favorite Christmas movie - "It's a Wonderful Life." You probably remember the story of George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, who is facing so much trouble that he has decided to take his own life. Fortunately, an angel named Clarence talks him out of it by pointing out how much poorer everyone else's life would have been if he had not been born.

Every year we remember in a special way our baptismal call to mission as we celebrate World Mission Sunday, which is being held this year on Oct. 18. On this Sunday, we will gather at the Eucharist, as will Catholics throughout the world, in a spirit of love for evangelization so that, through our prayers and concrete acts of solidarity, the gift of faith may be shared with all.

My brother and I seemed so different when I was younger. He was tall, I was short. He liked to watch the Three Stooges. I preferred cartoons. He read Hardy Boys books which seemed like too much work for me at age 6.

VATICAN CITY (CNA/EWTN News) - Married couples who endure hardships together; gay men and women trying to live chastely; engaged couples who choose not to cohabitate. What do all these people have in common?

The Office of Cultural Diversity, along with the members of the African-American Commission of the Diocese of Buffalo, will be holding their biannual Revival this year at SS. Columba-Brigid Parish, 75 Hickory St., Buffalo. The Revival theme is, "Cast the First Stone."

When one considers the many ways countless human beings are treated like cheap disposable products - from children exploited by pornographers, to young sweatshop workers exploited by wealthy corporations - it's hard to imagine how much worse it can get for the poor and vulnerable.

A few weeks ago, the second reading at Mass contained these lines from the letter to the Ephesians: "All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ."

"Every Life is Worth Living" has been a consistent theme of Pope Francis and one that has particular urgency today. This year's theme for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Respect Life Program fills us with encouragement and hope and calls us to love, defend and celebrate all human life. It calls us to joyfully follow the example of Christ, to love without limits, and further, to act on that sense of true Christian charity.

Amtrak train #184 is my mobile office as I write this column en route from Washington, D.C., to New York City. I have just left a U.S. Capital totally energized by the presence of Pope Francis.

Pope Francis arrives today for his first visit to the United States. He will do many significant things in his six days with us. He will visit the White House, address Congress and the United Nations, and participate in a multi-religious service at New York's 9/11 Memorial and Museum, World Trade Center site.

During the World Meeting of Families, taking place Sept. 22-27, families get together to share their thoughts on various themes on family life. They dialogue on the role of the Christian family in Church and in society. The talks and workshops are led by distinguished speakers from around the world. There is a group from the Diocese of Buffalo that is preparing themselves for the meeting. For many it will be the first time attending this international gathering.

A glance through the Catholic school directory recently brought a startling revelation: Catholic schools have been in the Diocese of Buffalo since before there was a Diocese of Buffalo. Two schools, St. Aloysius Regional School in Springville, and SS. Peter & Paul School in Williamsville, have been in operation since 1836, and that's 11 years before the Diocese of Buffalo was established.

Our Catholic schools are strong and advancing purposefully into the future. Catholic schools are essential to the diocesan commitment to evangelization. Throughout the history of the diocese, our Catholic schools have been shining beacons of catechesis, social justice and daily living of the Gospel.

By now, almost everyone has at least heard about Pope Francis' encyclical "Laudato Si - On Care for our Common Home," and there have been a great number of articles, analyses, and assessments of what it says and means.

Sleep studies are growing in popularity this summer, as people realize the importance of sleep for personal health.

This past June and July, we had the privilege of having a speaker and teacher from the Diocese of Providence, R.I., on three different occasions. Silvio Cuéllar is the director of the Office of Hispanic Ministry in the diocese and the editor for the Hispanic paper, El Catolico de Rhode Island. He is also a musician and songwriter for Oregon Press Publication. He met with Hispanic families from around our diocese to teach them how to use the Scripture study he put together for families, named "Creating Families of Peace and Love."

Countless articles have been written about Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps and the countless social justice connections the Holocaust has to our society in the 21st century.

The tragic and mistaken Supreme Court decision to redefine marriage legally to include so-called "same-sex marriage" has many negative consequences. Among those consequences, one of the most alarming, in my judgment, is the threat this ruling poses to the religious freedom of people of faith and faith-based institutions that honor marriage as God has created it to be, the union of one man and one woman, open to the birth and rearing of children.

On June 10, the Bishops of the United States gathered in St. Louis for their Spring General Assembly.