“Tenderness is something greater than the logic of the world. It is an unexpected way of doing justice,” Pope Francis said in his general audience on Jan. 19.

No one wants to be at a funeral. It means that a loss has occurred, hearts broken. But there are few other instances in which doing something we dread so deeply can mean so much.

“Sometimes we live in a spirit of a ‘parking lot’; we stay parked, without the impulse of desire that carries us forward. We do well to ask: where are we on our journey of faith?”

My dad was and is an alcoholic. Al-Anon gives me a framework for naming my situation, taking responsibility for my actions and making changes so that I can live a (more) emotionally sober life.

Can we ultimately trust the smirking ones in our midst, the sarcastic with a clever quip for our every move, for each vulnerable moment?

A hint from Father James Martin: Start with just 15 minutes a day.