Like blinders on a horse, I seat myself at the front of the church so I can mind my own business.

How often do I make erroneous assumptions about the prayers of those around me? I see someone who appears to be financially well off in the pew to my left and think they have not a care in the world, not realizing that they are praying for a child who hasn’t spoken to them in years.

I see a family who is blessed not with financial wealth but with the wealth of having six children, and I wonder how they can adequately provide for so many, not realizing that they thank God every day for his abundant provision.

I watch the way others take Communion, if they lift their arms during the Our Father prayer, or if they slip out before the service ends.