At Cistercian, we had an incredible view of the total eclipse on April 8. After weeks of wondering whether the weather forecast would prove true – total cloud cover and even rain – we excitedly noticed the sun piercing through the clouds just as the school was processing to the abbey to celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation. Clouds continued to diminish during Mass, and afterward we walked with gratitude to the football field to await totality.
There is a tendency to picture one’s discernment, whether the lifelong vocation question or a smaller decision, as a tense and perilous choice in an all-or-nothing, heaven or hell moment.
During this last Easter, as in every Easter season, many people came into the Church, either through the sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation and Eucharist) or through reception into full communion with the Catholic Church. These are great moments for the Church and for those who are coming into it. These candidates usually go through a period of formation before reception of the sacraments in order to learn more about their faith and the journey they’re about to undertake.
Lent is a season dedicated to conversion. It is a period of self-reflection, resolution, and anticipation. We must change our ways and grow. Easter is dedicated to celebrating the revelation of God’s infinite mercy, the new life and grace He showers upon us as He forgives us all our sins, heals all our infirmities, and even enables us to pass through death to share in His divine love forever.
I was deeply impressed by the answer a fellow priest gave recently to a question that I ponder frequently. When asked to name one unifying cause for the troubles that plague us as American Catholics, he simply said, “I think we try to avoid suffering at any cost.”
No easy interpretation of Genesis 22 exists. The account of God’s test of Abraham is truly awe-ful. It gives us no psychological insights into the heart of Abraham or Isaac, and the sparse narrative details — the three days’ journey, the binding of Isaac upon the altar, the dramatic angelic intervention to stay Abraham’s knife — are terrifying in their raw simplicity. Yet these verses offer wondrous cause for meditation on the mystery of sacrifice.
As Catholic priests, there are certain activities and rituals that we carry out as part of our priestly duties, functions, and ministry. These functions include celebrating the Mass, hearing confessions, giving a homily/reflection, praying the Liturgy of the Hours, etc. These are functions or activities that we carry out mostly on a daily basis. For me, as for many other priests, it is a blessing and privilege to exercise this ministry and to carry out these functions. I cannot measure the sanctifying grace it brings to me and the joy I feel when I carry out these ministerial duties.
I love Lent. But it was not always like that. As a kid, my whole understanding of Lent was shaped by the commandment: Thou shalt give up something that you love.
My impression is that many people today think we live in unprecedented and negative times. They feel afraid as they watch ideologies make bold moves for economic and political power. In a certain basic sense, it is hard for me to agree that our times are unprecedented. The Church must struggle in every age, and we just don’t have that divine vision which would allow us to compare, definitively or apocalyptically, our own age with any other. On the other hand, I can easily understand the feeling that things are urgent; after all, these are our times, and so we are, quite rightly, sensitive to their dramatic character.
The sacrament of reconciliation – sometimes called confession or penance — brings us into communion with God. Through the sacrament of reconciliation, our relationship with God is restored and we become united with His grace.
