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 […]
Making a Holy Lent — Part 2
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 […]
Making a Holy Lent — Part 1
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 […]
Conversion of St. Paul
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 […]
“Rejoice in the Lord always!” Celebrating Gaudete Sunday
The holy season of Advent is a time of preparation and waiting — preparation for the coming of Christ our Savior, and waiting with anticipation the joy of His coming. We prepare our hearts for three comings of our Savior: His first coming as a little child — we prepare to celebrate Christmas, not as […]
Mary at the Foot of the Cross
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 […]
Special Grace of Divine Mercy Sunday
In the Diary of St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul, the Lord Jesus said that He would give special graces on the Feast of Mercy, the Octave Sunday of Easter. On that day, Our Lord promises that those who have been to the Sacrament of Confession (and, of course, made a good confession of […]
Reaching out in Love:
When we have received a gift, especially a precious gift like healing, our first response should be gratitude. Great gratitude to Our Lord Jesus Christ, the giver of healing. But our second response should be to want to share the gift with others. A wonderful Irish priest and missionary, Fr. Robert Bradshaw, once said that […]
Three “American” Saints
During this first week of January, the Catholic Church in the United States honors three saints who, at least for part of their lives, lived in our nation. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is honored on January 4th. She was raised Episcopalian, but converted to Catholicism as an adult. She was a wife and mother of […]
Ancient Saints, and their Relevance today
This last week of August, the Catholic Church honors several saints of the early Church — St. John the Baptist and St. Augustine of Hippo — but what do ancient saints have to teach us today in our post-modern world? St. John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus Christ (as well as his cousin) and […]
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