Lenten Resources

  We all have had (or should have had) plenty of “Thou shall” or “Thou shall nots” in our life! It’s the rich and necessary heritage we’ve been given since childhood. We needed those “bumper barriers” as we careened through our formative stages. But as we grew older, and perhaps wiser, those external guidelines began…

  Welcome! My name is Fr. Daniel, and we, the monks of Conception Abbey, welcome you as we begin this spiritual journey through Lent. We welcome you, our regular fellow travelers, as well as newcomers who are serious about preparing for Easter. In a special way, we welcome you who are catechumens as you eagerly…

  If we take Lent seriously and truly desire a radical and fruitful time, we must pay attention to the readings today. Often, and for a good reason, we deny ourselves certain pleasures to help us focus on what is important to us. But if this is all we do, any gains we achieve during…

  Cry out, full-throated! We are used to calling out to God in times of need, of piously seeking the help of Jesus. This is all good, necessary, and beneficial. However, what of those moments of dire circumstances, moments of real tragedy in our lives, how do we respond? Are we meek and mild, or…

  “If anyone wants to be my disciple, take up his cross, and follow me.” These words sum up, radically, the Christian vocation: to become like Christ. The cross, which Christ took up, lead to his death on Calvary. We, too, in accepting the cross, must realize that it leads to our own death as…

    “Remember, you are dust.” Such stark and startling words mark the beginning of Lent, 40 days of journeying, with Christ, to both Calvary and Resurrection. The ashes we receive, remind us, dramatically, that we all share in the same human condition, that we are finite, that we suffer, and that we die because…