The reading from the Book of Jeremiah this Sunday promises a “new covenant” between the Lord and the house of Israel. This week U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced a new public-private initiative designed to buy up so-called “toxic assets” that have poisoned the financial system. Wall Street appeared to be reacting favorably. . . .

In this Sunday’s gospel Jesus uses images of fruit and wheat to bring home his message. Young people, however, might get the picture more quickly if he had spoken of Big Macs and Whoppers instead. . . .

The psalmist appeals to the greatness of God’s compassion to “wipe out my offense.” The government of South Africa may want to approach the Dalai Lama, known for his compassion, with a similar plea after having barred him from entering the country for a peace conference this week that was later cancelled because of the public outcry over the Dalai Lama’s exclusion. . . .

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of service to his mission when he says, “Whoever serves me must follow me . . . .” There is growing interest in “following Jesus” by way of Catholic religious life, according to results from the most recent survey conducted by VocationMatch.com . . . .

On a personal note, it is with very heavy hearts that we at TrueQuest Communications report the untimely death of Greg Long . . . .

“The U.S. treasury secretary talks about permanent action and we at our [European Union summit] were quite alarmed by that. He talks about an extensive U.S. stimulus campaign. All of these steps are the road to hell."

After a 22 percent drop in its endowment last year, Harvard University will lay off 25 percent—about 50 people—of its money-management staff.