This year, my husband and his sisters are facing what so many families must. Their elderly parents, unable to live on their own, and with great memory loss, have been moved to a residence for people with dementia.

Not too long ago, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio told me a story of the time he was a young priest and how he cared for his grandfather as his grandfather became older and in need of medical attention.

Yes, great things can happen when we see the good in people and give them a chance.

Sister Nellie Annunciata Daquel, MUCP was a Filipino native who made her home on earth at St. Sebastian’s in Woodside. I was honored to be among the last graduating class of RCIA in 2018 with Sister Nellie as our teacher. So please forgive me if I don’t use all the proper Catholic terms. As a newly initiated Catholic who converted from Protestantism and still has much to learn, I will simply speak from my heart.

Peacemakers include all those honorable law enforcement officers, male and female, who dedicate their lives, day in and day out, to keeping the peace.

As Catholics, our sacramental imagination does not have to be limited to beautiful liturgies or great art. There’s something to be discovered in the mundane tasks of everyday life.

When I was a child, electricity was not available in my town in Vietnam at that time. As I went to sleep, my mom usually made a breeze for me with a fan made of thatch or spathe. Sometimes, it was not hot, but my mom still cooled me off. When I felt a little bit too chilly, I told my mom: “Mom, you do not have to fan me anymore. I am not hot!” My mom gently replied: “I am driving mosquitoes away from you, my son!”

On Holy Thursday, I kneeled with the congregation as the priest and a long procession of altar servers moved the Holy Eucharist from the main tabernacle to the side altar, signaling the beginning of Jesus’ passion and death. I never realized how empty it looked without a ciborium. I felt an overwhelming sense of dread and sadness, as if God were no longer with us.