The Letter of Saint James says the wisdom from above manifests itself as pure, but who among us has totally pure motives for anything we do? The apostles sure didn’t, as they tried to elbow each other out of first place as greatest among Jesus’ followers.

Where do wars come from? It sounds like the question a child would ask. Adults think they know the answer: Wars arise from the necessity to defend one’s homeland, perhaps. Or the desire to conquer or exploit a neighboring land.

Leaving there, they went through Galilee. He didn’t want anyone to know their whereabouts, for he wanted to teach his disciples. He told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed to some people who want nothing to do with God.

We saw the Mister Rogers movie, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? this past summer, and the memories of parenting came flooding back. When our daughters were young, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and Sesame Street were the only programs we watched.

There are some who play because they have a sheer love of the game. But they are few and far between. And then there are those who play to win. And for too many, that means winning at all costs.

My daughter, Hannah, was naturally loving, as all babies are. She thrilled her grandparents and aunts and uncles with her willingness to sit in their laps and cuddle with nary a whimper for Mommy or Daddy.

I was on retreat once when a group of us were talking about spiritual practices that we find helpful. One guy shyly admitted that he makes a practice of doing something nice for some person every day while making sure no one knows about it—especially the person the good deed was done to.

In a spirit of repentance for our sins, we place ourselves in the hands of our merciful God.

To follow Christ by bending down to our brothers and sisters . . . to be everything to everyone, to undervalue nothing that pertains to Christ; to be thirsty for only one thing, to be concerned with only one thing when dealing with the One Christ.