When we are tempted to lose hope, we must remember that it is not a feeling or an emotion but a virtue, says the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Yakima in Washington state.

"We have to be prophets of hope" and prevent mining water contamination, "including physically, if necessary," Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez said in a homily, as El Salvador is poised to reverse its ban on metal mining.

Looking back, Deacon Ned Berghausen said he realizes God was present even in that time of great suffering. He reflects often, he said, on the date of the tsunami — the feast of St. Stephen, who was the first martyr and one of the first deacons of the early church.