During this week of Lent, let us gladly receive the Father’s embrace for each one of us, perhaps through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, rejoicing in the fact that we were dead and have come to life; we were lost and we have been found.
BITE-SIZE THEOLOGY (169): Does commitment take away freedom?
Life is a journey and in any journey, one encounters crossroads where choices have to be made. Once we stop making choices, we get stuck in one place. We stagnate. Only when we decide can we move on.
HEROES OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH IN THE EAST: Brito and companions escape near dead (8)
It should also be noted that we can also attest to the efficiency of his apostolic work: a simple word would have freed his companions from those torments, but they, firm in the Faith, endured everything in the company of their master without denying the religion to which they had selflessly adhered.
Why the liturgical vigil?
The “fast”, the “vigil” and the “feast” are three intrinsically related elements in the oldest liturgical tradition of the Church. The crisis of even one of these passages greatly damages the symbolic strength and spiritual efficacy of Christian life and witness.
The loss of the father figure
There are several recently released books that offer an interesting perspective to reflect about. One of these is Preserving the soul – Manual for aspiring patriots by Italian journalist Francesco Borgonovo, published by Lindau in Turin, Italy.
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate likely to lead country again
Ramos Horta became an international celebrity mostly because he won the Nobel Peace prize in 1996 jointly with Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo.
Solidarity across the Sea: A Mass in Macau for COVID-Struck Hong Kong
The solidarity Mass offered by the Cathedral English-speaking community in Macau assuages the grief of the COVID-embattled Hong Kong residents, inspiring hope and courage in a time of desolation
The Providential Consecration of Ukraine and Russia
While popes in the past have performed the consecration stipulated by Our Lady at Fatima to varying degrees, Pope Francis’ forthcoming consecration comes the closest to meeting the specifics of the Blessed Mother’s request and may prove fortuitous.
To scapegoat or to convert: the Lenten choice
We all need someone to blame when something goes wrong in the world: a “villain” to be held accountable for the tragedies we see in the news. This villain can either be a person or sometimes even an entire group of people.
BITE-SIZE THEOLOGY (168): So what do we understand by “freedom”?
“We are in a sense our own parents, and we give birth to ourselves by our own free choice of what is good” (St Gregory of Nyssa, Sermon on Ecclesiastes).