In a dream, God tells Solomon to “ask for something” and God promises to give it to him. If God made that offer to you in a dream, what would you ask for?

If you could have anything, what would you ask for? One man knows at once what his heart desires: “A red Ferrari!” A harried parent declares: “A long vacation without the kids.” Still another dreams of tuition for college, and the list grows longer as we all dream together: a house by the sea, marriage to a movie star, the safety of loved ones, a miraculous healing, a million dollars, peace on earth.

“God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic—what a find!—and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field.

My parents never missed Mass on Sunday and Catholic faith was the center of their lives. My father in particular, was fond of quoting the Baltimore Catechism and the rules of the church were his ultimate standard when making moral decisions. T

Many years ago Bill sat with Shirley on her family’s front porch talking late into the evening. It was their third date, and they were falling in love.

As a journalist gathered notes for a story on Msgr. Jack Egan, renowned labor priest, she could feel his eyes searching her face. Egan was 80 at the time and had already become a legend among Catholic activists as a man who spoke truth to power and fought racial discrimination and social injustice with the faith and ferocity of an Old Testament prophet.

On Public Television there is a program called Antiques Roadshow. People bring items to be appraised by professionals and experts with the hope that their vase or painting or chair might be a valuable antique.

We know that all things work for good for those who love God, scripture tells us today. We ask for the gift of that love so that all things in our lives will work together for the good.

Pope Francis is not only changing the face of the Catholic Church, he's challenging us to be the face of God in the world by seeing the face of God in the person we least expect to see it, including the person in the mirror.