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...
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,...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of our Lenten journey, when we enter into the solemn season of Lent and arm ourselves with the transformative practices of fasting, prayer and almsgiving in order to be one with our Lord Jesus in...
Ash Wednesday 2023 readings. Think about this for a minute. An entire people around the globe sets aside 40 days each year to live differently than they do the other 325 days. If we look at this merely as a...
A reflection on the readings for April 3, 2022, the Fifth Sunday of Lent (Gospel: John 8:1-11) In an October 26, 1946, radio message to participants in the National Catechetical Congress of the United States in Boston, Pope Pius XII...
A homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday)—March 27, 2022. On my way home from an appointment the other day, I was listening to the Spotify All Out 90’s playlist, as one does, when an old favorite that...
Temptations are real. Temptations are inevitable. Temptations are an everyday affair. Yet, we do not spend too much time reflecting on them. This is because our focus is on avoiding temptations rather than succumbing to them. The Gospels, however, tell...
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