Easter Season concludes in late May. We’ll continue daily reading from Acts and John until Ordinary Time returns with a leap into the Deuterocanon (Sirach and Tobit) and Mark’s gospel. Orthodox Easter runs late this year (2), while the Jewish community observes Shavuot (Celebration of the Law, 16).

Trust, faith, love. Scripture sounds these great themes this week. Trust, not only in God but also in former enemies. Faith in the true vine. Loving in deed as well as words.

For many of us, the face of our mothers is the first face of God. Because of this life-bearing and life-sustaining role of mothers, Julian of Norwich felt free to call Jesus our Mother, as he brings us to new life and feeds us with his own body and blood.

I have the knack of selecting the wrong line at the grocery store. Once, I was next in line, with four people behind me, when the cashier announced that her register had closed, which meant (of course) that everyone behind me turned and scooted with their shopping carts to a newly opened register, leaving me at the end of the new line.

Many people hear the story of Paul’s conversion and think of the famous words to "Amazing Grace": “Was blind, but now I see.”

Ben was conscientious on the freeway, staying alert, checking his mirrors, and signaling his lane changes. It was the other drivers who were idiots. Their aggression and thoughtlessness angered him to no end.

As we continue on our Easter journey, we ask for new life in God.

If you wish to know the mind of a person, listen to their words. If you want to know their hearts, watch their actions.