Summer is a time of abundance. This season is overflowing with possibility. There is a richness and a joy to summer that I cherish, even on the hottest days when everyone around me is complaining about heat and humidity.

I don’t think it would be wrong to see this episode as one more illustration of Jesus’ humanity — i.e., Jesus was hungry and then disappointed at the lack of figs.

Whatever life is bringing you these days, no matter how difficult, I hope you will know and experience God’s presence in your life.

John Paul’s revolution of conscience began when he restored to the Polish people the truth about their history and culture, which Poland’s communist regime had both distorted and suppressed since 1945.

Carlo shows us that you can live for God even in this modern era. He reminds us that you can become a saint without founding a religious order or dying as a martyr or doing something that seems remarkable and significant. You can become a saint by living the life God invites you to live.

The first few weeks of Ordinary Time occur during the winter, until it is interrupted by Lent and the Easter season. After the Easter season closes with Pentecost, Ordinary Time resumes and carries on through late spring until early winter with the beginning of Advent.

It’s no secret that in recent years many Catholics have absented themselves from the Eucharist and there are many reasons for this. But none of these reasons outweighs the depth, the beauty and the reality of Christ’s Presence and his power to change our lives by his transformative love.

We are left to ponder the notion of “diabolical disorientation” while being forced to remind church leaders that art — even the greatest works of artistic expression — can never be more important than people.

I don’t know all that our children will grow to be. I can’t guess what they will encounter in life. I don’t know everything they will achieve.

What implications does our round-the-clock world have on our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being?