“I spy with my little eye…a dandelion!” my tiny voice would say with excitement as my mom and I would play the “I Spy” game. This game was a joy-filled way to notice the wonderful gifts that God has given us. While this type of spying was always fun, “Spy Wednesday”...
Palm Sunday Gospel One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,went to the chief priests and said,"What are you willing to give meif I hand him over to you?"They paid him thirty pieces of silver,and from that time on he looked for an opportunityto hand him over....
“Do whatever He tells you.” —John 2:5 Mary’s quote from the Wedding Feast at Cana is one of my favorite Scripture passages. I often say that it is Mary’s second fiat, or perhaps her millionth fiat. Jesus had told her that his time had not yet come. It seems he was...
The Friday of Sorrows takes place on the Friday before Palm Sunday and it is a time set aside to honor the sorrowful Blessed Virgin Mary before Holy Week begins.
Gospel of Luke 22:14-23 When the hour came,Jesus took his place at table with the apostles.He said to them,“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,for, I tell you, I shall not eat it againuntil there is fulfillment in the kingdom of...
In Holy Week, the Catholic Church invites us to experience the most critical moments in history. In the business of daily life, the repetitive nature of the liturgical calendar, and the extended season of Lent, it's easy to miss the power of these days. If you are...
I distinctly remember grade school lunches on Fridays. They were conveniently meatless. Then in high school, when Lent arrived, as I bit into my chicken sandwich, I looked up at my other Catholic friend at our table. We realized it was Lent, and we spit out our bite...
I would like to offer a few songs to listen to during Holy Week, the Triduum, and Easter. I tried to incorporate some Byzantine Catholic chant from the Divine Liturgy or the Divine Office as well. PALM SUNDAY Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord (Latin Rite)...
I have a healthy fear of the coronavirus but one worry is growing more steadily with every newly canceled event: what’s going to happen during Holy Week? Like many Catholics, Holy Week, and the Triduum, in particular, is my yearly retreat from the rest of the...
The Mother of All Vigils The Easter Vigil is the most extraordinary liturgy of the entire year in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. The Roman Missal guides the celebration of this great night and even refers to the Easter Vigil as the “mother of all vigils,”...
TXT Stories has imagined what communication would have looked like if the followers of Jesus had text messaging at the first Easter. Of course, this isn't scripturally accurate, but with Easter Sunday falling on April Fool's Day this year, we can all enjoy...
Back in January, I realized that I didn’t know my Mother. No, not my biological mother, my spiritual Mother…our spiritual Mother. The one who not only brought Jesus into the world in a stable, but the one who watched Him suffer, die, and who today can lead us closer...
Jesus comes to Peter to wash his feet. Peter says to him, "Lord, do you want to wash my feet?" Jesus answers, "What I am doing you do not know now but afterward you will understand." Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not...
Good Friday is the most solemn day of the year for Christians. This is the day when we remember Christ's death on the cross for us. We remember the suffering He endured for our sake. We are reminded of the depths of His love for us. Do not let Good Friday go by as...
Each year during Holy Week, we celebrate the most fundamental aspects of our Catholic faith. We remember the love of God, the sacrifice of His Son Jesus for our sake, the institution of the Eucharist, etc. Perhaps most importantly, we rejoice at the end of Holy Week...
In this Lenten series and Catholic Bible Study, Father Ian VanHeusen presents his weekly spiritual exercise based on scriptures to help us grow in our relationship with the Lord. St. Ignatius of Loyola explains, “By the term “Spiritual Exercises” is meant every method...
Have you noticed the proliferation of zombie apocalypse imagery and themes everywhere in popular entertainment? The phenomenon is ironic to me, because just now as zombies preoccupy campy media, real life has become increasingly anesthetized. Death and sin are swept...
Holy Week should be the most important week of the year for all Christians. It should be the week in which we give of ourselves to the fullest in order to fully receive Christ during the Easter celebration. That's the ideal. However, we all know that sometimes...
In my life I’ve listened to diverse opinions about what candidates for the priesthood should be like, how they should behave before entering the seminary and how they should lead an impeccable life. Many people believe that those men who feel the call of God to the...
Are you looking for a way to end Lent on a great note and welcome the Easter season with Joy? The Lanky Guys will take us on a journey through Holy Week, unpacking the Scriptures and walking with us along the steps of the Apostles to see what they saw. Even for those...
There's an interesting phenomenon at work in this annual, very public ritual (and it's not exclusive to Catholics; other Christians mark their foreheads with ashes to commemorate the start of Lent). While in some parts of the world it's become less common to see...
Those of us who take part in an apostolate are used to looking for ways of explaining the presence of God in the easiest way possible, so that even the simplest of our friends can understand something so great. We struggle trying to understand the 5 ways of proving...
I want to start off by saying that this is not an easy question. A lot has been written about this subject. I don’t mean to exhaust the richness or complexity of this theological problem that has fascinated a large part of Christian theologians-not without a...
Sandwiched between the stark drama of Good Friday and the glory of the Easter Vigil, Holy Saturday is often in danger of being skipped over. For many of us, it will be a busy day- perhaps a typical Saturday, or perhaps hectic with preparation for the Easter Vigil. It...
Praying the Stations of the Cross is a devotion centered on the main events of the Passion of our Lord. If you have not yet done the Stations during the Fridays of Lent, we encourage you to take the opportunity on Good Friday. In fact, I dare say that we can...
