"Put on your cloak and follow me,” the angel said to Saint Peter. Peter, the rock, was in chains—but freed! “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith”: inspirational words from Saint Paul.

“Fear no one,” Jesus says. Not long after, he nuances this command: Fear only the one who can destroy the soul along with the body. Soul killing may sound esoteric, but it’s pretty common nowadays. At times it feels like someone has murdered the soul of America while no one was looking.

“Don’t be intimidated. Eventually everything is going to be out in the open, and everyone will know how things really are. So don’t hesitate to go public now.

My daughter has a difficult time with transitions. Chalk it up to Down syndrome, obsessive-compulsiveness, or just being a teenager. Whatever the reason, when it comes to doing something she doesn’t want to do—wake up in the morning, get on the bus, ask a teacher a question, give a speech—she freezes up and refuses to move. 

Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.

The church is not a community of the perfect, but a community of sinners, obliged to recognize their need for God’s love, their need to be purified through the cross of Jesus Christ.