Wednesday, April 5, 2023042During Lent this year, residents of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where Pope Francis lives, decided to clean out their closets and give away things other people could use. "You can't imagine how much stuff there was," the pope said.
Tuesday, March 14, 202304246With St. Patrick’s Day falling on a Lenten Friday this year, Bishop Edward J. Burns has issued a dispensation from abstinence on March 17, allowing the faithful to enjoy the American Irish tradition of eating corned beef (or ham) and cabbage in good conscience.
Sunday, February 19, 2023048Tradition is a source of inspiration for seeking out new paths to take with Jesus and for avoiding the traps of stagnation or impromptu experimentation, Pope Francis said.
Monday, March 28, 2022034This Lent I’m studying the “wilderness” or “desert” in Scripture, and especially in the journey of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land. The dangerous wild is a powerful image for the spiritual life, and it plays a large part in the lives of figures like Jacob, Moses, David, Elijah, John the Baptist and Jesus. What about in...
Friday, March 11, 20220293I want you to know how much I believe in and love Lent, and I want you to know how much I wish that no one would say “I don’t believe in Lent.”
Wednesday, March 2, 2022055As palm fronds burned in a crackling fire at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington, Atonement Father Jim Gardiner called attention to a more sinister fire burning in another part of the world.
Monday, February 8, 2021069Last year, on Ash Wednesday, we had no idea that Lent would last for a year…at least that is how it seems to me. And given the choice, I would not have given up the things I have been asked to do without in the past year. I love to travel, and to eat a nice meal with friends at a restaurant, and to attend sporting events (Go...
Friday, April 3, 20200136On the Friday before Holy Week, Pope Francis asked people to keep a long tradition of Catholic piety by focusing on "the suffering and sorrows of Our Lady."
Saturday, March 21, 202001037We’re a few weeks into Lent, and since we’ve had some time now to try our Lenten disciplines of praying, fasting and almsgiving, let’s take a moment to reevaluate them in light of some ancient wisdom. Here are three tips about fasting from the Rule of St. Benedict.
Thursday, March 19, 20200182This Lent is one for the record books. Parish fish fries, prayer services, Stations of the Cross, and daily and Sunday Masses are all canceled, and some dioceses have already announced they will not have services during Holy Week or Easter on April 12.
