This month sees the conclusion of the Easter season with Pentecost and its rousing Spirit. As we count down the final days of this joyful time, the church acknowledges World Communications Day (21). We also observe the feasts of two U.S. holy ones: Blessed Teresa Demjanovich (8) and Damien de Veuster (10).

It has been said that the "need is not always the call.” Much need presents itself, but it takes discernment to decide which needs to address and how to do so. The Early Church discerned a problem and a solution: Focus on service at the table of worship was causing people to forget the service of others.

“The right tool for the right job,” my father used to say, handling his toolbox as lovingly as if it were a bassinet full of babies. Certainly it helps in any task to be clear on the goal and the steps to be taken to reach that end.

Built in a simplified Prairie School style with Chicago bricks on the outside and stained-glass windows and walnut trim, the home of my youth, three stories with an English basement, covered two lots on Briar Place.

At the time I probably thought of him as a party pooper, but now I'm grateful to Don. I was in high school, and a bunch of my friends and I were scheming to pull a prank on a guy in our class who was often the butt of our jokes.

In the words of today's scripture, we are "chosen and precious in the sight of God." We pray for the forgiveness and strength we need to be called the people of God.

The fact that our heart yearns for something Earth cannot supply is proof that Heaven must be our home.