Morning Briefing

Yesterday was the first official day of spring. This morning, I saw in my front flower bed the first tiny sprouts of crocuses.

A great story to begin your day: Women find self-esteem, worth in crochet thanks to sisters' ministry by Sr. Christine Schenk

I heard on the radio this morning that the family will not have a funeral: Fred Phelps' hateful legacy may be the opposite of all he intended

Portsmouth, England -- Bishop Philip Egan exhorts faithful to be charitable online

Portsmouth, England -- Bishop Philip Egan has provoked criticism from Catholic MPs after saying that politicians who voted for same-sex marriage should be denied Communion.

The guest list at St Patrick’s Day lunch in Rome’s Irish College included: former Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, Cardinal Raymond Burke, Ireland’s four Catholic archbishops (Brady, Martin, Neary and Clifford) and Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the Vatican’s Council for Christian Unity and a member of the Legionaries of Christ.

Film review: 'Geraldine Ferraro: Paving the Way' -- A celebration of Democratic vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro by her filmmaker daughter also shows how far there is to go.

Nigeria -- Maiduguri Catholic Diocese Loses 109 Members to Insurgents' Attacks

Vatican City -- Christians, Muslims join anti-slavery campaign

Joan Liew, a fitness instructor at Catholic Junior College in Singapore, takes top honors in Amateur International Bodybuilding in the Women's Physique (tall) category. In her 20 years of bodybuilding, Liew has never once been acknowledged by the Singapore Sports Council.

Vietnamese women urged to discover their own value. Our Lady Sr. Thecla Tran Thi Giong keynote speaker at seminar themed “Discovering women’s potential” at the Pastoral Center based in Ho Chi Minh City.

Courage Workshops Face Protests in Detroit and Santa Rosa -- Courage is a 12-step style program that aims at helping gay and lesbian people to live celibate lives.

GLAAD's president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis invites Catholic League Prez Bill Donohue to walk in the New York Dignity parade. Will Bill accept?

I am working on an NCR Today blog that I have given the headline "Update: NCR's survey of US diocese's synod on the family surveys." It's not ready yet, but should be posted by mid-morning central time. Stay tuned, or check back later.

Looking for a little inspiration to begin your day? NCR's sister publication, Celebration, gives you two options, both based on the Scripture readings of the day:

Pencil Preaching is a blog in which Celebration editor Pat Marrin combines Scripture and sketching to reflect on the Word.

Daily Bread is a series of short reflections written by four authors who meet regularly to share the readings. Daily Bread is intended to help daily preachers and others who pray from the assigned Scriptures each day to orient themselves to the Living Word addressed to the church in the world. It's a great way to begin the day.