If we had to devise a bumper-sticker slogan to get people to take a good look at our church, what would you write? Did you happen to catch the bumper-sticker slogan in today’s reading from Acts? Acts 4:33 says of those apostles of the first-century church, “ .” How well do you think that one works? That slogan may not work so well on a bumper sticker because it uses a word most everyone has heard, but few fully understand. That word is “grace.” The word needs a little unpacking. Once you...

Intent: Humility Many songs have been written about regret, but few have the power of a tune called “Hurt.” It was written for Nine Inch Nails, and then recorded by Johnny Cash. “I wear this crown of thorns / Upon my liar’s chair.” Cash sings these lines in his deep baritone. “Full of broken thoughts / I cannot repair.” Regret. It’s a powerful emotion. One that is common to us all. Looking back, we have regrets about things we have done and things we failed to do. We regret our moral failures...

Intent: Spiritual Refreshment If you’ve recently tried to call your insurance, credit card, utility or any of the other myriad companies you deal with on a daily basis, your call was no doubt answered by a pleasant but dispassionate voice inviting you to spend the next hour or so trapped in a kind of electronic purgatory. At least they support a Catholic belief structure.Welcome to “interactive voice response” — a way for you to feel like you are talking to someone without actually doing...