Are we waiting in joyful hope, or just watching the clock? Patience is one of those virtues that are in short supply in a society in a hurry to get what it wants.

By gathering for Mass, this week and every week, by doing "this in memory" of Jesus, we not only enter into his presence but also follow him in what we do.

Consider John the Baptist for a moment: What a résumé! Luke alleges that John’s kinship with Jesus is biological. That alone is worth some bragging rights.

ARE YOU THE ONE who is to come? is among the most fascinating questions in the New Testament. First, it is the question on the minds of anyone who encounters Jesus (then and now).

If you have nothing good to say about anybody, come sit next to me" is a delicious twist on an old proverb attributed to Alice Roosevelt Longworth. It captures the delight inherent in one of humanity's favorite pastimes--talking bad about others.

My husband and I sat across the desk from the surgeon who was to repair the hole in our 4-month-old daughter's heart. The doctor explained in simple, unadorned speech the two-patch procedure his team would use.

What else would the people of your community add to Isaiah's list?

Scripture tells us the coming of the Lord is at hand. To prepare for that coming, we ask for God's forgiveness.

"Go and tell John what you hear and see . . . ." The "evidence" Jesus gives that he is the "one who is to come" echoes the working of God in both the psalm and the reading from Isaiah.

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and what fills it resound; let the plains be joyful and all that is in them. Then let all the trees of the forest rejoice.