“The light that Jesus shows the disciples is an anticipation of Easter glory, and that must be the goal of our own journey, as we follow ‘him alone’. Lent leads to Easter: the ‘retreat’ is not an end in itself, but a means of preparing us to experience the Lord’s passion and cross with faith, hope and love, and thus to arrive at the resurrection”.
Listening to the word of God is not everything. One cannot spend one’s life in the church or in the oasis of spiritual retreats. It is necessary to go out to meet and serve the brothers and sisters, to help those who suffer, to be close to anyone in need of love.
Children are the fruit of the love not only of husband and wife but of the love of God who is one of the parties in the marriage. Each of the parties – husband, wife, God – has a contribution to make.
We are—all of us—sitting on a lot of unresolved rage. Thomas Aquinas defines the deadly sin of anger in his typically pithy manner as an irrational or excessive desire for revenge. Every one of us has been hurt by someone else, aggressed, unjustly harmed, insulted, perhaps to an extreme degree. And so, naturally enough, we harbor a desire to respond in kind.
Natural disasters are often inevitable, but it is our culpable unpreparedness which makes things worse. The same can be said about our spiritual life. Temptations are like earthquakes. They shake the solidity of our beliefs and undermine our inner convictions. They widen the fault lines which crack the weakest areas of our soul. If we are unprepared, they can reduce our soul to rubble.
Jesus never bowed down before any idol. He was not seduced by political power, money, the use of weapons, friendship with the great of this world, and proposals of success and glory. He always listened only to the word of the Father. The ultimate goal of evil is to undermine the relationship with God by causing doubt in people’s minds that the Lord does not keep his promises.
Many Catholics have developed a disdain for the practice of fasting during Lent, neglecting to understand the deep spiritual fruits it offers. Father L. explains with great clarity why mortifying the flesh is essential in earning for us a place in heaven.
Life is a gift. Existence is a gift. And so is sexuality. What do we do when we receive a gift? We thank the giver and treasure the gift and make it flourish.
How do we treasure the gift and make it flourish? Through chastity. Let us
discover the beauty of chastity as a means of treasuring and integrating sexuality in a positive and fruitful way. We explore the importance of self-mastery and the various means available to achieve it. Chastity is a call for everyone, regardless of their state in life.
Lent is a time of conversion and penance, leading to a renewed life in Easter. The virtue of penance disposes us to repentance and deeper conversion. Interior penance inclines us to do external penances like prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These classical penances help us re-establish and fortify our relationships with God, ourselves, and others. Fasting is a means to put order and harmony in our lives, while almsgiving is a visible expression of mercy. Lent is a pilgrimage of faith, hope, and love, leading to happiness.
Many young people today may have a misunderstanding of holiness, perhaps due to the portrayal of saints as individuals who perform miracles or never make mistakes, which can be difficult to connect with. Holiness, however, is primarily about belonging to God and living in a love-bound communion. It’s important to consider alternative paths to holiness that may be overlooked in our current context.
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