Fr. Thomas Reese SJ has a very interesting post on the many questions that have been raised regarding Pope Benedict’s resignation. To review the list and find if your question is there, see Papal Transition | America Magazine.
“The Holy Father’s resignation is a selfless and noble act done for the good of the church that he has loved and served for decades…..” writes Fr. James Martin SJ. To read more see The Pope’s Legacy | America Magazine.
A Word from Fr. George…
Lent is a time to reflect upon our life with God, and as the Orthodox theologian, Alexander Schmemann, notes all reflections should lead us to the Eucharist. As you consider some of the “Lent 101” links provided below, take a moment and consider how your Lenten journey will lead you to a more full, complete, and holy encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist.
And if you would like – read some more musings on Lent, “So…what are you giving up for Lent?” here.
Need to Brush Up on Lenten Traditions?
There are many traditions and observances we as Catholics celebrate during the season of Lent. Over time, we may start to think of them as routine. But every one of them has developed into a tradition with the intent to deepen your reflection upon the Lenten journey. If you need to brush up on why we keep certain rituals or practices, please see the links below for more information.
History of Lent
What are the three pillars of Lent?
When does Lent begin, and when does it end?
When do I fast, and when do I abstain?
Is Lent really 40 days? Or is it longer?
Ash Wednesday
This Wednesday, February 13th, is Ash Wednesday. Why do we celebrate Ash Wednesday? Find out more.
What are the Stations of the Cross? And why do we pray them? Learn more.
St. Clare of Assisi
In the last several articles we have described the brothers who gathered around Francis and committed themselves to his way of following Christ. Two of the earliest arrivals were Leo and Rufino. The first became Francis’ chaplain and confessor, as Leo was an ordained priest already. Rufino, a lifelong confidant and wisdom figure for Francis, was also the first cousin of an aristocratic woman of Assisi, the niece of Monaldo, lord of Coriano. Clare di Favarone di Offredicio was a woman from the very class of landed aristocrats that the young Francis had imitated and longed to join socially. Continue reading
The church’s liturgical calendar marks today as commemorating “St. Paul Miki and Companions.” Paul Miki, a native Japanese convert to Catholicism and a member of the Society of Jesus, was among twenty-six religious and lay missionaries who were sentenced to death by the Emperor of Japan. Miki and two Jesuits were martyred on February 5, 1597, but they were not the only ones martyred that day. There were twenty-three others, all of whom were Franciscans – some members of the First Order (Franciscan friars) and others members of the Third Order (Secular Franciscans). Several of the Franciscans were later canonized as saints: Peter Baptist, Martin of the Ascension, Francis Blanco, Philip of Jesus, Gonsalvo Garzia, and Francis of St. Michael.
“St. Paul Miki and Companions.” Too often we never ask about or remember the “companions.” In this commemoration, the seventeen lay people who gave their lives for Christ and their trust in Him.
So, yes the Jesuits and Franciscans celebrate their brethren, but even more importantly let us give thanks for the lay women and men whose work on behalf of others – schools, and hospitals, and activities in support of the poor and hungry. All were active doing what was theirs to do.
Isn’t that always the question? As if that is the reason for the season. Growing up, everything I remember about Lent circled around the acts of self-denial – what food, entertainment, or habit one would give up and how hard it was to deny oneself of that thing. It was not always made clear that the denial was meant to help one think about God and Christ’s sacrifice.
Of course it’s understandable that the deeper meaning of Lent can be missed. Even elsewhere in this bulletin we mention the religious traditions rituals and “Lenten obligations,” which are easier to promote, understand, and implement than spirituality and faith. We Catholics understand rules. It is far easier to tell kids (and ourselves) to obey rules than to explain to them why we should desire to act rightly. We can end up following the rules simply because… well because that is what we do, that is how we think of religion. In Lent, too often we are denying ourselves for the sake of denial. We give up chocolate or Facebook thinking that act of denial is the purpose of Lent. And we end up missing the point. Continue reading
A fractal is a mathematical set that often appears in self-similar patterns, in other words, they may appear the same at every scale from the grand to the microscopic. Where can you find them? They occur in nature, e.g., in clouds, crystals, certain types of broccoli (perhaps to the dismay of President George W.H. Bush, aka 41), lightning bolts, blood vessels, DNA, oak trees, and its leaves, and all other matter of things. Consider the snowflake. No matter how far one zooms into a snowflake, one finds a repeating pattern. It is like finding a snowflake within a snowflake, within a snowflake, in a never-ending pattern down to the microscopic level. Really quite fascinating. Continue reading
Francis and Lady Poverty
Many people have a very romantic idea of Franciscan life and the vow of poverty. What I can tell you is that the meaning and the manner of living poverty has vexed Franciscans since the beginning with very little about it being terribly romantic. Most of the descriptions and stories of the life of early poverty were written years after St. Francis’ death, when the manner of living the vow – in conjunction with the vow obedience – was a divisive issue among the brothers. In one of the more notable descriptions from the Sacrum Commercium, an anonymous text from a latter period, the author tries to give his or her insight into St Francis: “While they were hastening to the heights with easy steps, behold Lady Poverty, standing on the top of the mountain. Seeing them climb with such strength, almost flying, she was quite astonished. ‘It is a long time since I saw and watched people so free of all burdens.’ And so Lady Poverty greeted them with rich blessings. ‘Tell me brothers, what is the reason for your coming here and why do you come so quickly from the valley of sorrows to the mountain of light?’ They answered: ‘We wish to become servants of the Lord of hosts because He is the King of glory. So, kneeling at your feet, we humbly beg you to agree to live with us and be our way to the King of glory, as you were the way when the dawn from on high came to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.'” Continue reading
As we noted in last week’s article, Francis expected his brothers to learn by imitation – and to understand that as Francis sought to imitate Christ, so too should the brothers. But in reality, the first generation of Assisi-area brothers simply did what Francis did: daily prayer, work at a local leprosarium, go to local churches to participate in Eucharist, eat, pray again, witness to the local Umbrian people near Assisi, and live a life in community. You have to remember this was all new. Prior to this “Franciscan moment” the spiritual journey of medieval people consisted of being a monk or cloistered nun behind the walls of the monastery, being a priest and living close to the sacraments and the Scriptures, or being a lay person and hoping the other groups were praying for you. And then along comes this different, new, intriguing way of being spiritual in the world. And it was not set down in writing; it did not come with instructions. But sometimes is borrowed from the past. Continue reading
From David Lose at “…In the Meantime.” Watch the video and consider what holds you back.
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