Tag: "Lenten Journey"

Lenten Hope
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Lenten Hope

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Finding Hope in Lent We are the season of Lent, a special season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving and a time for us to grow closer to Christ.  Lenten hope is a hope that leads to a place of sacrifice, virtue, and most of all of love.  As people of faith, turning to the example […]

The Glory of the Resurrection
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The Glory of the Resurrection

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The serpent’s bite was a deadly one.  The venom had worked its way deep into the heart of the entire human race, doing its gruesome work. The anti-venom was unavailable until He appeared. One drop was all that was needed, so potent was this antidote. Yet it was not like Him to be stingy. He […]

Being Still With God
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Being Still With God

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 “As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back”.  Big mistake. Lot’s wife looked back and remember what happened to her? She turned to a pillar of rock salt. What did the Israelites do? They looked back as well. What do we do when we are trying to leave our former lives of sin? We look back with […]

Seek the Lord
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Seek the Lord

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Easter Vigil Reading 5 Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is near. Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked man his thoughts; let him turn to the LORD for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are […]

The Victory of the Cross
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The Victory of the Cross

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Terrorism is nothing new.  It’s probably as old as the human race.  In fact the cradle of civilization, now Iraq, was the home of the most infamous terrorists of antiquity, the Assyrians.  Their goal was to conquer their neighbors in a way that would minimize  initial resistance and subsequent rebellion.  To do this, they knew […]

How to Meditate on the Passion
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How to Meditate on the Passion

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The Gospel of John today tells us the last hours of Jesus’ life.  He speaks of the agony in the garden, when He was betrayed and arrested. The story is told of Jesus being brought before the high priests, questioned, mocked and insulted. He was then brought before Pilate, scourged and crowned with thorns. Finally, […]

Where Do I Stand?
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Where Do I Stand?

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It is Holy Thursday, and during the daytime we celebrate the Chrism Mass. Tonight we will celebrate the Liturgy of the Lord’s Supper.  During this liturgy, churches around the entire globe will wait in  prayerful vigil, with lights dimmed, all images covered and the congregation adopts a tone of respectful and somber silence. The Church is remembering […]

Having a Bad Lent?
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Having a Bad Lent?

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Today’s readings center around the betrayal of Jesus  by Judas Iscariot. I have been thinking as I go through the trials of having an ill spouse: how easy it is to betray Jesus by losing hope?  How often do I want to escape from my daily duties?  It can be difficult to accept prolonged suffering, especially […]

Peter's Denial and Ours
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Peter’s Denial and Ours

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How many of us can relate to Simon Peter’s desire to stand beside Jesus, steadfast and true? Those very same people can, I am sure, also relate to Peter’s denial of Jesus. As St. Paul would say, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. As we grow in our own discipleship of Jesus Christ, […]

Be Authentic by Returning to God
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Be Authentic by Returning to God

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At the very beginning of our conversion, we try to emulate Christ at a superficial level. We are play-acting. This is not a bad thing, not really, because the job of living the life of Jesus in His humility is difficult. We will probably mature in faith past this normal stage of development. However, at […]

One Table, One Family
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One Table, One Family

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“Thus says the Lord GOD: I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to which they have come, and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land.  I will make them one nation upon the land, in the mountains of Israel, and there shall be one prince for […]

Be a Witness In the Face of Persecution
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Be a Witness In the Face of Persecution

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I hear the whisperings of many: “Terror on every side!  denounce! let us denounce him!”  All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. Do you ever feel like everyone is against you? Do you sometimes feel like you can do no right in the eyes of some people? […]

The Folly of Debating God
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The Folly of Debating God

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The Scribes and Pharisees are presented with a conundrum when they argue with Jesus in the temple. They are the religious experts of their day. They know the scriptures inside out and upside down and keep every letter of the law. Yet in their arrogance, with only their human wits to guide them, they are […]

The Idols We Forge
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The Idols We Forge

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The King in the book of Daniel does not like the true God. Perhaps even before the “Magnificat” was uttered by the Mother of Jesus, the King already knew that the true God would scatter the mighty such as he from his throne. So the King decides to builds his own God. Standing at 9 feet […]

Where Do You Belong?
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Where Do You Belong?

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“You belong to what is below; I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world.” I have a lot of crazy things to belong. Most were embarrassing or even downright stupid: such as smoking, swearing and pretending you had an active sex life, skipping school, […]

Christ's Mercy and Justice
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Christ’s Mercy and Justice

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Scribes and pharisees are obsessed with Christ. They have the single-mindedness of saints and the hypocrisy of sinners. They feature prominently in the story of the woman caught in adultery, saying and doing more than she does. What do they say, then, to Christ or to this woman? What do they do? And how does […]

Lazarus
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Lazarus

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Some find it hard to accept that God would love some people more than others. That wouldn’t be fair, they say. But God became man. If he did not love some more than others, Jesus wouldn’t be fully human. For human beings have family and friends. While we can do good and even risk our […]

Don't Be Seduced by Word Games
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Don’t Be Seduced by Word Games

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When people manipulate words, even  scripture, with the sole purpose of supporting their own point of view, instead of the truth, they are using a form of sophistry.  Sophistry could also describe the logic used by a lawyer intent upon persuading a jury to find a criminal not guilty.  The word sophistry describes the language and logic […]

The Lord Will Heal You
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The Lord Will Heal You

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A reflection on today’s Sacred Scripture: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit He saves” (Psalm 34:19). There are a lot of hurting people in the world, but tonight I am not one of them. At this moment, alone here near the tabernacle, I glory in the Real […]

Beyond Signs and Symbols
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Beyond Signs and Symbols

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They forgot the God who had saved them, who had done great deeds in Egypt” Why Do We So Easily Forget? Today our readings remind us that the Israelite’s very easily forgot the love of God and the wonders he performed to bring them out of Egypt. In my own life I can look back […]

Christ Icon - Alpha Omega - IC XC
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The Lord Does Not Forget

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The readings for today give hope to the humble. They proclaim the mercy of God for those who emerge from their darkness by revealing Jesus as the man who dares to call God His Father . In the first reading from Isiah, God promises a covenant  to the peoplethat will restore the land. In issuing this covenant, The […]

Do You Want to Be Well?
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Do You Want to Be Well?

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There are so many ways we can be sick — physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, we even use the word to refer to being fed up with something. Most people do not wish to or like to be sick. As a mother, I am often heard saying, “I don’t have time to be sick.” As a […]

The Joy of Faith
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The Joy of Faith

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The Gospel accounts are full of good examples. Today’s Gospel features a counterexample, a cautionary tale, albeit one which ends happily. It is one which demonstrates the answer to the old question: Why do bad things happen? The answer, as always, is this: They leads towards salvation. Many Galileans had been at the wedding feast […]

A Clean Heart Create for Me
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A Clean Heart Create for Me

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A reflection on today’s Sacred Scripture: Psalm 51 was recently given to me as my penance after a confession heard by a young visiting priest to our church. “What is Psalm 51?” I asked. He said, simply, “It is beautiful.” He shared with me that he always adds this Psalm to whatever penance he is […]