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Sometimes we wonder at the Cross. Was His death really necessary? How did His death actually help us? What was the point of being scourged and crowned with thorns – what did that accomplish? These questions are critical. This suffering in Our Lord’s life was endured for love of us. The power and depth of His love is demonstrated in the specific things that He endured. Remember that He willed the entire event. He foresaw every detail of His torture and death. It is piously believed that, one day, when He was a boy, two angels appeared to Him, and...

We are concerned with many things in this life. Our Lord understands this, but at least twice in the Gospels, He counsels us to stop being so concerned and worried about these earthly matters. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?[1] For those who do not seem to understand, He offers reminders, such as to Martha, the sister of Mary, the one who had chosen to...

This Lent, we have all begun to embrace sacrifices, some small, some large. The purpose of these sacrifices is not for boasting, not for dieting, not for saving money – they are for the purification of the soul. Our souls need exercise, just like our bodies. The exercise the soul needs is one of detachment and re-attachment. This exercise is an analysis of what we desire and what we say we “need.” Are these desires orienting us toward God as God has called us? Are these “needs” real needs or are they merely desires to which we have become so...

Lent has come. The season of penance is upon us. A season of grace. It is time to make an account of our souls, and to reflect on where you want to be by the great Feast of Easter. And, now, what work do you need to do? What is the state of your soul at present? So, let us ask: what’s happening in YOUR soul?  As the time of penance continues, what do you seek? Do you seek to see the Lord? To behold Him? To love Him more truly? That He would find you and console you?  To...

This year, Divine Providence is sending us a special message. On the same day in which the world, invoking the memory of St. Valentine, has its own feast of love, the Lord places the tremendous day of penance, prayer, fasting, and renunciation – Ash Wednesday. Perhaps Our Lord especially desires the world’s attention now, so He may tell the world how much He desires to give us His love. This week, we will all feel the conflict between what is normal on these two feasts – the day of gifts and candy and earthly love, clashing with the day of...