Articles for Lent

Ash Wednesday

February 14, 2024

       How should we approach Lent? I think a huge temptation when it comes to Lent is to enter into it with the wrong perspective. Oftentimes, we hear the word “Lent” and immediately think of suffering. We usually just think about fasting and how we’re going to have to give up things…

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The Resurrection of the Lord

April 9, 2023

   You’ve heard of “black holes” in outer space: those invisible centers of such strong gravity that everything in its vicinity, including light, is drawn inescapably into it. While this phenomenon is a fairly recent discovery in science, it is an ancient idea in theology. The scriptures suggest that God has been working slowly…

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Holy Saturday

April 8, 2023

  Today is Holy Saturday. There are no Scripture readings for our reflection because there is no Eucharist celebrated during the day. This is so because Jesus is in the tomb. We are grieving and mourning. We should observe a great silence. If you pray the Roman Liturgy of Hours, you will find a very…

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Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

April 7, 2023

  In today’s first reading, God is speaking through the prophet Isaiah. God says, “See, my servant … a man of suffering … spurned … held in no esteem.” In the second reading, from the Epistle to the Hebrews, we learned the name and identity of this servant. It is Jesus who was “able to…

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Holy Thursday – Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper

April 6, 2023

  The highlight of the Mass on Holy Thursday is the institution of the Eucharist. We recall how Jesus at the Last Supper gave us the Sacrament of His Body and Blood. Our second reading captured this key event. Jesus took bread, broke it and said, ‘This is my body …’ He took the cup,…

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Wednesday of Holy Week

April 5, 2023

  Once again, we have Judas Iscariot as a central figure in the Gospel. This time it is from the pen of St. Matthew. Judas is a picture of human tragedy. His was a failed life. He had been chosen by Jesus Himself. How could this have happened? Judas was probably a talented man, probably…

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Tuesday of Holy Week

April 4, 2023

  Today’s gospel has two principal characters, besides Jesus. The first is Judas. St John describes how Judas headed off into the dark. It was night! The second is the so-called “beloved disciple.” This is the disciple Jesus loved. He is described as having reclined next to Jesus, literally, “close to his chest.” In his…

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Monday of Holy Week

April 3, 2023

  We are within Holy Week, a time to reflect prayerfully on the final journey of Jesus to his Passion. Yesterday’s Gospel, the Passion according to St. Matthew, told us how much Jesus suffered for us. Today’s Gospel, from John, is different. Yesterday, most of the people Jesus met in his final days were against…

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Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

April 2, 2023

   We are celebrating Palm Sunday. It is important to notice what Jesus is doing. Jesus is entering Jerusalem to begin the greatest week in all of history. How is he entering the Holy City? By riding on a donkey. He is riding on the animal of simple, common country people. And the donkey…

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Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent

April 1, 2023

  I think much of what the faithful Christian can offer today’s world is hope. The Prophet Ezekiel encountered many difficulties (like many of us do), but the latter part of the Book is very hopeful. The Prophet Ezekiel wrote: “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Even though the people…

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Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent

March 31, 2023

  Jesus is performing the good works of the Father, yet He is treated with contempt. He is rejected and threatened with physical harm. Have you ever felt a similar feeling of hurt and pain? Jesus escapes from them when they try to arrest Him, and He goes back to the Jordan, the place where…

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Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent

March 30, 2023

  God makes three promises to Abraham. But first, put yourself in Abraham’s place—none of these promises seem to be happening, and some of them seem like a far and distant reality (if not an impossibility altogether). Abraham probably felt some doubt and uncertainty about how all of this would come about. Like all human…

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Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

March 29, 2023

  Jesus says: “The truth will set you free.” In response, the Jew said, “We…have never been enslaved by anyone.” I imagine that many people in today’s world would believe that they are free and not enslaved by anyone or anything. But, what is freedom, and what does it look like? Freedom is not doing…

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Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

March 28, 2023

  It can often be the case that not only do we want our struggles and challenges resolved, but we also want them addressed immediately and taken away. The Israelites struggle and complaint is that they have no food or water. And, even what they have, they think is “wretched food.” It’s interesting how the…

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Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

March 27, 2023

  The lengthy yet powerful story from the Book of the Prophet Daniel is worth further reflection. The two men who accused Susanna were enslaved to their passions and to the lies that they told themselves. Sadly, they were unable to live in the light of truth. In the midst of the story, the characters…

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Fifth Sunday of Lent

March 26, 2023

   St. John’s account of the raising of Lazarus focuses on a mighty deed of Jesus, but the story is also something of a journey of faith—a journey of coming to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. When Jesus hears that Lazarus is ill, Jesus reassures those with Him that…

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Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

March 25, 2023

  Jesus said, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; in holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight. Then I said, ‘as is written of me in the scroll, behold, I come to do your will, O God.’” A common theme on this Solemnity is the will…

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Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent

March 24, 2023

  “But we know where he is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.” How is it that Christ is coming into our lives? I think that often we say to ourselves, “but I know where he is from so he can’t be the Christ,” and thus we avoid…

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Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent

March 23, 2023

  Today’s first reading is a great example of how we should interact with our fallen world. The people of Israel had turned away from God, made a molten calf, and begun to worship it. Because of this, God’s anger rose up, and He was going to destroy them and promised Moses that he would…

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Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

March 22, 2023

  “Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice O earth, break forth into song, you mountains. For the LORD comforts his people and shows mercy to his afflicted.” This verse in our first reading speaks of the promised liberation and restoration of Zion, for they were a people in exile. We too are a people in…

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Solemnity of the Transitus of St. Benedict, Abbot

