Lent

Lent this year comes at the end of a long winter. The gray skies and lack of sunshine can be taxing on our spiritual and psychological health, and we may not feel motivated to enter into this holy season. But Lent can be forty days of…

“There is ugliness in us, isn’t there?” the priest begins. “We are flawed. We are human. And God wants us — God is commanding us — to take all of the ugliness we work so hard to bury deep within us, to take all that poison, the aspects…

“Then handed him over to them to be crucified” (John 19:16). There are at least a thousand lessons to be learned at Calvary, and then there are the mysteries beyond these lessons, which bring us to the shores of an endless sea. But in…

There was always one kid in catechism class who raised his hand and asked if he could give up homework for Lent. I was not that kid. I dug deep to find the thing whose absence would most torture me — usually chocolate. As an adult, I gave…

In the Gospel today, Jesus poses an unusual challenge as we begin the season of Lent. We are called to consider why we pray, fast, and give our time and money to those in need. Addressing this demands a radical degree of honesty with…

The dying words of St. John Paul II were, “Let me go to the house of my Father.” Isn’t that beautiful? Isn’t that what you want to be saying when you die? St. Thérèse died whispering, “My God! I love you!” Even George Washington muttered,…

The Easter Triduum is the liturgical season lasting three days and commemorating the Last Supper, the Passion, and the Resurrection. Across the country, churches and individuals commemorate these holy days with special traditions and…

A clean heart create for me, God; renew within me a steadfast spirit. (Psalm 51:12) Ash Wednesday, in all its solemnity and reverence, is one of my favorite religious days. I love the humble act of repentance, the cross formed by ashes…

Imagine walking through a garage sale dotted with forgotten toys, 1980s videos, tired-looking clothing, and there — sitting between grandma's old dishes and Tupperware — is a case containing an ill-used Communion chalice and a paten.…

It’s an image and moment of Good Friday I’ll never forget. More poignantly, it’s the sound that still resonates in my mind and heart more than a decade later. I took an extended break — longer than I probably should have — that particular…