Lent is upon us. I’m wondering if you have asked yourself how you will make your Lenten preparation for Easter? It’s a good question to ask.

Life being what it is, I have often found it beneficial to come up with a plan and a strategy to help me enter more deeply into the Lenten season.

In years past, I have planned and strategized how to “give up” —

Certain foods or treats  — don’t buy them;

Activities and recreations — don’t go to them;

Habits and behaviors — don’t do them.

One year I even gave up going to the mall — don’t drive by it.

That was my longest Lent ever!

Along with the exclusions, I have often added a few inclusions: more time in prayer, study, and adoration; additional acts of charity; exchanging a bad habit with a good one. Read the rest…

I don’t know how your week has been, but mine has been very busy. So busy, in fact, that I still have the majority of my “To Do” list in tact.  Weeks like this can be disheartening.

And yet, it is part of the human experience.

Even among the saints.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, for example,  apparently had a week or two like this from time to time. She gives us good advice.

She said:

“When night comes, and retrospect shows that everything was patchwork and much that one had planned left undone, when so many things rouse shame and regret, then take all as is, lay it in God’s hands, and offer it up to Him. In this way we will be able to rest in Him, actually to rest and to begin the new day like a new life.”

I am going to take her advice, and begin again …

Next week.

For now, I’m going to take a rest!

It is true that the earthquake in Haiti this week has shaken us all. The loss of life, the devastation and the impact on the Church in this poorest of poor countries is a tragedy for which there are no words.

And yet, we do know that the words Scripture gives us are true: “For God works all things for the good for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Read the rest…

Last evening I attended a lecture given by George Weigel here in Clearwater, FL.

The event was held by Jay and Lisa Kelly who seek to provide local Catholics with the opportunity to hear great Catholic speakers.

Calling their new-found organization Splendor of Truth, the evening begins with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and includes an open bar and dinner.

Read the rest…

Through the course of this week, we have discovered that New Year resolutions, rooted in Christ and prayerfully chosen, can lead us along the path to holiness.

Today we come to the last two resolutions for the New Year using the acronym, R-E-S-O-L-V-E-D.

We have seen that the R leads us to recommit our life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ; the E encourages us to a daily examination of conscience;  S and O go together — surrrender to God and obedience; to grow in the ways of God we need the L and the V, listening to Him and living the virtues. And now, all is summed up in the E and the D — Eucharist and Dedication. 

These final two resolutions should be our greatest.

Read the rest…