In 1993, I enlisted in the military. My decision was due in large part to the fact that my best friend Lawrence was already serving and stationed in Oklahoma. He traveled to our hometown often. Together we ran, lifted weights, and did push-ups, all in preparation for my departure for training in mid-August. I could never have predicted the events that followed.

As the Vatican reels from scandal, even some Catholic priests are now demanding the Pope's resignation (BostonHerald.com, "W. Mass. priest calls for pope to resign," April 12, 2010).  When scandal or political turmoil reaches a boiling point, what should a church … or a nation do?

Beyond the Roman Catholic sex-abuse scandal, the news is full of additional coups and political intrigue. State and religious governments around the world are in turmoil.

Perhaps you have heard the saying, "If you are happy, you are not paying attention"? Look at the world around us. Billions of people are living in abject poverty. Starvation, disease and violence are bringing countless lives to a premature end. Millions are jobless, unable to provide for their families. Many more are stuck in low-paying, unfulfilling jobs, struggling under crushing debt. Hard-working people who have saved for decades are watching their life's savings dwindle away.  Economic stress adds to pressure on relationships, while millions endure unhappy marriages or experience painful conflicts between parents and children. If you are unhappy, you are certainly not alone. As we see so much unnecessary pain in the lives of people we care about, can we think of three good reasons to be unhappy?

Zimbabwe. Iceland. Greece. Is America next? The growing weight of an overwhelming national debt combined with at least twenty lethal, economic "trigger mechanisms" has created a financial "nuclear time-bomb" for America. And, as the world just witnessed in Greece, debt can devastate a nation.

The doctor's words hung lifeless in the air. Each of us gathered in the waiting room tried desperately to translate what our ears were hearing into coherent thoughts. All eyes stared about the room at faces that did not register the weight of this proclamation. Jackie was dead.