On this great feast of the one the Church hails as “the apostle to the apostles”, these are the things I’m praying with, asking the Holy Spirit who dwells in me, and who was there that day, to help me to see and hear.

I readily admit I have very few original thoughts. Rather, I’ve always found great joy in making others aware of great minds and, even more, great souls. It is a joy for me to pass along to others books, articles and talks I come across that have had a profound impact on my life, in the hopes that they will similarly impact others.

We can all hear God say at the end of our days, ‘Well done! Good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Master!” These are the only words that matter. And each and every one of us is either going to hear those or else we’re going to hear, “Depart from Me…” Either eternal glory or everlasting shame, horror and disgrace.

Parishes aren’t small businesses; they’re the people of God — a family of families. We often say in ACTS XXIX that one of the primary crises we see in the Church is a need to recover what it means to be human. A friend of mine speaks frequently about what he calls “the corporatization” of the Church. What he means is that, for a variety of reasons, we often relate to each other in overly functional and transactional ways. This week, especially for those parishes receiving new spiritual fathers, is a great time to change that.