LIVING THE CATHOLIC FAITH IN THE 3RD MILLENIUM
A LAYMAN'S LOOK AT THE JOURNEY OF FAITH
Journey with America’s editors as they reflect on Scripture, prayer, fasting and almsgiving both in written form and on “The Word” podcast.
Each column is a spiritual reflection on the beauty that hides behind appearances and the peace that is beyond all understanding.
Some of us are in desperate need of receiving mercy and justice, some of us are in desperate need of experiencing want. Jesus was ministered by the angels in the desert - our Lenten journey needs both.
In the Sunday Gospels throughout Lent, we find Jesus in a number of environments: deserts, mountaintops, temples and towns. Each place plays an important part in Jesus’ journey. These reflections invite people to spend contemplative time with Jesus in each of these places, not just on Sunday but for an entire week.
Lent is about self-care in a way that is less about diving more deeply into sacrifice and more about reorienting oneself to what matters.
Everything depends on our own dependence on God. And we cannot learn anything about that dependence by thinking and plotting and planning — by huffing and puffing. We need to open our hearts. We need to be quiet.
The reality of health and economic disparity COVID has exposed “is worth pondering as Holy Week approaches...as Christians seek redemption in the short lifespan of a first-century man who lacked social or economic privilege.”
It may be that the actions and words of Jesus in Holy Week in fact tell us something about the necessary—and salutary—tension between political life and religious identity.
From Loyola Press, here a source of different resources which can assist you to make reflective and prayerful preparation for the Season of Lent.
Join others this Lent with meditations, prayers, and words of comfort from Padre Pio himself, delivered right to your inbox. Begins on Ash Wednesday, March 2.
Can we transform these moments of return into milestones along the journey of faith? Excerpt from Hope from the Ashes by Paul E. Jarzembowski (Paulist Press, 2022)
Lent invites us to conversion, to a change in mindset, so that life’s truth and beauty may be found not so much in possessing as in giving, not so much in accumulating as in sowing and sharing goodness.
If Church leaders and institutions wish to lead us in our Lenten spiritual journey, it is imperative that they unequivocally acknowledge the seriousness of the times and the horrors the pandemic has wrought.
For Catholics, Lent is a sure part of the rhythm of life. The sacred season comes around every year, like an old friend who visits, without fail. We are challenged to live each Lent with a true readiness to change, to embrace each Lent as precious and potentially exceptional.
"What are you giving up for Lent this year?" It's a standard question, but maybe not the best one. We hope their insight will help you think deeply about your Lenten practices this year.
Ash Wednesday isn’t a day for rebellion. It’s a day for fasting, reflection and prayer... The longer this pandemic drags on, the clearer those words become.
After all, if the entire point of life is to give God glory, then, whatever you choose to do for Lent, should ultimately do just that.
“Turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel.” These words remind the baptized that Christian conversion involves both an ongoing rejection of a sinful life and also a fuller embrace of the Gospel.
Prayer gives us solace and allows us to dream of victory in the face of that which seeks to harm.
As we approach Holy Week and look forward to the promise of Easter joy, we may look back on the last month or so and reflect on how the Lord has been present to us this Lent.
Page 3 of 5
Frankly SpeakingSpirituality for the Street