FIRST WEEK OF LENT   Personal Responsibility — Eucharist and Reconciliation   Introduction Often we blame the community and “the system” for the evils of society and for the sins we commit. This shrugging off of responsibility is a timeless device of escape. Christ dealt with it and so did Ezekiel before him. Ezekiel tells […]

FIRST WEEK OF LENT   I Have No Helper but You   Introduction Prayer discloses all the riches of God’s goodness to us. God cannot resist us when we turn to him in our misery, in our needs, in our joy, even in our silence when we don’t know what to say. But the reason […]

FIRST WEEK OF LENT   Conversion   Introduction Even for pagans, even for those known for their cruelty, like the people that enslaved the Jews, it is possible to be converted. When the author of the Book of Jonah told this to the Jews, it was an astonishing message to them. For Jews, yes, but […]

FIFTH WEEK OF LENT   Look Up to Christ   Introduction An incontestable truth is that only faith saves. For the Jews wandering in the desert, faith in God’s power—presented here in the form of a bronze serpent—will save the rebellious people of God. The Pharisees have to accept Christ in faith if they want […]

First Week of Lent   PETER’S CHAIR, Feast Introduction The liturgy celebrates today not so much that Peter was the bishop of Rome than what his function is. In answer to Peter’s profession of faith, Jesus appoints him the Rock on which the Church is built. As Peter himself knew very well, the shepherd is […]

    First Sunday of Lent   Tempted in the Desert Repent and Believe the Good News   Greeting (see the Gospel) The Lord Jesus is among us today and speaks his word to us: “The right time is now: the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.” May […]

SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY   RE-CREATING ENCOUNTER     Introduction       Jesus came to call sinners. It is they that need him, not so much the just, the righteous. It is the sinners who need healing. We are among them, and so we need healing. The Pharisees considered themselves just, but there was little mercy in them; […]

FRIDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY          WHY FAST?                   Introduction       People in the Old Testament ask: What is the use of fasting? God seems not to be near when they fast. The prophet tells them because real fasting consists in justice and love. Since God has made a covenant with his […]

THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY   FIDELITY BRINGS LIFE – Time of Penance   Introduction Faithfulness is not easy except if we are intensely committed to a person we love. If we are loyal, we share in the joys and trials of the other person and we never lose our serenity or basic happiness. This is also true […]

Ash Wednesday   “I Will Serve” Away with All Masks Here is Lent, Our Favorable Time 1. “I Will Serve”   Greeting The peace and reconciliation of the merciful Father be always with you. R/ And also with you.   Introduction by the Celebrant Today we begin our forty days of Lent, forty days of preparation […]