The Devil Hates Us

March 6, 2022By

First Sunday In Lent 2022
This Friday begins Stations of the Cross and this is an appropriate devotion for Lent that was begun by our Mother of Sorrows.  Fasting and abstinence began on Ash Wednesday and their origins go back to Noah.  These practices are essential to our Lenten retreat days.  This week is the feast of St. Dominic Savio who was a student of St. John Bosco and died young at the age of 15.  This account of his spiritual life is moving and an exemplary example for the young of all ages.  Finally, we learn from today’s Gospel about Our Lord’s temptations in the dessert after His forty days of fasting at the beginning of His public life.  The devil was permitted to tempt the Son of God without the least degree of success; however, the devil vents his anger against God now through his attacks on us, especially during holy times like this season preparing us for Holy Week and Easter.
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Lent Is A Season Of Joy

March 2, 2022By

Ash Wednesday 2022
Septuagesima season has prepared us for this time of removing sin from our lives.  This should comfort us as we begin this time of penance.  When examining our conscience we should not look at self but at Our Lord crucified to realize the effects of our evil on Him.  Lent is the bond of unity in the Church when we all struggle together. By  Penance we understand different things.  It is the sacrament, a moral virtue and the acts flowing from it.  Ashes are given today because they are one of the three major sacramentals in the Church and remind us powerfully of death which is the consequence of Adam’s sin.  Finally, practical suggestions are given to help us choose and practice spiritual exercises which will make Lent truly beneficial for us.
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O Happy Fault

March 21, 2021By

Passion Sunday 2021
Today is also the feast of St. Benedict whose influence has had such an impact on western civilization.  Later this week we have St. John Damascene who defended our use of images of the saints.  The liturgical year is our response to Our Lord’s command at the Last Supper to “Do this in memory of Me”.  Passion Sunday continues this on the road to Calvary by having us veil the statues of the saints as a penance and suffering.  This unites us with the sufferings of Christ and sanctifies our own sufferings which are our means of sanctification.  With this appreciation for our living in this vale of tears we can look upon Adam’s sin as something from which we can and should benefit.
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Foretaste Of The Holy Mass

March 14, 2021By

Laetare Sunday – 4th Sunday In Lent 2021
The Gospel today tells about the multiplication of the loaves and fishes by Our Lord about a year before His Passion and Death.  This miracle was a preparation for the first Mass and the institution of the Holy Eucharist on Holy Thursday.  The happiness that we receive from the Blessed Sacrament is what gives joy to this Sunday in the middle of Lent and is expressed in the liturgy by the beautiful rose color of the vestments today.  In addition, a golden rose was customarily blessed on this day, used to decorate the altar and then given to a Catholic monarch who assisted at the Mass.  The sacredness of the Holy Eucharist  demands reverence in its administration as St. Thomas Aquinas said centuries ago.
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Baptism Rite Is A Mini-Lent

March 7, 2021By

3rd Sunday in Lent 2021
Today is also the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas who is a model of many things including fidelity to a vocation.  The Liturgy of Lent continues to prepare the catechumens and penitents for the Sacred Triduum.  The daily Masses for this week are geared by the Church for this purpose.  Today’s Gospel returns our attention to the enemy of our spiritual life, namely, the devil.  We can draw all the defense we need against this foe from the Mass and Sacraments, especially the exorcising power of priests.  We are reminded at the end of this account from St. Luke of Our Lady’s role in combating the evil one.  The Blessed Mother has empowered us with the Holy Rosary which carries the mysteries of our Faith in our hands whenever we are unable to be at the altar.
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Stational Churches And Bible Types

March 5, 2021By

Conference On First Friday, March 2021
Lent has a special Mass for each day and a church in Rome for its celebration.  The catechumens and penitents were instructed on the faith and penance.  The texts chosen taught how the Old Testament pointed the way to the Messiah and His upcoming sacrifice on the Cross.  They also encouraged them to seek forgiveness for their sins from a most merciful God who only wishes good for us.
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Consolation of the Transfiguration

February 28, 2021By

2nd Sunday In Lent 2021
Our Lord took the three apostles who would soon be tested during His agony in the garden and showed them a glimpse of His divinity during the theophany on Mt. Tabor so they would be strengthened by the remembrance of it at that crucial time.  We too are consoled by this sight as we struggle through Lent with our eyes always fixed on the goal which is our glorification in the end with our Risen Savior.
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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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