One of the parts of the Mass which is reserved for the deacon, if there is one present, is the Sign of Peace. The deacon gets to say: "Let us offer each other a sign of Christ's peace." That greeting is taken from what Jesus says in the Gospel we read today (Jn 14: 27- 31A): "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you."

So what is this peace that Jesus gives us, and that we offer each other?

In the 44 years I practiced law I was constantly amazed at the number of times that people did not follow their lawyer's advice. They would seek out a wise, experienced lawyer, solicit his or her counsel, receive solid advice, and then do something different-- usually without bothering to tell the lawyer...

In today's Gospel we read that Jesus says He is "the way and the truth and the life" (Jn 14: 1-6). Those concepts-- truth, life and the way-- go together...

I was doing my every-other-Wednesday discussion of the Sunday lectionary readings down at the Hennepin County Jail yesterday. As you may recall, last Sunday's first reading, which was from The Acts of The Apostles, ended with the statement that the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit...

Click here to listen to my homily on John 10:27-30 (depending on your browser settings, you may need to manually open the file after it downloads).

I am constantly amazed at the mental agility we humans have....