We are well aware of the war in Iraq and Afhganistan. It, like all wars, is violent with many casualties and deaths on both sides of the conflict. War and violence is present in history from the beginning of mankind. Adam and Eve?s son, Cain, violently murdered his own brother Abel. St.

   Eternal Life = ?Zoen Aonion?, can you buy it? I submit to you that, according to the scriptures, you can buy eternal life. Jesus says so in today?s gospel, the 13^th Sunday of Luke 18:18-27. He says that by giving to the poor, we will have treasure in heaven (v.22).

   After God helped the Israelites to be released from slavery in Egypt, they crossed the Red Sea and proceeded to Mount Sinai. There on Mt.

   Anthony DeMello tells the story of ?The Contented Fisherman?: A rich industrialist was horrified to find a fisherman lying lazily beside his boat smoking a pipe. ?Why aren?t you fishing?? said the industrialist. ?Because I have caught enough fish for the day,? said the fisherman.

   Ask any particular person, ?When do you pray?? Often the answer will be, ?when I have a problem?. This is well and good for Jesus? wants us to turn to God in prayer. However, often we miss-out on many other opportunities to turn towards the Lord for help.

   R.G. LeTourneau, the owner of a large earth-moving equipment company tells the story. ?We used to have a scraper known as the model ?G?. Somebody asked one of our salesmen one day what the ?G? stood for.

   How many of us have had a sliver or a splinter or a thorn in our finger or hand? These little tiny pieces of wood can cause so much pain and discomfort. They seem to constantly nag us saying, ?I?m here and I?m not going away until you do something about me.? St.

   Everyone knows what a magnet does. It attracts certain metallic objects to itself through its magnetic field. Too complicated to explain now, magnetism is due to the movement of electrons in atoms. We also know that some magnets occur naturally, some are man-made and some are stronger than others.

   How many of us would say that today, or yesterday or this past week, we have suffered in some form or another, that we?ve had a bad day or a difficult moment in which we felt pain and despair? And when we felt this way did we ask: why me, why now or just why? And where was this question directed: towards another

   Gift-giving is one of the most common expressions of love and care in our society. Birthdays, weddings, baptisms, namedays, retirements, house-warmings, baby showers are just a few occasions when gifts are given. Often, the value of the gift is in direct proportion to the love shared.

   Many of us have been invited to a dinner or banquet, a wedding reception, or just a nice dinner with friends at someone?s home. If that person, family or people are important to us, we will make every effort to be there for that special gathering?that glorious, joyful banquet.

   How many of us have a garden? In that garden grow fruits and mostly vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, etc). We cook or can the vegetables or make lots of salads in the summer. We give some away to share our abundant crop with neighbors and friends.

   Everyday we are inundated with images of perfection. Perfect athletes in each sport such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are featured constantly in programs and commercials even after they have retired.