"(Lent) is a period of spiritual 'combat' which we must experience alongside Jesus, not with pride and presumption, but using the arms of faith: prayer, listening to the word of God and penance....
“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God”(Colossians 3:3). St Paul of the Cross calls this a mystical death. “Dying mystically means thinking only of living a Divine...
Homily First Sunday of Lent Year A 2020 Reading 1: We are on a journey: the journey is a pilgrimage, the journey is to the celebration of the remembrance of Jesus’ death and...
As we begin another Lenten journey to the celebration of Lord's paschal mysteries, Jesus gives us in today's Gospel our three main points of reference: Prayer, Almsgiving and Fasting. Prayer is not just...
Reflection on Scripture First Sunday of Lent Gospel A Test vs Temptation
By spiritaflame 10:26 AM Reading ReflectionsFirst Sunday of Lent Gospel A At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. · God tests us to draw us closer to...
"God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy." (Pope Francis) As we enter this grace season of Lent, we are invited by God to bring...
One of the things that saddened and angered Jesus was a hardened heart. Some of the Pharisees and Scribes had a hardened heart, when it came to understanding, let alone accepting Jesus. They...
Homily Seventh Sunday Year A Reading 1: “Be holy, for the Lord your God is holy”. This call is rooted in our baptism. God removed the bondage of alienation from him. He shared...
Thought of the Day February 21, 2020 Be still and listen
By spiritaflame 11:06 AM Thought of the Day“Lent is the most important time of the year to nurture our inner life. It is the time during which we not only prepare ourselves to celebrate the mystery of the death and resurrection...
Reflection of Scripture Seventh Sunday Gospel A Call to holiness
By spiritaflame 3:05 PM Reading ReflectionsSeventh Sunday Gospel A Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer...
The Book of Ecclesiastes says there is a time to die and a time to live. If Easter is a time of resurrected life, then Lent is a time of death to sin....
In little over a week we will begin our annual Lenten pilgrimage of preparing to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. Look over the past Lents. Were we any different for a...
One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll...
Homily: Sixth Sunday Year A Reading 1: This first reading sets the tone for the other two readings. God gives us free will to choose between life and death, good and evil, lasting...
To avoid a sense of loss of sin that is prevalent in our culture, we need to remember that the root of sin lies within us. That root goes back to the sin...
Reflection on Scripture Sixth Sunday of the Year Gospel A True righteousness
By spiritaflame 10:40 AM Reading ReflectionsSixth Sunday of the Year Gospel A Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but...
Thought of the Day February 11, 2020 Lose of a sense of sin
By spiritaflame 10:26 AM Thought of the DayEven thought Lent is a few weeks away, it is not too early to begin to prepare ourselves to enter into the true spirit of this sacred season. A major focus of this...
An article in National Geographic several years ago provided a penetrating picture of God’s love. After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess...
Thought of the Day February 7, 2020 God, the Master craftsman
By spiritaflame 1:16 PM Thought of the DayOne of the greatest ambitions of any violinist is to play a Stradivarius. Meticulously handcrafted by Antonio Stradivari these very rare violins produce an unrivaled sound. So you can imagine the excitement of...
"When you insist on doing things your own way in the face of the Lord's will, you are an idolater, because you prefer what you think, that idol, to the will of the...
Homily Fifth Sunday Year A Reading 1: What is this light which shall break forth like the dawn and the wound be quickly healed? The chosen people have just returned from exile. They...
"Do we have an attitude of spiritual tepidness, transforming our lives into a cemetery where there is not life? If so, God calls us to conversion and we say yes but tomorrow." (Pope...
Reflection on Scripture Fifth Sunday of the Year Gospel A Discipleship
By spiritaflame 10:15 AM Reading ReflectionsFifth Sunday of the Year Gospel A Jesus said to his disciples: "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is...
"Is our faith unconditional or conditional, total or partial? Is our faith based on conditions. Are we like Christians who say 'I am Christian but on the condition that things are done this...
Thought of the Day February 3, 2020 Obedience to the will of God
By spiritaflame 1:35 PM Thought of the DayWhat was the will of the Father for his Incarnate Son? Was it primarily the death of his beloved Son on the gibbet of the cross? Or was it obedience to the will...
