The Messiah who shows us the road ahead
A reflection on the readings for March 17, 2024 — The Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year B) Holy Week will be upon us in just seven days. The week begins with the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Sunday...
Tagged: Lent
Dry branches and new fruit
A reflection on the readings for March 10, 2024 — The Fourth Sunday of Lent. Today we are celebrating the fourth Sunday of Lent, also known as “Laetare Sunday,” which means “rejoice.” However, here’s a fun fact: even though the...
Love Proven
A reflection on the readings for March 3, 2024 — The Third Sunday of Lent. The Scripture Readings are taken from the Year A Reading for Sunday Scrutinies for Catechumens. I have only one niece. And she loves being my...
The Fast That Pleases God
Are you wondering what to fast from this Lent – sweets? alcohol, or just simply eating less? This kind of fasting has its place, but if you truly want to discover what fasting is especially meant to achieve, that is,...
“Repent, and Believe in the Gospel.”
Welcome to Lent! The Catechism says of this season that “By the solemn forty days of Lent, the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert” (CCC 540), and fittingly, every year the Gospel for...
Lent, Fasting, and Tradition
Anthony (not his real game) was the fifth child in a family of seven kids, with the eighth on the way. He was extroverted, bright, and imaginative. At “meet the teacher night,” his mother warned me that this second grader...
Shaped by God’s Love: A Vision for Lent 2024
Lent always raises a few all-familiar questions, “What are you doing for Lent?” or, “What are you giving up for Lent?” Answers to questions like these often indicate a Lent that is primarily driven by us. We plan our Lent,...
Regret, Nostalgia, or the Future Christ Promises
A reflection on the readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, March 26, 2023. During my years as a high school chaplain, I would welcome the incoming freshmen with the following piece of advice: Some people look back on their...
“Just because we have eyes does not mean we see!”
A reflection on the readings for March 19, 2023, the Fourth Sunday of Lent. Click here for the audio version. “Just because we have eyes does not mean we see.” On this the fourth Sunday of Lent, we hear a...
My Lenten Call
Lent invites us to conversion, and the call to conversation can be painful. Worse, it can be embarrassing, especially when it comes from an unlikely source. I’ve recently experienced this myself, regarding a vice I barely even knew I had,...
Papal Preacher: Peter was right, Paul got carried away
Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap., now in his 43rd year as Preacher to the Papal Household (he was appointed to the position by Pope John Paul II in 1980), delivered the first of his Lenten sermons yesterday. It was a...
Only Sinners Need Apply
A state funeral is a most impressive ceremony. We saw this recently with the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. A nation faces its own mortality in the death of a leader. The fragility of life is enfolded in the power...
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