An Easy Guide for a Truly Remarkable and Fun-filled Lent
Is Lent over yet? Oh, wait, I just remembered that Ash Wednesday was last week, so this is… oh, no, this is day seven! And already my fingers are itching to check the latest posts on Facebook, while...
View ArticleLove, Suffering and the Transfiguration
The love with which God embraces each of us is one of the great truths revealed in to us throughout salvation history, but especially through and in Jesus Christ. To come to better understand this...
View ArticleWhat Western Christians Can Learn from the Fig Tree
Some think Lent is a time for fasting. I see it as a time of feasting. I come to this conclusion based on the story of the fig tree in Luke 13. Three years without bearing fruit. What could be the...
View ArticlePray for Life, Marriage and Religious Liberty
It can be surprisingly easy to forget at times that Catholics and other people of faith are living in an increasingly hostile secular culture. But, we must never forget; we must remain watchful. The...
View ArticleFirst the Fast, Then the Feast
Christmas cards speak about it. Christmas carols sing about it. Even the angels at Bethlehem proclaimed it. “Peace on earth.” “The lion shall lie down with the lamb.” (Is 11). “Justice shall...
View ArticleWhy do Catholics Practice Fast and Abstinence?
Would you like to know the secret to a better, deeper, more joyful life in Christ? Of course you would. We all would. Our bookstores are filled with books written to help us advance in prayer and the...
View ArticleThe Biblical Basis for the Catholic Practice of Fast and Abstinence
Last week, I asked the question, “Are you looking for the secret to a better, deeper, more joyful life in Christ?” and responded by exploring the reasons for the Catholic practice of self-denial. We...
View ArticleThe Season of Lent — Father Barron Comments
The three classical practices the Church associates with Lent are prayer, fasting and almsgiving; three things that we do. It’s important to emphasize about Lent… we can internalize it too much;...
View ArticleSuffering Transfigured Through Love
The love in which God embraces each of us is one of the great truths revealed to us throughout salvation history, but especially through and in Jesus Christ. To come to a better and deeper...
View ArticleDaily Catholic Quote from Pope Francis
“Fasting makes sense if it really chips away at our security and, as a consequence, benefits someone else, if it helps us cultivate the style of the good Samaritan, who bent down to his brother in need...
View ArticleDaily Lenten Reflection — Our Refuge
“O Lord, you have been our refuge, from generation to generation; from age to age, you are.” (Entrance Antiphon, Tuesday of the First Week of Lent, Cf. Psalm 89:1-2). We did not watch the Oscars on...
View ArticleDaily Lenten Reflection — God’s Visitation
When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the...
View ArticleDaily Lenten Reflection — Conformed to God’s Will
“Bestow on us, we pray, O Lord, a spirit of always pondering on what is right and of hastening to carry it out…” (Collect, Thursday of the First Week of Lent). We are not accidents of nature, we are...
View ArticleDaily Lenten Reflection — Out of the Depths
“Out of the depths I cry to thee, O Lord! Lord, hear my voice! Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! If thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is...
View ArticleDaily Lenten Reflection — With Love in my Heart
“This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances; you shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 26:16). God has loved...
View ArticleSix Keys to help you Surrender your Life to Jesus Christ
At the center of Mark’s Gospel, the Transfiguration of Christ (Mark 9:2-10) stands prominently as an encouragement along the walk from Baptism to Resurrection; a walk that must pass through the Cross....
View ArticleDaily Lenten Reflection — FAQ for making a Daily Examen
A necessary part of advancing in the spiritual life and forming a deeper relationship with God is to examine oneself, praying that God will reveal to us our soul as He sees it. This act of...
View ArticleCatholic Quote of the Day — from Venerable Fulton J. Sheen
“Lenten practices of giving up pleasures are good reminders that the purpose of life is not pleasure. The purpose of life is to attain to perfect life, all truth and undying ecstatic love—which is the...
View ArticleDaily Lenten Reflection — Practicing Generosity
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together,...
View ArticleDaily Lenten Reflection — Following Christ’s Most Important Lesson
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12) Jesus is not humble, he is humility. Jesus is not transcended by his qualities or attributes, he...
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