On Good Friday, we encounter not only the suffering of Jesus, but also the lives of those who stood near the Cross. Three men—very different in background and circumstance—met Jesus in His final hours. Each encounter became a moment of grace, repentance, and transformation. Saint Dismas — The Good Thief …

When last I left this column, I was still trying to recover from a break-in at the parish rectory. While it was a moment for me to reflect on the vulnerability that Christ faced in both becoming Incarnate and facing the trials of Holy Week, another (much more welcome) scenario …