Congratulations to all the new Catholics out there! Among the new converts that I know to some degree or other, congratulations especially to old friend JRB and Elliot.

A priest once told me an interesting story. He was on Mt. Athos and encountered a very old and pious hieromonk, who was also an ordained priest. This monk approached the priest warmly and reverently. The priest was taken aback, and asked why he was honored with such respect. The monk, very simply, responded that the priest had experienced the sacrament of ordination recently, and God's Grace was somehow "fresher," so to speak.

So it is with you all. You have not dishonored and made light of your baptisms through sin and self-indulgence. I pray that you never will. At this moment, close as you are to the almighty, pray for a not-humble-enough sinner who could use all the prayers he can get. You can be assured of my prayers, whatever they are worth.