The final weeks of the church year guide our thoughts to endings. The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (21) arrives just a few weeks after we've honored our faithful departed on All Souls’ Day. It's a time to reflect on last things: What does the church teach about mortality and eternity, prayer for the dead, anointing and viaticum and what comes next?

Think of a time when someone did something for you that was totally unexpected. It’s a wonderful feeling to get help when you really need it or to have someone do a huge favor for you. To receive assistance from another person also involves giving up control and depending on another.

What's the value of two pieces of grapefruit? If you've been to the supermarket lately, you might be able to come up with the cost. Because it's the off-season for citrus, you'll probably pay a bit more—and not necessarily like what you get. But if you aren’t concerned about the price of fruit, then you probably have enough money in your pocket not to care about the price of things at all.

I found myself in Southern Italy at the altar of a small church in the farming village of Correggio, concelebrating Mass with an Italian priest who had been pastor there for decades. The women came early to pray and were sitting together to my left with their children.

When I took classes for RCIA, there was another candidate, Mabel—a woman in her late 30s—who could never make it to class on time, sometimes arriving only for the final prayers.

We ask forgiveness from our God who saves us.

No one has ever become poor by giving.