Dear Friend,

Many people turn water into wine. It takes at least six weeks. But with Jesus it took no time at all. And it required no effort: he did it without even a word or a gesture or command; it just turned into wine in his presence, and he instructed the waiters to take it to the table. C.S. Lewis remarked that all the miracles worked by Jesus were in accord with the laws of nature, and not against them. There are no magical transformations, no weird metamorphoses. He did in a moment what nature does slowly. "Each miracle writes for us in small letters something that God has already written, or will write, in letters almost too large to be noticed, across the whole canvas of nature."

Water into wine is a wonderful transformation, but it is not magic. Who needs magic? When a hard man gets the courage to leave the door of his heart open, it is not magic. When a miser begins to practice the generosity of God, it is not magic. When a sinner turns into a saint, it is not magic. It is a miracle

Dear Friend,

The "Coronary and Ulcer Club" lists the following rules for members:

1. Your job comes first. Forget everything else.
2. Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays are fine times to be working at the office. There will be nobody else there to bother you.
3. Always have your briefcase with you when not at your desk. This provides an opportunity to review completely all the troubles and worries of the day.
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Dear Friend,

Healing takes time, patience and determination to persevere through the long process of healing. It’s not easy, but it is the reality of the healing process. A good friend recently told me his own experience with the healing process of his right knee. About two years ago he had a total right knee replacement. When his knee started acting up and hindering his walking he wanted his knee to be better right now -not tomorrow. He wanted a microwave healing. He wanted immediate results from his first surgery. He wanted it fixed now, because he had things to do and he was tired of waiting for it to heal! He did not want to have to walk with crutches for six weeks.

Dear Friend,

Imagine, if you will, that you work for a company whose president found it necessary to travel out of the country and spend an extended period of time abroad. So he says to you and the other trusted employees, "Look, I'm going to leave. And while I'm gone, I want you to pay close attention to the business. You manage things while I'm away. I will write you regularly. When I do, I will instruct you in what you should do from now until I return from this trip." Everyone agrees.

Dear Friend,

Yvette, who is a young mother in Washington, D.C., recently told me her remarkable story, she wrote:

"It was the end. I knew it. I could no longer fight. I sat here emotionless. I was totally alone. Others had tried to help -- doctors, nurses, parents, husband, children. But they were gone. Hours earlier I had come into the hospital on an emergency basis. I had back pain so severe that at times, it dropped me to my knees. This was not my first hospital stay. I had been sick for a long time it seemed...

How can we transmit a living, personal Catholic faith to future generations? By coming to know Jesus Christ , and fol lowing him as his disciples. As we emerge from a pandemic into a post-Christian world, these are times of immense challenge and enormous opportunity for the Catholic Church in the United States. Consider these statistics: Fully 10 percent of all adults in America are ex-Catholics. Nearly three-quarters of young Catholics think that they could be a good Catholic without going to Mass every Sunday. Catholic marriages have declined by almost two thirds since 1969, even as the number of Catholics in the Uni ted States has grown significantly.