As a young man, Pope John Paul II was introduced to Carmelite spirituality and a love affair began. He fell in love with the cross. He certainly knew his share of suffering, losing his sister, then mother, then brother, then his father, while coming of age in Nazi occupied Poland. But he learned to unite himself with Christ crucified, Who alone redeems suffering.

Resonating in my heart all week has been the thought of how much Our Lord truly desired to die for us on the cross, and that the real pain he suffered was the indifference of men. It wasn’t the hardness of the nails, but the hardness of man’s heart that hurt him.

In the Office of Readings this past week, Saint Paul used the expression “real widows” when writing to Timothy. “Honor the claims of those who are real widows.” He was speaking about people - in this case, women - whose needs are truly genuine.

This Sunday’s readings afford us an opportunity to look at the difference between a civil union and a sacramental marriage. It’s a bit of a sensitive issue, but we shouldn’t shy away from looking at God’s plan for marriage. After all, it’s a love story.

In almost all of the alleged messages attributed to the apparitions in Medjugorje, Our Lady addresses us as “Dear children.”

It’s Thursday, September 19th, and we’re just returning from our pilgrimage to Medjugorje. Those of you who were following along on petersboat.net will have some sense of our time there.

You may recall my telling you last weekend that I travelled here on pilgrimage with some people of the parish. We left last Tuesday and will be returning on the evening of the 18th.

When my sister and I were little, our mother would show us a video about Medjugorje. “Look at these children,” she would say to us. “They’re seeing the Blessed Mother. She’s appearing to them from heaven.”