COVID-LENT (PART II)
Perhaps you remember old Aesop’s fable about the boy and the nettle. If not, here goes: one day a lad comes running home with eyes full of tears and a hand full of invisible pins and needles. “Mommy,” he sobs,…
Category Lent
Q&A WITH ERIC JENSEN, SJ, AUTHOR OF A PASSIONATE JESUS IN HOLY WEEK
What prompted you to write this booklet? I have always disliked the image of a passive Jesus, and in the Passion Narrative, of course, Jesus suffers and is passive. But how did this come about? What actions led up to…
1ST SUNDAY OF LENT…”WE RISE AGAIN FROM THE ASHES, TO CREATE OURSELVES ANEW”
Last year at this time, I was presenting at two parishes outside Ottawa; St. Mary’s in Chesterville and St. Daniel in South Mountain. The theme for these Lenten reflection days was “You Call us to the Desert.” Little did we…
THE LIBERATING PARADOX OF ASH WEDNESDAY
Christianity is a religion of paradoxes and we have a perfect indication of that in the liturgy of Ash Wednesday. On this day, we boldly proclaim the Gospel instructing us on the nature of prayer, fasting and giving. Straight from…
“WHEN WE ENTER WILLINGLY INTO THE MYSTERY OF THE CROSS, THAT SYMBOL OF BOTTOMLESS LOVE, THE POWER OF GOD TRULY BEGINS TO BE REVEALED.”
The season of Lent is just around the corner! Will you be looking for a good companion for your Lenten journey? While many Lenten resources can be found on our website, there is our much-beloved Lenten devotional booklet that has…
GOOD FRIDAY
Good Friday is steeped in the theology of the fourth Gospel – the Gospel of John. If we don’t get it right, then what happens liturgically on this day can be a bit confusing. In John’s Gospel, even while Jesus…
4th SUNDAY OF LENT – REFLECTION
If Christ came to take away the sin of the world, then why on Earth is our planet still so bruised and broken by evil? Only one of two responses seems possible. Either Christ did not actually succeed in taking…
3rd SUNDAY OF LENT – REFLECTION
Why was the Samaritan woman drawing water at the well at noon, the hottest part of the day? This is not the time that most people would be coming for water. Most people would want to avoid the heat of…
2ND SUNDAY OF LENT – REFLECTION
No matter which year of the three-year lectionary cycle we are in, the Gospel for the 2nd Sunday of Lent is always the same: the Transfiguration. What on earth is it doing here? Isn’t Jesus revealing his glory the opposite…
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LENTEN READING
Lent can be such a rich experience if we make time for it. Something I like to do each year is choose a book or two that will accompany me through the season. Reading even 20 minutes a day grounds…