Prayer and Fasting

February 21, 2021By

1st Sunday In Lent 2021
Jesus Christ leads us by example as we begin Lent.  He sanctified the forty days we have begun by first spending that number of days in prayer and fasting in the desert before He started His public life.  Upon its completion He overcame Satan and his temptations.  We will do the same during this Lent as we walk in Christ’s footsteps by doing penance that will regain control of ourselves.  We make up for the sin of eating that Adam and Eve committed.  We follow our ancestors who made Lent holy and would not mar these forty days with war, court proceedings and other distracting activities.
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Our 40 Day Lenten Retreat

February 17, 2021By

Ash Wednesday Evening 2021
Ashes are a sacramental so we should stir up our hearts and receive them devoutly.  By popular demand the reception of ashes was extended to all the faithful not just the public penitents.  We should imitate the penitents and catechumens during this spiritual retreat and practice acts of penance like prayer, fasting, almsgiving and studying.  Our Lord taught us about these in the Sermon on the Mount from which today’s Gospel comes.  We enter Lent with Christ as our Leader so we imitate Him in His sufferings and eventually in His Resurrection.
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Ultimately Penance Is Love

February 14, 2021By

Ash Wednesday 2021
Neglect of practicing penance during Lent is a cause of the problems we experience in the world today.  The virtue of penance is a power from God which makes us hate sin, be sorry for it, make reparation for it and convert because sin offends God Who loves us.  Penance spurs us on to mortify our evil tendencies and remove the obstacles during Lent so to make room for Our Lord.  The Liturgy teaches us these things and the acts of penance are traditionally known as prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  Many ask for penances during Lent and several recommendations are given to help us make a good and holy Lent.
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Purity of Intention

February 14, 2021By

Quinquagesima Sunday 2021
In preparation for Ash Wednesday and Lent there is a review of the laws concerning fast and abstinence.  Today is also the feast of St. Valentine and his impact in our own day.  The Epistle for this Mass is taken from St. Paul and teaches us the importance of doing all our works, especially the upcoming penances, with purity of intention which is produced by charity.  The Gospel tells of the cure of the blind man by Our Lord.  We are that blind man who need God’s help to see our sinfulness and do something about it.
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What Is Keeping Me From God?

March 1, 2020By

First Sunday of Lent 2020
This sermon begins with a review of the Lenten regulations and a recalling of the life and the struggle for his vocation of St. Thomas Aquinas, whose feast is this week.  Then we learn about the sacramental of ashes which is a powerful aid during this season which offers us more graces than at any other time during the year.  With this help we perform supernatural works which overcome everything that separates us from God.  After His forty days of fasting in the desert, Our Lord showed us how to defeat the devil and his temptations.  We are meant to follow Christ’s example.
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The Grace Of Ashes

February 26, 2020By

Ash Wednesday 2020
The origins of this day date back to the beginning when God told Adam after his fall that he was dust and unto dust he would return.  To counter the sin of pride by eating the forbidden fruit we are called to practice humility by fast and abstinence.  All peoples have felt the need for penance and Catholics can accomplish it effectively and with merit.  Not to be forgotten is the need for love which must motivate our actions and make us imitate Christ who suffered and died out of love.  The Mass is the greatest work any of us can do and so it is critical during Lent.  The sacramental of the ashes will strengthen us today and throughout these forty days.
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Join In Penance

March 6, 2019By

Ash Wednesday Evening 2019
Lent begins with the moving Epistle from the Prophet Joel which calls on all, especially the priests, to do penance for sin and thereby receive from God the blessings of His gifts.  Through prayer, fasting and almsgiving we separate ourselves from evil tendencies and open up to the infusion of God’s life.  The sacramental of the Ashes should be received with as much devotion, sorrow and love so to obtain the riches of grace being offered.
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Our Presentation

February 2, 2019By

Feast Of The Purification 2019

The feast of the Purification also celebrates Our Lord’s Presentation in the Temple. The Mosaic law required a mother to offer sacrifices before she could be allowed again to participate in worship. In addition, it stipulated that a first born son should be offered to God Who would then return him to the parents for raising him. The Blessed Mother and her Divine Son were exempt from these requirements because of Their sinlessness and holiness but They showed us the way of humility today. We must imitate Them in offering ourselves to God.
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The Gift Of Lent

February 18, 2018By

First Sunday in Lent 2018
Grace is present at every moment for us but especially during Lent.  We, as Christians, must not be a scandal to those in the world.  Lent is our retreat and it is dangerous to our spiritual life not to realize this.  The virtue of chastity cannot be practiced without constant help from grace.  We need the sacraments, prayer and spiritual reading to be holy.  Christ was tempted in three ways which are conquered by our penances of fasting, prayer and almsgiving.  Remembering the four last things will help save us.

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Unto Dust You Shall Return

February 14, 2018By

Ash Wednesday Evening 2018
Blessed ashes remind us of death and our own nothingness.  These marked the public sinners from the early days of the Church and do for all of us now.  No sins are too much to be forgiven and penance and fasting are powerful means to save us as they did for the Ninivites.  The Epistle calls all to join the priest in doing penance. We should never betray God for any momentary sin.  Love of God dispels sin and vice from our hearts.  We should pray for devotion and sorrow during Lent so Easter will be a preview of the life to come.

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