29Feb
29 February, 2020. Saturday after Ash Wednesday
The Lord is always willing to sit with us, to share table with us, to interact with us and be our inspiration in life...
The Lord is always willing to sit with us, to share table with us, to interact with us and be our inspiration in life...
Seamus Ahearne shares some reflections on on-going situations in the world about us.
"Despite all the storms (of life); hope emerges. We keep going."
"We have to catch hope and light and beauty and wonder and laughter anywhere and everywhere. That too is Spring. It is truly Lent."
Any service done in love is very acceptable to God and gives substance to anything else we may do for Lent...
Remarks Pope Francis intended to speak to priests in Rome were read to them in his absence due to a “slight indisposition”.
Voluntary renunciation has a positive meaning. Giving up something for Lent is always with a view to living life more fully.
Our ultimate destiny is not just a return to dust and ashes but sharing in the Lord's risen life and seeing God face-to-face...
Chris McDonnell, in the Catholic Times, reflects on how we might beneficially use Lent this year.
"It is a time to ask questions, a pause time on a journey, a time when we might re-examine the baggage we carry from month to month, maybe a time to lighten the load."
"So maybe there is a good question that we could all address this Lent, how might the Church meet the needs of the community without resorting to worn platitudes? .... We should encourage each other to face reality and trust that we might follow God's Spirit as it moves in our hearts."
Brendan Hoban, in his Western People column, reacts to the letter, Beloved Amazon, issued by Pope Francis last week.
"It is important for us to name the disappointment, the frustration, the sadness, the upset, the anger that are part of the fall-out from last week’s letter."
"The answer is that for some people, and progressively more, the waiting is over. Parents with children – teenage and adult – understand why time is important. Our leaders seem to be in denial about the impact such catastrophic delays are having on the confidence and the membership of our Church."
Pádraig McCarthy reminds us of, and comments on, the 2020 Day of Prayer for Survivors and Victims of Abuse.