.....since people seldom place any value on anything that they don't have to pay for.

            Maybe I'm just uncomfortable about it because of my particular vocation, but something that I have always felt a little uneasy about is the fact that most of the times when our Lord makes mention of religious leaders in the Gospels, He does so in a negative way.

There are a lot of things that people will tolerate in this world (especially these days), but one thing that a lot of people (if not most) still have a real problem with is broken promises

  Things can become very frustrating for the person who seeks to serve the Lord in this world.

            Well, it's that time of the year again, isn't it?  It's summertime--time for vacation--time for a little "R and R," as they say.

A wise teacher I knew once gave this advice to a group of his students:  "The best way to solve a problem," he said, "is to avoid it."

            We have a close Friend and Brother who is powerful and influential and has also seen the very lowest levels of poverty and despair.