The two most important feasts of the liturgical year, Easter and Christmas, are both preceded by periods of preparation. The four-week season of Advent helps us to prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ birth at Christmas. And the six weeks of Lent help us prepare for the new life available to us through Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection, which is called the Paschal Mystery. As Catholics, we take preparation very seriously. In the life of an adult Catholic, there is a ti

Welcome to Lent:  the 40-day period for spiritual renewal that the Church gives us every year.  A time to look at our lives and change what needs to be changed, so we can be more like Christ. So let’s say I want to save $400 over a period of 40 days. . .   Since I can’t go out and get a part-time job, something would have to change; I would have to spend less and save more in order to gain $400 in savings.  It can be done if I’m willing to change. Or let’s say  I want to buff

Good stewards are those who receive God’s gifts gratefully, cultivate them responsibly, share them with others lovingly, and return them with increase to the Lord. What can this week’s readings teach us about stewardship? Our Gospel from Matthew recounts what we know as Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. . . It is the first of 5 teaching sections of Jesus which St. Matthew gives us in his Gospel. This Sermon on the Mount comes pretty early on in Jesus’ public ministry, as it is co