From “Remembrance of Things Past,” a dying man is visiting his friends, a duke and a duchess who are preparing to leave for an evening’s entertainment. He is trying to tell them how he feels, how people don’t really listen to bad news, really, they don’t.
 

The duchess invites the dying man to join them on their next trip.
 

With some anxiety, he says to her, “But, my dear lady, by then I shall have been dead for several months!”
 

The carriage to the ball was waiting and she did not want to be late. As she hurries about, she chooses not to hear, “You must be joking!”
 

As she steps toward the carriage, she notices her black shoes with a red dress. She then turns and goes back to change.
 

There is no time to comfort a dying man, but time to change shoes.
 

For a lot of people today, only their own lives matter. Other people’s problems or suffering lie beyond their care.
 

Many people, because of fear, ignorance, or indifference, seek to escape the demands made by friendship or love. Their hearts remain closed.
 

You are my friends ... Jesus reminds us that, even so, you and I need more attention, because we seem to get into more trouble.
 

You and I need the care and protection of Jesus because oftentimes we find ourselves in difficulties, not only because of other people, but because of our own selves. We wander off and get into trouble.
 

The young face many problems unheard of years ago, many of which revolve around family life.
 

For those who experience disease, the decisions about life, day after day weigh heavily.
 

Among those who care for others, such as grandparents raising their grandchildren, there is the frustration of not being able to do anything but be there, like Mary.
 

They say you have to think outside of the box; escape from business as usual; get a fresh perspective; start creative innovations; all are good, but what happens when you get too far from the box?
 

There is the danger of forgetting who you are and what you are supposed to do.
 

It’s good to get outside the box, but don’t lose the box. To help remember who you are you need to get back into the box and think inside the box. Do you know what the box is?
 

The box: we are to love one another; you see it in Jesus on the Cross — when you lay down your life for another. This is not just an idea but is a pattern of behavior: it is much harder to love one another than to fight one another. His commandment: believe in the name of Jesus Christ and love one another.
 

For all the children of the diocese who are receiving Communion for the first time soon: Pray for them that they will have the opportunity to receive every Sunday and grow, spiritually, the way God will call them from this day forward.
 

“My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me.”
 

Since your first Communion, do you hear His voice and follow?