October is Respect Life Month, Rosary Month, and additionally a month highlighting: National Fair Trade, National Disability Employment Awareness, LGBTQ History, and Down Syndrome Awareness. Respect Life Sunday (4) is a day that likewise celebrates the Blessing of Animals.

“Have no anxiety at all,“ Saint Paul writes. It’s a tall order. But faith, especially the faith expressed in prayer, really can move us beyond all anxiety to the supreme peace God offers.

Who among us has never yearned for a get-rich-quick scheme that really works? Many of us confine our longing to our daydreams. But some buy lottery tickets and hope against the odds. Others may gamble in casinos on holidays. Still others invest in stocks that promise to yield astronomical profits.

“Here’s another story. Listen closely. There was once a man, a wealthy farmer, who planted a vineyard. He fenced it, dug a winepress, put up a watchtower, then turned it over to the farmhands and went off on a trip. When it was time to harvest the grapes, he sent his servants back to collect his profits.

My brothers and their wives and I found ourselves in the hills of Tuscany in late October one year, staying in a villa that overlooked rolling row after row of grapevines. The leaves on the vines were autumn gold. Royal purple grapes hung heavy on the vines.

I asked a friend, Don, how life was going for him, and he said that things were horrible at work. His wife’s friend’s husband had been out of work a year or so back and Don paved the way for him to get an interview where he worked.

A person from Grand Forks, North Dakota robbed the First Community Bank in Fargo. After he left with the money, police were called and upon reviewing the ransom note, they realized it had been written on the robber’s bank deposit slip, complete with his name and address.

With faith in God's guidance, by prayer and petition, we make our request for mercy known to God.

Men are like wine​—some turn into vinegar, but the best improve with age.