Introduction

"In any relationship, in any setting, at work, at recreation, at school, in casual contacts, our role is the same... to preserve, to strengthen, to encourage goodness, and to enlighten, to dispel darkness and shadows." (Homily for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. Readings: Isaiah 58:6-10; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16)

Father John Sandell faithfully ministered as a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Fargo, North Dakota, until his death on June 18, 2005 at the age of 63.

Father John was a gifted homilist and granted me permission to publish his homilies on the Internet in 1996. We continued to do so until Liturgical Press published a three-volume collection of his homilies in a series entitled Seasons in the Word.

The Estate of Father Sandell has granted permission to make his unpublished writings, including homilies unavailable in "Seasons in the Word", on the Internet. The project provides me a means to recognize and to honor the memory of a friend and to again share Father Sandell's intelligence and humanity with a worldwide audience. He wrote in a prefatory note to Scattered Thoughts, a collection of his writings he presented to his family, "May the reading of these pieces afford you as much pleasure as writing them did me." This is my hope for all who read these pages.