Questions of identity and representation are front and center in this Sunday’s gospel when Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" An inflammatory and amateurish, anti-Islamic video of questionable origin that portrays the prophet Mohammad as a fraud helped fuel attacks on U.S. diplomatic sites in Egypt, Libya, and elsewhere . . .

“The Lord God is my help” and the one who “opens my ear that I may hear,” this Sunday’s reading from the Book of of the Prophet Isaiah announces. In Boston scientists are making plans for the first implants of lab-grown ears for wounded troops after successful experiments. Around the country, in fact, the most advanced medical tools that exist . . .

“The Lord keeps the little ones,” says the psalmist this Sunday. Though progress was made in contract negotiations, which went until midnight last night, many Chicago parents will be keeping their little ones at home or making other arrangements as the first strike by Chicago teachers in 25 years goes into its fourth day. By last Sunday union and district officials . . .

The servant of the Lord suffers for his service, we learn from this Sunday’s first reading. Factory workers in impoverished Pakistan suffer in dangerous, exploitative conditions to try to make a living. Early Wednesday over 300 workers lost their lives in fires in textile and shoe factories . . .

“Suddenly, I was wrapped in warmth, and love, and comfort. In that smoky, wet stairway, in a burning building, surrounded by a thousand frightened people . . . I felt God’s peace, and I knew that regardless of the physical outcome, everything would be all right.”

According to a Gallup poll, 78 percent of Americans say children get a good or excellent education in private schools, 69 percent say the same for parochial schools, and 60 percent for home schooling. Only 37 percent think public schools provide a good or excellent education.