So why is Holy Communion important? Because God wants you to be with Him in Heaven. Jesus gave you this great gift of His body and blood as soul food to strengthen you through the storms in life.

My 2014 pilgrimage to Rome where the Pope lives and to Assisi where St. Francis lived had a profound effect on how I live. That visit brought into crystal clarity what God wants me to do. 

Faith is believing Jesus wants you. He desires you. Jesus gave up everything to possess you. He gave up Heaven. He gave up the glory of His Divinity. He gave up His life. God has worked so hard to win you back. Now you must work to accept His love. 

God created humans with needs. A need is something a human must have not only to live, but to live happily. A very smart man, Abraham Maslow, made a list of those needs in five levels.

I pray that when God looks at me in my judgment, He will see His face reflected in mine. 

Max Lucado expresses beautifully the essence of faith. "Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God will do what is right." 

I was riveted to the radio listening to an interview about a country singer's journey from the valley of a living hell to the mountain top of God's grace. His name is Jelly Roll, named by his mom to describe her chubby son. 

For 27 years at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, I prayed over sick children all day, spreading the seed of God's healing power over them. My faith told me to put them in God's hands. I was most moved when I prayed over the little babies in the incubators. Some were so tiny they could fit into the palm of your hand. It saddened me that at only a few weeks old they were struggling to survive.

When someone is performing a good deed, don't stop them. Here is my story.

Theologians have used earthly examples to explain the Trinity. An egg has a shell, yolk and egg white, but it is still one egg. Water can be steam, ice or liquid, yet it is the one same essence. 

Preachers talk so often about the "power" of God. I was curious about how the dictionary defines the word "power." So, I looked it up. I was baffled by this one definition I discovered. It defined power as "the ability to get extra-base hits." I found it strange they used a baseball analogy to define power.

My mentor Fr. Ed Connelly gave me wise advice on how to be a good priest. On my ordination day, after placing the priestly stole around my shoulders, he whispered into my ear, "Bless the people God brings to you." 

One of my favorite saints is St. Catherine of Siena. She was a no-nonsense, "tell it like it is" woman. If she believed you were doing something wrong, she badgered you 'til you got it right. 

Before my First Communion in 1957, I asked my parents if I could do something that surprised them. I wanted Mom and Dad to walk me to the Communion Rail, which was expected. But then I asked the unexpected. "Can I have Uncle Joe walk us, too?" 

I believe God picks you up when life knocks you down. God places you around His loving, caring shoulders. Yet, that doesn't stop some believers from dumping on God their anger or bitterness because they or someone they love is sick.