The third element of making a holy Lent is Almsgiving. “Alms” is the traditional term for money or material aid given to a poor person; we see people in the Gospels and Acts begging for alms (St. Peter said to one such person:  “silver and gold, I have none, but what I do have, I […]

Fasting:  Second Key to a Holy Lent What is fasting?  Christian fasting is essentially self-denial — but not for the sake of health, or out of some sense that food or drink is evil.  It is self-denial for the Love of Jesus Christ. Sometimes, I meet people who plan to give up something sinful for […]

Prayer:  The First Means of Repentance and Key to a good Lent When St. John Chrysostom (d. 407 AD) preached in Antioch (Syria) about repentance, he recommended several practices which have their origin in the Old Testament, and have been used by Christians for the last 2,000 years.  These practices are important for our entire […]

Who would have ever expected that the man who supervised the murder of St. Stephen, the first martyrdom of a Christian, would have ever become a Christian himself?  Yet one day, on the road to Damascus on a mission of persecution, Saul of Tarsus had a vision and heard a voice:  “Saul, Saul, why are […]

On September 15th, the Catholic Church honored Mary as “Our Lady of Sorrows.”  When we are suffering, and especially when we are grieving the death of a loved one, such as the loss of an unborn child through abortion, miscarriage or stillbirth, we can join our sorrows with those of Mary at the foot of […]