This Lent, the Lord wants to lead you into the wilderness of your own heart, to speak His tender love to you, to heal your wounds and forgive your sins, to renew your identity as a beloved child of the Father, and to reinvigorate your sense of mission and vocation.
Tag: column
Putting ourselves into Lent
Welcome to Lent, everyone. Welcome to 40-plus days (actual number dependent upon how you handle Sundays, solemnities, and so on) of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, “giving up” things, and not eating meat on certain days.
We are One Body in Christ
The theme for the 2024 Annual Catholic Appeal is We are One Body in Christ, a reference to the writings of St. Paul, who often preached and wrote about our unity in the Lord, flowing from our communion as brothers and sisters in the Church and our participation in the Eucharist.
Celebrating the Presentation of the Lord
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, always celebrated on February 2, marks the 40th day after Christmas, when Mary and Joseph went up to the Temple in Jerusalem to present the infant Jesus to the Lord, as mandated in the Mosaic Law.
How to finish the race of a lifetime
The race is the quintessential metaphor of the journey of life itself, of the struggle toward holiness in the heart of every soul trying to follow our Lord to Heaven.
An appreciation for St. Paul
St. Paul is the only holy individual in the entire history of the Church whose conversion to the faith has its own liturgical feast, celebrated every January 25.
Saints for failed resolutions
To help me make some headway on my resolutions, it might be time for me to call in the big guns — the saints — for help.
Six months ‘Into the Deep’
We have just passed the six-month point since Into the Deep started. I am grateful and pleased for the generous spirit, hard work, and sacrificial generosity exhibited by so many during the initial phase of the implementation of this ambitious strategic plan.
Toast for a winter wedding
Dear Readers,
I wish you could have been with me at my son’s wedding last week. The beautiful Nuptial Mass was celebrated at Holy Mother of Consolation Church in Oregon with a lovely reception afterwards down the road at a banquet hall overlooking the valley.
Since you weren’t able to be there, I thought I might at least share with you the toast I gave at the dinner; I’m fairly sure you can relate to what I was trying to say:
Pray for our priests: Present and future
Every January, I am blessed to lead a retreat for fourth-year deacons from St. Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee. As you read this column, we are on retreat at Joseph and Mary Retreat House in Mundelein, Ill., and I ask for your prayers for these men.