Search
What to do when nostalgia attacks
… my old bedroom. A famous case of what might be called preemptive nostalgia appears in one of Lent's most important Scripture passages, the Transfiguration of Jesus. In the story, as Jesus …
Small Portland parish offers big hospitality to poor, homeless
… Peter Feuerherd … It's Friday night in the first week of Lent, and on a drizzly, cold, late winter night here at St. André Bessette Catholic Church, the …
Our Lenten journey with Jesus
… a family, career changes). Life is cyclical yet, one hopes, progressive. … The journey of Lent … This truth seems to be acknowledged in the structure of the Church year, for as we move … lives we are annually invited to enter once again the "little journey" that is the season of Lent. It has its own clearly defined beginning (Ash Wednesday) and an ending (some time on Holy … adventure called the Triduum. But one journey at a time! Let us see how the season of Lent is an invitation for us to imaginatively enter once again into the story of our "questing …
Pope: Imitate God by being merciful to others
… Junno Arocho Esteves … Catholic News Service … The season of Lent is a time for Christians to reflect on and practice the mercy of God toward others and not … the pope said. While giving material aid to the poor is important, Pope Francis said that Lent is an opportunity for men and women also to be generous in giving "spiritual alms" by … time with someone in need, visiting the sick or sharing a smile. "Let us go forward in Lent at least by succeeding in not condemning others in our conversations, in not judging and by …
Pundits repent of Twitter sins, apply faith to social media
… — flaws I already have in abundance," Begala announced . "So I'm giving up Twitter for Lent. I want to apologize in advance to my neighbors for shouting out the window in rage for the …
Lent is a good time to tackle the challenge of forgiveness
… either. Yet it must somehow be possible, or the Lord would not have taught it so insistently. Lent is a good time to tackle the question of how forgiveness can be achieved. Trying to include … forgiving someone is — an emptying process that leaves more space for God's loving grace. This Lent, join the people to whom you minister in the effort to free yourselves from past grievances …
Second Sunday of Lent
… our faces too will glow. … GENESIS 15:5-12, 17-18 … Each year on the Second Sunday of Lent, we have an encounter with Abram. In Year A, we hear God call him; in Year B, we remember … the values of the heaven we anticipate. … LUKE 9:28b-36 … The Gospel for the Second Sunday of Lent is always an account of Jesus’ transfiguration. Each year, it is heard according to the … Second Sunday of Len … t … By Lawrence Mick You may recall that the first readings during Lent last year often focused on the covenants God made with humanity. This year, that is not so …
Second Sunday of Lent: Look beyond your logic
Every now and then, we see someone whose face, maybe even his or her whole being, appears radiant. People speak of brides and grooms as glowing with joy. That kind of glow has nothing in common with gloating and is far more than a smile of pleasure or appreciation. It is even more than joy. It might appear when parents first behold their child, or see that child accomplish something wonderful. We…, Editor's note:, This Sunday Scripture commentary was originally published in the January 2019 issue of Celebration , a comprehensive pastoral resource. To read the full version of the commentary, click here . Sign up to receive weekly Scripture for Life emails .
A journey during Lent to deepen our presence to God
… James Hug … Lent is not necessarily a time just for facing guilt, doing penance, working toward conversion from sin, and focusing on failings and inadequacies. Essentially, Lent is an invitation to deepening our relationship with God, an invitation to growth, to fuller … of facing our guilt and turning from sin, it literally just means "thinking about it again." Lent is a time to reflect on our lives and reevaluate our relationship with God. It is a time to …
Gravitational waves of God
… these insights expand and deepen our faith in the paschal mystery, our preparation during Lent and our celebration of the Triduum? We tend to use the word creation as if it was a past … this exquisite dance, bringing everything to oneness and fullness in God. Is not the season of Lent a perfect time to learn the first steps? … Editor's note: … This reflection was originally …
Women's authority can help heal our church's broken governance
… Initiatives and Timeline 2019-2020," detailing other programs and action steps extending until Lent of 2020. What are we to conclude? Only this: Women do not have to wait to be ordained as …
Lent calls us to Jesus' most challenging teaching
… Thomas Gumbleton … As we all know, this season of Lent is a time that we, in a certain sense like Jesus, put ourselves apart from our everyday … in some fashion are enemies. This is the conversion that we must undergo during this season of Lent. So we begin today in reflecting on these Scriptures how Jesus was tempted, but rejected …
On the verge of Lent, remember the essentials
… … It is significant this year that the month containing the first four liturgical readings for Lent begins with the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Scripture passages for that weekend set the theme for the other four. Liturgical historians always remind us that Lent did not begin as a penitential season. Originally, the weeks before Easter consisted in a … The late Carrol Stuhlmueller shared one of the most helpful insights into the Third Sunday of Lent's Exodus pericope I have ever heard: The angel does not "cue the bush" when he sees Moses …
Lent celebrates death and resurrection as a single, inseparable mystery
… of life: This is the invitation of all the great religious traditions. Is this not also where Lent invites us? … God speaks in paradox … A friend from India, a faithful, practicing Hindu, … God speaks one, God must also speak many. When God speaks life, God must also speak death. Lent, our Christian season of preparation for the holiest days of our liturgical year, is a time to enter more deeply into the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Lent is our invitation into the profound spiritual truth expressed by Lao Tsu, Hindu art and …
Parish roundup: Securing African-American priests; overcoming disabilities; implementation of 'Laudato Si'
… Pennsylvania*, has encouraged the use of " Healing Our Church " for all its parishes during Lent. The six-week program was developed by Renew International which has been promoting …
Teacher apologizes for telling boy to remove cross of ashes on forehead
… one of the holiest days of the year in the Catholic faith and that it marks the beginning of Lent," the statement also said. "Davis School District takes the matter very seriously and is …
There's this thing about Lent
… Gertrud Mueller Nelson … There's this thing about Lent: It's not just a neat six weeks in the spring of the year that gets you all holy and housecleaned in time for Easter. Lent can also creep up behind you and take you by surprise at any point on the calendar of your … then through the final, holy, transformative actions of Triduum. I am grateful. I've a lot of Lents under my belt. Still, I always wonder if I've muddled through it well enough, deeply …
From Laborem Exercens to AOC: why I'm a Catholic Democratic Socialist
… Alex Mikulich … As we begin Lent, one of the signs of our time is unrelenting attacks on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New … served 10 terms in Congress. People of faith who seek to deepen their love of neighbor this Lent, I believe, ought to embrace the vision and practice Ocasio-Cortez represents. How does a …
Unleash the burning fire in our bones
… That's hard but how can we settle for less? The ritual of the great ninety days (that is, the Lent, Triduum and the Easter seasons) done by us every year, rehearses us in our love for and …
First Sunday of Lent
… Mary M. McGlone … As we begin Lent, Luke tells us a story in which the challenge of tempting Jesus makes the devil so desperate … and genuine relationship with God and others. The Son of God chose to enter into the struggle. Lent is our annual opportunity to do the same. … DEUTERONOMY 26:4-10 … This reading from … to us. Our past calls us to have compassion on the immigrant and refugee. This reading puts Lent in the context of salvation history and reminds us that our own history should be the …