On the old quiz show ldquo What rsquo s My Line rdquo a panel of celebrities tried to discover the occupation of a contestant who was required to answer their questions honestly but without revealing any pertinent clues The contestant won if the panel failed In today rsquo s Gospel Jesus asks

The blowing wind is a mysterious phenomenon It cannot be seen but its effects are constantly around us In the summer it can be a cooling touch on the skin while in the winter it can slap one hard in the face It carries the seeds that will eventually germinate into new forms of life yet it can

Legend tells us that St Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to teach about the three persons in one God It is an ingenious pedagogical device very neat and understandable But it does little to explain the mystery we call God While the readings for today do not really describe the divine esse

We might be tempted to laugh at the naive optimism of Don Quixote who though considered ridiculous saw himself as a champion of the vulnerable But is he really so far removed from us As children we may have envisioned ourselves as an astronaut hero Miss America or the batter who wins the Worl

In the popular Christmastime movie ldquo Home Alone rdquo an inattentive family goes off on vacation not noticing the absence of one of their children Left behind with only his ingenuity the young boy fends off a pair of bungling burglars There are some touching moments to this film but it b

When I was a child I often wondered how far up Jesus had to ascend before he got to heaven Later I was dumbfounded when as an adult I read an astronaut rsquo s comment about not seeing any traces in space of Jesus rsquo ascension It is not that I have a clearer understanding of this mystery th

We seem to tire so easily of the ordinary in life Many of us are constantly looking for something new something exciting We want to be entertained by life and to have the latest of everything whether that means style electronic equipment or fame We are often taken in by the advertisements that

Not too many people serve grilled fish for breakfast mdash smoked maybe but not grilled But who would turn it down if Jesus was the one offering it Bread and fish Not unlike the meal he earlier served to the large crowd on the mountainside Jn 6 9-11 Both times he astonished the disciples Unf

Today is traditionally known as Good Shepherd Sunday But the readings call our attention to the flock rather than the shepherd Still the character of the flock does tell us something about the one who guides and cares for it The fact for example that there are different kinds of sheep indicate

There is an old saying ldquo I rsquo m from Missouri you have to show me rdquo This does not mean that Missourians are slow to learn Rather it means that they do not easily take someone rsquo s word without some form of verification They are not unique in this Actually many of us are very