The reason Lent lasts 40 days is that 40 is the traditional number of judgment and spiritual testing in the Bible (Gn 7:4, Ex 24:18, 34:28, Nm 13:25, 14:33, Jon 3:4).  Lent bears particular relationship to the 40 days Christ spent fasting in the desert before entering into his public ministry (Mt 4:1-11).  We imitate  Read more …

Journey into the Wilderness We can think of Lent as both a sojourn and a journey. We have two opportunities to identify with Jesus, one at the start of his public ministry and one near the end. The sojourn occurs in the desert as Jesus spends forty days alone in self-reflection and discernment of God’s  Read more …

The Internal Battle for Our Souls Two contraries cannot co-exist inside the same subject. Aristotle wrote that and it seems to say the obvious, something can’t be light and dark at the same time.  However, in terms of what’s happening inside our souls it seems that contraries can indeed co-exist inside the same subject. At  Read more …

Do you have a cross on you, at home, in your office or your car? Why? The cross is one of the earliest and most widely used Christian symbols.  In the broadest sense, a cross symbolizes the religion of Christianity.  More specifically, it represents and memorializes Christ’s death.  The Cross means many things to many  Read more …

Clothed with humility and crowned with charity On this Fathers’ Day, let us thank our heavenly Father; let us also remember and learn from our fathers in faith “who were of one heart and soul” (Acts 4:32).  In the first Christian community, nourished at the Lord’s Table, united by the Holy Ghost, they shared their  Read more …

“Do this in remembrance of me”. Maundy Thursday is the day when Christ’s love was manifested “to the end” (cf. Jn 13:1), the day of the Eucharist, the day of the renewal of priesthood. In this spirit I want to reflect with you on some aspects of the priestly spirituality. My thoughts turn to our dear priests uniting  Read more …