March 21, 2023

  Today’s readings have a common theme of life-giving waters. In the first reading, we hear about the waters that flow from the temple of the LORD. This water turns into a river that makes the salty waters fresh, brings life to animals and fish, and waters all the plant life so that their leaves…

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Solemnity of St. Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

March 20, 2023

  We celebrate today the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus. Today there are two options for our Gospel, and I will use both to help us reflect on the great gift of St. Joseph, the patron of the universal church and father figure to us all. We…

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Fourth Sunday of Lent

March 19, 2023

   “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and rejoice.” We have reached the halfway point in our Lenten journey, and we say rejoice, in Latin, Laetare. But what are we rejoicing in? Is it simply that we are halfway through our Lenten journey; we are…

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Saturday of the Third Week of Lent

March 18, 2023

  Do you believe that God loves you? Do you believe that Christ willingly gave his life to save you? Trusting that God loves us can be a hard reality to accept sometimes. We may have had a difficult upbringing, and we were taught that we must earn love from a parent, and thus, we…

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Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

March 16, 2023

  “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste.” These words speak to each of us in various ways. It can easily correspond to our nation, our Church, our parishes, and often our homes. It can, however, also refer to our hearts. We have competing desires and hopes in our personal lives. You may…

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Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

March 15, 2023

  Have you ever considered what Israel’s vocation was? They are God’s chosen people, and God called them, through Abraham, to be a people with a mission. That mission, outlined in our first reading from Deuteronomy, was to show their “wisdom and intelligence to the nations…for what great nation is there that has gods so…

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Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent

March 14, 2023

  Do you pay attention to the Our Father? You have probably prayed it many, many times. Sometimes, we forget to pay attention and understand what we say because we become so used to reciting it. One line of the Our Father stands out as particularly important, yet we skim right over it, “forgive us…

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Monday of the Third Week of Lent

March 13, 2023

  Have you ever heard the modern parable of the man asking to be saved from an oncoming flood? He prays to God, “save me!” Each time a set of rescuers come—a fireman, a boat, a helicopter—the man says, “no, God is going to save me.” The man dies from the flood and asks God,…

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Third Sunday of Lent

March 12, 2023

  The first reading from Exodus and the Gospel from John speak of thirsting for water from two very different perspectives. After setting out from Egypt, Israel began complaining they had too little water. Traveling with such a large group, think thousands, and with their livestock, they would have required much water. It is a…

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Saturday of the Second Week of Lent

March 11, 2023

  “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” In another place the scribes and Pharisees will ask, “Who but God can forgive sins” (Mark 2:7)? Indeed, forgiveness of sins is what reveals Jesus’ divinity. It was absolute blasphemy for this man to do what was possible for God alone. Fr. Francis Carvajal comments: The…

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Friday of the Second Week of Lent

March 10, 2023

  Why does Jesus say that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from the Jewish leaders and given to others? Israel was not just made God’s Chosen People but that designation also had a vocation. Their calling as the smallest but most blessed nation was to be a Light to the Nations. They…

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Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

March 9, 2023

  St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s religious order, the Missionaries of Charity, specializes in its foundation house on one thing. They find people on the streets of Calcutta who are dying in abject poverty. They bring them to their hostel, wash them, give them a clean bed, and treat them with the dignity of a…

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Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent

March 8, 2023

  Why is Lent forty days? Why do we celebrate Lent every year? Because it takes a lifetime to be conformed to Christ. Perseverance and constancy are hard. Those who become martyrs were frequently not last-minute zealous disciples. Rather, their choice each day to place the Father’s will first allow them to make the ultimate…

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Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent

March 7, 2023

  The comedian and actor Adam Sandler once had a standup bit where he said that when his family asked about whatever happened to an ex-girlfriend, he would just say: “She’s dead, Grandma.” The point was that it was too tedious to get into why the relationship went south or to have to admit failure.…

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Monday of the Second Week of Lent

March 6, 2023

  One of the strains of Jewish theology found in the first part of the Old Testament is known as the Deuteronomic Principle. The basic notion is that if an individual or the people as a whole are faithful to the ordinances of the Lord, one or corporately they will receive blessings corresponding to obedience.…

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Second Sunday of Lent

March 5, 2023

    A Diptych is a hinged, two-panel painting. Although both panels may make up a single scene, they are often separate images that are nonetheless connected thematically. Typically, one panel only finds its meaning when compared to the next. An example is the Wilton Diptych (c. 1395-1399). It was a kind of portable altar…

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Saturday after Ash Wednesday

February 25, 2023

  On Ash Wednesday, at the distribution of ashes, we hear “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” Today we hear the call of Levi, the tax collector. He heard Jesus’ invitation: follow me. The gospel tells us, “leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.” This makes it all so very simple. He stood…

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Friday after Ash Wednesday

February 24, 2023

  Today we hear more about fasting. On Ash Wednesday, the gospel cautioned us about the way we fast. Fasting is not to be noticed by others but by God. Fasting is not an external, observable practice, performed for others to see, but rather a discipline that helps to direct us towards God. Today in…

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Thursday after Ash Wednesday

February 23, 2023

  In the Holy Rule, St. Benedict says this about Lent. “For the monk, his entire life should be one continuous Lent.” At first, hearing that is not a pleasant thought, at least for me. St. Benedict goes further: “Since not all have the strength for this, let the brothers increase their austerity beyond the…

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Ash Wednesday

February 22, 2023

     Today we begin the season of Lent, the Paschal Season of the Church year. For the next 40 days, we prepare once again for our annual celebration of the feasts of our Redemption through the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter. As we begin the season of Lent, we really have…

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