Couldn’t it be apple juice instead of wine? Isn’t it the principle that matters? It could, of course, but then we would lose everything.

Whether we imbibed that living water at a religious summer camp, in a youth group or simply through the regular practice of attending church with family, we are blessed by the abiding, grounding presence of God, even when we drift away.

Our Lady, who stood weeping at her son’s crucifixion, surely weeps for the cathedral dedicated to her name.

Although it doesn’t always seem so, waiting is an inherently hopeful activity.

As we prepare to enter with Christ into the protracted pain and suffering of his passion and death, let us determine to reach beyond them towards the endless delight that awaits us the other side of the tomb: the delight of life with God.

In times of trouble, our connection to God is our surest lifeboat.