What “houses of Cornelius” have you had to enter? When have you had to cross a religious or social boundary to bring God to people? When, like Peter, has your idea of what’s possible for God been broadened?

I had a friend who used to whistle all the time. You always knew he was coming long before you saw him because of the trilling sound that preceded him in the street or on the stair. Thank heavens he was good at it; otherwise, the effect may have been less than appealing.

I’m grateful the pandemic didn’t happen 10 years ago—before the ability to meet virtually was widespread. While I had already been working remotely for many years, it made staying in touch with loved ones easier—and for the first time, I created new relationships solely online.

When I was a kid my brother Pat and I used to get in arguments with the neighbor kids. We went to Catholic school and they went to public school, and often the rhetoric devolved into snide comments about Catholics vs. “publics.”

Fred D’Amico, 61, had kidney disease and needed a transplant. When a donor kidney became available, he got to a New York hospital for the operation only to run into his friend, 58-year-old Izya Dukorsky, who also had kidney disease and required a transplant.

In prayer we ask for the grace to obey God’s command to love, and for mercy when we do not.

Who except God can give you peace? Has the world ever been able to satisfy the heart?