Some people love surprises. Others do everything in their power to organize their lives against the unexpected. If your idea of a great party is having guests leap out from behind the furniture when you arrive home to a dark house, then maybe you’ll love the end of the world, too.

IF, AS A SHEPHERD OF SOULS, you could change one thing about the minds and hearts of your parishioners, what would it be?

GIVE AN ACCOUNTING of your net worth. Where would you begin? Some might have only to turn out their pockets. Others might peek into a checkbook. If you’re especially fortunate you may have columns of investments, home equity, a vehicle or two, a handful of jewels.

WHAT WOULD YOU INCLUDE on a list of holy places: Jerusalem? Rome? The local cathedral? We might agree that houses of worship, cloisters, shrines, retreat centers, and burial grounds are consecrated places.

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. But it’s also a liturgical event and therefore a statement of what we believe is true: about death, for the dead, and for us.

Everybody who goes to church knows the basic rules of Christian living. Of course, often as not, they default to the Hebrew code when asked to describe them, but that’s another issue entirely.

Who’s your worst enemy? Not knowing a single thing about your life, I can make a pretty good guess. It’s not your boss, your mate, your rival, or that fifth-grade teacher who always had it in for you. No, our own worst enemy is usually ourselves.