The Letter to the Ephesians encourages unity through the bond of peace. But war-torn Afghanistan has a long way to go toward that goal, and the death of four American soldiers Monday made July the deadliest month in the war's history for the U.S. as well as for all international troops.

A large crowd followed Jesus when he crossed the Sea of Galilee, we read in this Sunday's gospel. Multitudes of television viewers worldwide followed the first moonwalk on July 20, 1969. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of that walk this week, the three astronauts involved in the Apollo 11 mission ...

The Lord is just in all his ways, the psalmist tells us this Sunday. Humanity, however, often falls short on the justice meter. Last Friday the California legislature approved a landmark bill to apologize to the state's Chinese-American community for racist laws enacted as far back as the mid-19th century Gold Rush.

In this Sunday's reading from the Second Book of Kings, many are fed from a few barley loaves, thanks to the abundance of the Lord. In the U.S., many of the unemployed must rely on federal programs and charities for their daily bread. And in some states, nearly half of those job seekers are so discouraged they have given up looking for work.

"We're looking at a problem that could be as bad as drunk driving, and the government has covered it up."

In 1991 no state had a more than 20 percent obesity rate. Today only one--Colorado, at 18.9 percent--does not. Mississippi's adult obesity rate, the highest in the nation, is nearly one in three.