The image of the Field Hospital may be a good way to imagine the Good Shepherd, with us on the fields of battle.

i don't ask couples to explain how they love one another. But it is interesting to invite them to reflect on why they do.

We're called to imitate Christ, of course. But we're also called to imitate the first disciples and Apostles in their willingness to help people to understand the Scriptures. 

"I AM the Bread of Life." He is given to the world to be consumed by all those whom the Father sends to Him. Isn't this what He asks of us as well, to be consumed by those whom He sends to us?

We owe a debt of gratitude to those who pray for us, just as Saint Paul has Saint Stephen to thank for his conversion.

My parents sent me a photo of an ordination they recently attended in Florida, and I was struck by the ethnic diversity of the men whom the Lord has chosen for the Church. Anyway, this homily is seen through the lens of what happened in me when I saw that picture.

This Sunday's readings point us to remember that even Christ's Resurrection is an invitation to experience the forgiveness of sins. Both the cross and the Resurrection are signs of God's ongoing invitation the repentance that leads to joy.

Does it really matter that some people teach erroneously about the person of Christ? And popes like Saint Martin, who died defending the truth, were their deaths really necessary?

Is there hope for religious people who reject Christ? There is, of course. But is their hope that we will persevere in our trying to reach them?

The Eternal Life that Christ comes to bring to us - the life of the Resurrection - begins even now, as we are given the grace to live even beyond the grave of disappointment, failure, and loss.