We all like to be told, “Good job.” It’s even better to be told, “You’re a really great person.” Deep in our hearts, we all long to hear the words that Jesus heard as he broke through the waters of the Jordan at his Baptism: “You are my beloved child of whom I am well pleased.” Our truest identity is beloved son or daughter of God. Knowing our true identity tells us not only who we are, but also what our mission is. In Isaiah, God tells the servant leader, “I have formed you . . . as a light for the nations.”

The Epiphany is about the divine mysteries becoming known.

How do you feel about getting older? How does the process of aging feel in your body? Do you pine for your “lost youth” or feel your best years are present—or even ahead of you?

What kind of emotional and spiritual relationship do you have with Mary? Warm and friendly? Cold and distant? Abstract, or personal? Can you relate to Mary’s vulnerability and admire her courage as revealed in the Annunciation story?

This is a season of expectation—and of expectations. We hear how John the Baptist had to set the record straight on who he wasn’t: no, not the Messiah; sorry, not Elijah either.

"What are you waiting for?” is one of the most common sentences in the English language—perhaps for a reason. Isn’t this the fundamental question of life? What indeed are you waiting for, hoping for, expecting out of life?

How do you feel about taking time away and leaving others in charge? With Advent upon us, you might think it impossible to step back. But perhaps it’s time to be like the person in the gospel who went traveling and left others in charge for a while.

The corporal works of mercy serve as the basis for many a social ministry program, but it’s not easy day in and out to keep the vision alive.

What’s your attitude toward wealth—your own and that of others? Most of us have a certain ambivalence toward money. Too much of it seems somehow sinful—or at least tempting toward the same. Too little is equally or even more debilitating. So, how much is enough? How do you find the balance and how does your faith inform the decisions you make about money?

In this age of anger management, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that sometimes anger might be justified. When values are violated or important principles are at stake, anger is an appropriate feeling, as Jesus well knew. It’s all a question of how you handle and channel anger when it arises. Pause for a prayer and channel your angry energy for constructive change.