There is a pious Catholic practice I recently became aware of, even though it is over a millennia old. It is the service of the “Rogation Days,” which takes place annually on the Feast of St. Mark (the Gospel writer) on April 25th, and on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday preceding Ascension Thursday. I missed …
OK, I did it again! Although I didn’t formally announce it, I sort of strongly implied that I’d be blogging daily during Lent. I actually may have come out and said it, I don’t remember. Well, no posts these past two days. {{{sigh}}} (The “I did it again!” refers to my annual Lenten pledge to …
The refrain from the Responsorial Psalm from today’s Mass for Monday of the Second Week of Lent is “Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.” See: Monday of the Second Week in Lent. Be grateful that we have a merciful and loving Father who will not “deal with us according to our …
Continue reading ‘Do not deal with us according to our sins’ »
Have people wronged you? Have you wronged others? Of course, you cannot go through life without experiencing either event. As much as we are loath to admit it, we have screwed over quite a lot of people over the decades of our lives. We can ask forgiveness. If it is not possible to seek forgiveness …
An excerpt from the Responsorial Psalm in today’s Mass for the Friday after Ash Wednesday: Psalm 51:19 “A crushed spirit is a sacrifice to God. A contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not spurn.” via Catholic Public Domain Version of the Sacred Bible. A crushed spirit is the person who is aware of …
February 16th is the feast day of a somewhat obscure Saint, which is odd as he figures prominently in a Letter of St. Paul. In St. Paul’s Letter to Philemon, the Apostle reveals that Onesimus, a slave of Philemon who escaped, possibly with stolen property of his master’s, has been with him for some time …
NOTE: this post is a version slightly edited from The Four Last Things. “O death! You separate those who are joined to each other in marriage. You harshly and cruelly divide those whom friendship unites. But your power is broken. Your heinous yoke has been destroyed by the One who sternly threatened you when Hosea …
This excerpt of the First Reading from today’s Mass for Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent is from Isaiah 1:18 Come now, let us set things right,says the LORD. Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool. via USCCB. …
This excerpt from the Gospel for today’s Mass is Luke 6:37 “…Forgive and you will be forgiven.” via USCCB. Forgiveness is a recurring theme recently on this blog. It is one of the more difficult things that I find to write about. Elsewhere (not on this blog) I wrote: “This is something I’ve struggled with …
The Responsorial Psalm from today’s Mass for Wednesday of the First Week of Lent is Psalm 51, a favorite of mine. It is also a favorite of the Church’s, as it appears often on Fridays in the Divine Office, and today is the second time since Lent began that it is used as the Responsorial. …