Christmas is on its way. You can feel it rushing in toward us like a runaway train, uncontrollable and inevitable. It transforms the environment of the church as much as the landscape of the community, not to mention the economic reality of many parishioners.

The demise of the analog clock has probably affected the learning curve a little. But flashing digital displays still don’t offer to children or other fine people the precise meaning of time that goes along with merely knowing the numbers.

Let's drop some names. Who’s the most impressive person you ever met?

I recently sold my home and moved, so I know the heartache and hardship of seeing your whole life packed into boxes or tossed into the trash outright.

What would you include on a list of holy places: Jerusalem? Rome? The local cathedral?

Most European Americans approach All Souls' Day in a spirit of sober reverence. This is a day to remember our dead, and so it has the feel of a collective funeral about it.

It's an oxymoron to imagine the humble soul on top of the world. Humility seeks to be hidden and takes the low road.

We call scripture the “word of God.” That’s a grand claim. If God said it, or wrote it, such an idea carries a great deal more currency than if you or I take the credit for it.

Happy thanksgiving! OK, so it’s not that special occasion, not just yet. But in the context of our Eucharist (which as we all know means "thanksgiving") every day we find a reason for gratitude.

Do you love enough? What standard might you use to determine the adequacy of your love? We might agree that love is more than a feeling. It’s more than romance.