Reflecting on the readings for the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, Msgr. Joseph P. Calise considers the very unusual and human image of Jesus presented in this week’s Gospel.

In 1997, James Cameron’s version of “Titanic,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, opened in theaters. There are many memorable scenes and lines, but there is one in particular that I found both tragic and amusing.

n a favorite musical of mine, “Fiddler on the Roof,” Tevye and Lazar sing, “God would like us to be joyful even when our hearts lie panting on the floor; how much more could we be joyful when there’s really something to be joyful for?”

“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?” Guaranteed to get our attention, likely to unnerve us, this question suggests that our joy at glad tidings may be overshadowed by upsetting news we’d rather not hear.

Some laughter or chuckles from the congregation at the right moment assure a preacher he got his point across to them. While a homilist may find it amusing to notice one person in a pew gesturing to another as if to say, “He’s talking about you,” he hopes everyone gathered for worship realizes the Scriptures are being proclaimed for them.

It was one of the most powerful proclamations of the Gospel I have ever experienced – and it astounds me that The New York Times proclaimed it to me.

Perhaps it is because I am not very learned in science that the idea of a vaccine for me is intriguing. And also somewhat frightening. I remember as a very young child watching a movie on television, probably shot in the 1930s, about Edward Jenner, the English surgeon who in 1796 advanced the use of the cowpox vaccine as an immunization against smallpox.

People should talk to each other. When two persons are in conflict, they should try to resolve the situation among themselves. Only if they cannot come to an agreement should others be brought into the conversation.