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Victor Frankl, a world-famous Austrian psychiatrist, who survived a Nazi concentration camp noticed that those who survived the camp tended to have something or someone to live for!
Hence the expression, “A person with a why can live with any how!”
Christ was born to bring hope to us, to make life more meaningful in this world, and then offer us the hope of Eternity.
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A college student wrote in her school newspaper that sometimes she wished that she were a Catholic. She explained that if she were a Catholic, when she sinned, she could go to confession like her Catholic classmates and say, “Father, I sinned. I am sorry!”
The priest would then give her a penance. She would do the penance and feel forgiven.
She added, “But I’m not a Catholic. When I sin, I don’t confess to a priest. I confess directly to God.”
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Lent is the Church’s primary penitential season. It is the season of conversion when we seek to become more Christ-like by choosing a Lenten penance which helps us to renew our Baptismal promises at Easter with a deepened faith.
The three traditional practices of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. A genuine commitment to these practices leads to a deepened awareness of God and conversion of the heart. Since the family is the domestic Church, in this article I will focus on some ways that we can live Lent as a domestic family. Some of these ways may also apply to the extended family and the Church family. |
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The theme for the 2021 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18 to January 25) is “Abide in my Love. You shall Bear Much Fruit.”
This theme finds its origin in John’s gospel (cf. John 15:5-9). In Jesus’ time, important people often shared what was important to them in a farewell discourse. In chapters 14-17 of John’s gospel, Christ’s farewell discourse shows that unity is important to Him.
On Christmas Day in 1864, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow listened to Christmas bells ring out the good news of peace on earth and goodwill to all.
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We have begun another Church year with the season of Advent. During the first part of Advent, the readings of the Mass prepare us for the second coming of Christ in his glory.
Then on December 17 to December 24, the readings focus upon preparing us for Christ’s coming at Christmas.Norman Rockwell’s painting Saying Grace originally appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post’s 1951 Thanksgiving issue. It soon became one of Rockwell’s most beloved works.
When I was a pastor, I was invited by the parish’s women’s group to a parish lunch. After lunch, the group gave me a Christmas present.
Losing a loved one to death is painful. Many parents say the loss of a child is arguably the most painful of losses.
Catholics observe October as Respect Life Month.
