REVEREND JOSEPH M. ESPER is a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit and pastor of Immaculate Conception parish in Anchorville, Michigan. He received his Master of Divinity degree from St. John's Provincial Seminary in Plymouth, Michigan. Through the years, Father Joe has lectured at Marian conferences, appeared on EWTN, spoken on Catholic radio, and written more than a dozen articles for This Rock, The Priest, Homiletic and Pastoral Review, and other publications. He is also the author of numerous books, including Saintly Solutions, More Saintly Solutions, After the Darkness, Lessons from the Lives of the Saints, and Why Is God Punishing Me? In addition to Amazon, many of his most recent books are available through Queenship Publishing.
Once there was a highly-respected company with an opening in its sales team, and when it advertised the position, there were more than a thousand applicants. Of the many letters and resumes, one stood out. It said: “I am presently selling furniture...
One of history’s cruelest and most unusual cases of imprisonment happened back in the 14th century in a duchy, or small kingdom, located in present-day Belgium, and the victim was Raynald III, the duke who ruled over the duchy. Everyone...
A priest wrote an amusing description about a case of mistaken identity he experienced one Halloween. He said, “When I was in fourth grade I was enthralled with [the fictional hero] Zorro and was excited to wear my costume and parade around the...
Once there was an Indian tribe whose camp was at the base of a great mountain. The land was rugged and life was hard, but the Native Americans persevered. Their chief had led them with wisdom and fairness for many years, but now death was...
About thirty years ago a U.S. Marine named Jim was given leave for ten days, and he was inspired to go to India in hopes of meeting and assisting Mother Teresa. When he arrived in Calcutta after a flight of almost 8000 miles, Jim was shocked and...
Life often involves risks and taking chances; this can be true both in important things and unimportant matters. As an example of something many people regard as important, consider the stock market. Each working day there are billions of...
Once there was an elderly couple whose house was on a large corner lot near an elementary school. The school children had the bad habit of cutting across the corner of the lot, which created an ugly path in the lawn. The husband and wife were good...
At the time of Christ’s birth there was a great Jewish rabbi named Hillel, known for his wisdom and understanding. He died when Our Lord was about 15, so it’s possible Jesus met him personally—perhaps when, at the age of 12, He spent three days in...
