Our Lenten Penance

Catholic New York – By Archbishop Timothy Dolan – March 11, 2010
I guess I should have warned you the day before Ash Wednesday, but, better late than never…
Anyway, just to alert you, every Friday of Lent I have spies at all the street carts in downtown Manhattan to take the names of any Catholic buying [...]

Life’s Joys Are Not the Goal, Says Pope

Zenit.org – February 28, 2010
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 28, 2010 (Zenit.org) – The joys of life are not the final goal, but rather lights on the path to an eternal destination, says Benedict XVI.
This was the conclusion the Pope came to at the end of a reflection today on the Transfiguration, which he called an “extraordinary [...]

We All Suffer from a Form of Soul Sickness. Penance is the Cure.

Saint Louis Review – By Archbishop Robert J. Carlson – February 24, 2010
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Mark 2:17).
Deep down inside we all know that something is not right with our world — or with ourselves. War [...]

Benedict XVI Decries Slavery to Money

Zenit.org – February 22, 2010
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 22, 2010 (Zenit.org) – Benedict XVI is encouraging the Brazilian bishops in their efforts to free people from the slavery to money and bring them back to God.
The Pope stated this in a message sent for this year’s Fraternity Campaign, traditionally promoted by the Church in Brazil during [...]

The World at Our Door

Good News for the Digital Pews (Diocese of San Bernardino) – By Bishop Gerald Barnes – February 17, 2010
Our faith calls us to be in solidarity with human beings all over the world. It is the essence of the universal church to which we belong. We are one family under God.
Does that idea live [...]

Abandon Superficiality in Favor of Complete Conversion, says Pope

Catholic News Service – By Carol Glatz and Cindy Wooden – February 17, 2010
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Lenten season calls Christians to strip themselves of evil, superficiality and lukewarm morality and to turn themselves fully over to Jesus Christ, said Pope Benedict XVI.
“Conversion means to change the direction in life’s journey, not by making [...]

Lent a Joyful Season?

(Archdiocese of Chicago) Catholic Chicago Blog – February 15, 2010
On Wednesday, we begin the great season of Lent! Fr. Walter Burghardt, S.J. – a noted theologian from Georgetown University – once wrote that “most people go into Lent kicking and screaming.” Unfortunately, many people, I think, may agree with him. Lent can sometimes be [...]

Dolan to Brewerville: Down With the Dogs

Originally posted on Whispers in the Loggia – April 3, 2009
After a long, brutal winter, Baseball Season formally kicks off Sunday night with the World Champion Phightins taking the field at 8:05.
As noted last week, though, the national pastime will hit the back burner for churchfolk across the country next week — while the Detroit [...]

Stewards of a Happy Lent

From Dan Conway’s The Good Steward, March 2007
“During the forty days of Lent, we dedicate ourselves to ascetical practices and to the threefold observance of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We don’t ordinarily asso­ciate these activities with the pursuit of happiness, but perhaps it’s time we looked at Lent differently. In fact, it’s quite possible that [...]

Prayer, Fasting, Mercy: The Framework of Spiritual Life

Vatican Information Service (VIS) – Mar. 8, 2009
VATICAN CITY, 8 MAR 2009 (VIS) – Today, at the Angelus of the second Sunday of Lent, Benedict XVI dedicated his remarks to the recently-concluded spiritual exercises of the Roman Curia. “It was”, he said, “a week of silence and prayer. Heart and mind were able to dedicate [...]

Lent, a Time for More Intense Prayer and Penance

Vatican Information Service (VIS) – Feb. 26, 2009
VATICAN CITY, 26 FEB 2009 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon, Ash Wednesday, Benedict XVI led a penitential procession from the church of Sant’Anselmo on Rome’s Aventine Hill to the nearby basilica of Santa Sabina where he presided at a Eucharistic celebration. During the ceremony the ashes were imposed upon [...]