Catholic Quote of the Day — from Pope St. John Paul II
“One of the meanings of penitential fasting is to help us recover an interior life. The effort of moderation in food also extends to other things that are not necessary, and this is a great help to the...
View ArticleSuffering Transfigured by 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 ArticleI Will Wait
One thing our world doesn’t do well is wait. I fall prey to it as much as the next person. I lose my temper in traffic jams. I become agitated when websites load slowly. I find ways to watch Downton...
View ArticleDaily Lenten Reflection — Come, Blessed of My Father
“Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was...
View ArticleDaily Lenten Reflection — God, 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). The times in which we live are...
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 — Designed for a Purpose
“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 — From the 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 ArticleSuffering Transfigured
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 Lenten Reflection — A Generous Heart
“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 — Christ’s Teaching on Humility is not Optional
“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...
View ArticleFast so as to Feast
“But the goal is to save our appetite so that we can feast on other things… the Word of God… the Eucharist.” Some think Lent is a time for fasting. I see it as a time of feasting. I come to this...
View ArticlePost-Lenten Snooze
Every other year or so, I give up my snooze button for Lent. Some years it goes well and some years I fail repeatedly. But every year, I abandon the good habit after Lent. That’s not how it’s...
View ArticleSuffering Transfigured
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 Venerable Fulton J. Sheen
“The purpose of life is to attain to perfect life, all truth and undying ecstatic love—which is the definition of God. In pursuing that goal we find happiness. Pleasure is not the purpose of anything;...
View ArticleThe Fast Comes Before 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 ArticleReclaiming Carnival
We are in the midst of the season of Carnival right now. It will culminate next Tuesday on what various cultures call Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday. Like another upcoming holiday, St....
View ArticleWhy 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 ArticleBiblical Truth About Fasting
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 Article