From Season to Season

For the past few days, I've been in Dallas participating in the University of Dallas Ministry Conference . This is a great event that serves the Church in eastern Texas and western Louisiana. I had the privilege of offering three workshops during the conference: "Celebrating Evangelization: The Mission of the Church," "Celebrating Initiation: The RCIA Process and Evangelization," and "Praying With the Church: Living a Liturgical Spirituality." All three presentations seem to have been well-received. I'm genuinely grateful to have been asked to be part of this great conference and am thrilled to have had so many attend my talks. It was also nice to be able to represent Abbey Press at this event, as well. Good people doing good Church. What more can I say? This week will see me fly to Milwaukee for some personal time. More on that later. For now, here is my reflection on this Sunday's Gospel. This Sunday we are given the story of t...

In his Rule , Saint Benedict observes that "the life of a monk ought to a continuous Lent" (from chapter 49 ). Those words might strike some as harsh, but why is that? Is it because we too quickly associate Lent with ash-smudged foreheads, "giving up" things we generally enjoy, fishy Fridays, and lots talk about guilt and sin? The insight that we can gain from Saint Benedict's perspective is that the spirit of Lent is something that should permeate our lives every day of the year. And, by saying that, I don't mean the doom-and-gloom that too many associate with this season. Instead, Saint Benedict was saying that our Lenten emphasis on ongoing conversion and covenant is something we should carry with us each day, because conversion and covenant are at the heart of our commitment to follow Christ. This can only make sense for us today if we try to remember that Lent was originally a 3-day time of fasting and prayer for those who would be baptized at East...

You were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. —Ephesians 5:8-10  When I was actively involved in parish faith formation, the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent were, in many ways, among the most important celebrations of the entire year. These are the Sundays of the Scrutinies. The Scrutinies are those ancient and meaningful rituals that are an essential part of the RCIA (the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults). As the Elect look forward to being received into the Church at the Easter Vigil, these Sundays provide the rest of us with a perspective on what the Season of Lent is really all about: preparing to renew our baptismal vows at Easter. Unfortunately, many of us have not been appropriately formed to see preparation for baptism and the renewal of our baptismal commitments as being the ultimate goal of our Lente...