Home is an emotionally charged word. The nostalgia it elicits is full of longing for those who yearn to return to a happier time. It’s also powerful to those whose memories are more bitter, and who might wish to turn back the clock to rewrite the past.

The first gift of Easter is peace. It’s a startling turn of events, given the action that preceded this hour in the Upper Room.

Something happened on the first Easter morning. No one was there to give an eyewitness report of the event.

What’s the point of the Passion? It’s a question many Christians are too polite to ask. We worship beneath crosses that are fearful and strange and make us uncomfortable. We proclaim a gospel that takes a terrible route through horror and agony before arriving at its gracious victory.

Cast your mind back to the first story of Genesis. God divides original chaos into a realm composed of equivalent pairs. Light and darkness are first among them. John the evangelist uses these original siblings as the warp and woof of his gospel. I

There’s something wonderful about the “aha” moment. Maybe it comes as you strain over a crossword puzzle and the elusive word suddenly rises in you. Or you’re watching a whodunit, and the culprit dawns on you in a flash of intuition.

We probably all have a friend like this: the one who says, “Let’s talk”—and promptly proceeds to do all the talking. It’s tough to have a one-sided conversation.

We’re in the season when the church is poised to become bigger. In a typical Lent, more than 100,000 U.S. citizens not raised in the Catholic faith will decide to throw in their lot with us. Some of these folks may be represented in your assembly this year

No idea stands alone. If anything explains the persistence of evil, this is it. Ideas are organic: They link one to another, influence each other, exalt or sometimes infect the whole with their meaning. If peace lives in our hearts, everyone we meet experiences our lack of inner conflict.

Say goodbye to Ordinary Time. Bid farewell to the green of spiritual growth and embrace the upcoming purple of spiritual pruning. Does anyone miss Ordinary Time when it’s in the rearview mirror? I do.