One way to think of obedience is in terms "listening"; in fact, "to hear" is at the root of the word obey. What is more, repentance, one of the themes of this week's readings, could be seen as a matter of obedience, of listening to--and doing--the ways of the Lord and the voice of the church.

In your congregation you probably have people who experience various levels of comfort with change. Some are ready to change at the slightest whim; others will resist change with all their might.

Some of us can’t balance a checkbook—although in these days of online payments and direct deposit, who writes checks anyway? But we spend enough time in the kitchen, at least, to know how to measure things, or have enough arithmetic under our belts to know when a sum is equal to its parts.

It's never too late to turn your gaze toward God. For some, questions, doubts, and explorations may be necessary parts of the journey, as Saint Augustine famously attests in his Confessions.

I worked as a counselor for a childcare agency years ago. The kids were orphans and/or wards of the state. One boy, Ray, was a good kid--friendly, helpful, even cheerful. Yet just below the surface, there seemed to be a slow-burning anger in Ray.

Scripture reminds us that God is just and forgiving. But our actions and our choices will ultimately decide our fate.

Commenting on Harvard President Larry Summers' handling of the controversy surrounding his proposition that women may not be as well-equipped--genetically speaking--as men to succeed in science, Vanity Fair author Michael Wolff writes, "So Summers said what he meant, then rushed to say he didn't mean what he said--though everybody knew he did mean it."

We ask for the mercy of God, who gives to those who do what is right and just.

Jesus' words today speak to a more specific point: Those poor sinners are entering the kingdom before those who call themselves righteous--like the chief priests and the elders, who pay only lip service to God's will (e.g., the second son in the parable) but do not do it.

The fundamental thing for the member is to be united with all the other members of the Mystical Body; the essential Christian virtue is, then, the virtue which unites all members in Christ, that is, charity.