That introduces the problem in the eternal story of powers and principalities. So doggone many earthly authorities vie for our allegiance. We try to juggle our obedience to laws both mortal and divine, splayed between church and state or personal profit and love of neighbor.

Most of us like to keep things simple. In life we draw up a plan and then step-by-step try to put it into action.

The desire to house God at a singular address was countered by God’s insistence that it actually works the other way around: The Creator built the house in which creation lives and moves and has its being.

Life had never been comfortable for John; he would have seen no reason to set people at their ease with the little fictions that litter most conversations.

Some things take forever to get here. Whether it’s the arrival of a friend, a birthday, or the holiday season we’re anticipating, the day can’t come fast enough.

Some people love surprises. Others do everything in their power to organize their lives against the unexpected. If your idea of a great party is having guests leap out from behind the furniture when you arrive home to a dark house, then maybe you’ll love the end of the world, too.

IF, AS A SHEPHERD OF SOULS, you could change one thing about the minds and hearts of your parishioners, what would it be?

GIVE AN ACCOUNTING of your net worth. Where would you begin? Some might have only to turn out their pockets. Others might peek into a checkbook. If you’re especially fortunate you may have columns of investments, home equity, a vehicle or two, a handful of jewels.

WHAT WOULD YOU INCLUDE on a list of holy places: Jerusalem? Rome? The local cathedral? We might agree that houses of worship, cloisters, shrines, retreat centers, and burial grounds are consecrated places.

MOST EUROPEAN AMERICANS approach All Souls' Day in a spirit of sober reverence. This is a day to remember our dead, and so it has the feel of a collective funeral about it. But it’s also a liturgical event and therefore a statement of what we believe is true: about death, for the dead, and for us.