As a liturgical season, Lent is rather straightforward. It is kinda’ easy to write about. There is Ash Wednesday to dramatically mark its beginning, and we all know we are moving relentlessly towards Easter. We count the days even as we mark Lent’s beginning. The Ashes make a visible mark upon us, reminding us that we are dust and to dust we shall return – but that is not the end of the story. We are reminded to repent and believe in the Gospel – but that is not the end goal. We are encouraged to pray, fast, and give alms – but those practices are meant to make room in our lives for God that we too may rise to the newness of life at Eastertide. Continue reading
Not the finish line
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I have been leading Bible studies “since Jesus was rowing on the Sea of Galilee.” Not really, but it been for more than 30 years. Over the years I have written and posted lots of commentaries and have even begun to collect all the posts into groupings of the Liturgical Year (see the menu above). I will admit that the written commentaries tend to be a bit nerdy, especially when it comes to the nuances of words. But, I think when I am leading a Bible Study I default to my more natural motif… story teller – the bard of things biblical but without the musical accompaniment. If someone asks me about being a student of God’s Word and how will they know when they “know” enough, my answer is always, “when you can gossip the Gospel over the backyard fence.” People telling people the story and stories of the Bible is at the heart and soul of what it means to be the People of God. 
In Genesis 2 we read the very human descriptions of the role of humankind: “The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.” (Gen 2:15) Seems as though our first “vocation” is as gardener. Gen 2:8 specifically calls it a “garden.” And the “chief gardener” could be found here and there in His garden: “the LORD God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of the day.” (Gen 3:8)
Next Sunday is the 
Something I received from a parishioner that you have probably already seen, but in case you have not, I pass it along.
“After the Sabbath” (Mt 28:1), the women went to the tomb. This is how the Gospel of this holy Vigil began: with the Sabbath. It is the day of the Easter Triduum that we tend to neglect as we eagerly await the passage from Friday’s cross to Easter Sunday’s Alleluia. This year however, we are experiencing, more than ever, the great silence of Holy Saturday. We can imagine ourselves in the position of the women on that day. They, like us, had before their eyes the drama of suffering, of an unexpected tragedy that happened all too suddenly. They had seen death and it weighed on their hearts. Pain was mixed with fear: would they suffer the same fate as the Master? Then too there was fear about the future and all that would need to be rebuilt. A painful memory, a hope cut short. For them, as for us, it was the darkest hour. 
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