What is Lent? On Wednesday, February 18, 2026, the season of Lent begins. Lent signifies a forty-day period of prayer, fasting and penance in preparation for the Easter celebration and while the etymological root of the word has been lost to time, its meaning has not and the lessons and practices – though quintessentially Catholic – are meaningful and valid for all Christians. But what precisely is Lent? The synoptic Gospels (Matthew 4:1–11, Mark 1:12–13 and Luke 4:1–13) tell the story of how Jesus was led into the desert for forty days to be tempted by the devil, after which He began His public ministry. But why was Jesus tempted at all? Why did he have to endure it? For the same reason He did everything else. To show us the way! Some may ask “if we cannot earn our way to heaven, or merit our salvation through works, then what good is prayer, fasting and penance?” Like the image we see in the mirror, prayer, fasting and penance are the reflection of our faith[1].… Read More »What is Lent?
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Am I my brother’s keeper? Recently someone asked, “why do good people have to suffer?” I replied, “Because of original sin.” To which they said, “I know that, but why do I have to suffer when it was Eve who ate the apple, and not me?” The answer to this question is neither straightforward nor fulfilling. First off, the fall was not the result of Eve, because the covenant was made through Adam. Recall that when Eve ate the apple nothing happened, but when Adam ate the apple, the whole world fell apart. But that aside, Adam and Eve only committed one sin; how many have you committed? Besides, if we refuse our share of the sin of the first Adam, then we are also denying salvation of the second Adam.[1] This all began because Adam failed to do what he was created to do – till and keep the garden.[2] And as descendants of Adam, we must all answer for his negligence. Why? Because we are all mystically and inextricably linked and whether we… Read More »Post #12
Post #12
(NOTE: This is chapter four of my book “The Sinner’s Survival Guide“) Temptation I was hounded by temptation for most of my life. I resisted it plenty of times but many other times I gave into the temptation. But it didn’t matter. Whether I resisted or not, I always felt guilty. Guilt from temptation is something I struggled with greatly. For example, I used to read Mathew 5:28 in a very self-condemning way: But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Taken at face value, to me this meant that if I even looked at a woman and noticed she had hair like my wife’s or had a pretty dress or face that that was it! I’d sinned. I was doomed. It was as plain as anything – I looked at a woman, noticed something particular about her and because of this I was going to hell. I could have just gotten out of the confessional, simply looked at a woman… Read More »Temptation
Temptation
What church should I belong to? This can be tricky question to answer because no matter what I recommend I am sure to upset someone. But if I’m honest, (and I try to be) I can answer the question with decorum, sensitivity, and above all, truth and the first thing I would point out is that the last thing I want to do is to make this decision for someone else. YOU must be the one who makes this decision because YOU are the one who must live with the consequences (which can be eternal). Make no mistake, this can be a divisive topic! In fact, did you know that in the Bible the first recorded Church service ended when one-half of the congregation killed the other half over a dispute regarding over how to worship God? What? You never heard of the story of Cain and Abel? If someone is asking “What church should I belong to” it usually means that they are unhappy or unfulfilled in their own church; to which I say GOOD! This means that God is prompting… Read More »Post #11
Post #11
Happy New Year – Welcome to 2026! Where does the time go and how is it that I find myself in the year 2026 already? How did I get here? Simple; one day at a time. We are linear beings who are tied to this string called time and pulled ever forward into the future. Are you ready for tomorrow? Well, ready or not, here it comes. Anyone remember Y2K? I do, and it’s hard for me to believe that one fourth of the twenty first century is already gone. Where did it go? It slipped past us one day at a time. I was praying with someone the other day when this same topic came up and there was (not surprisingly) a fear of the future. The person had many questions like, “What will happen to my family?”, “What if I die early?” and “What if I don’t make it to heaven?” All were valid questions. The Bible tells us over one hundred times to not be afraid[1] and while this is good… Read More »Post #10
Post #10
Christmas 2025 Did you ever in your life think that simply saying “Merry Christmas” could ever become offensive – to anyone? Times have certainly changed – and not necessarily for the better. Yet, through it all, there is a definite peace about the earth. Much like the blanket of new fallen snow that silently dampens my backyard, so too the world becomes silent – and yet, something is stirring; something is happening. Christ is near, and nothing else matters. We are so unbelievably blessed to live in these times. Six thousand years of human history…and in only 1/3 of that time did people have the chance to know Jesus. Can you imagine the scene at His birth? The sound of angels singing? The archangels blending their voices in harmony, the cherubim offering their angelic praises, all joining in so as to be part of this singular and holy event. He who was above, is now – if only for a brief time – among us to gain for us our redemption. And now, 2,025 years… Read More »Post #9
Post #9
The Boy in the Blanket God’s Love Found Its Way Into My BrokennessBY: LESLIE KOWALSKI You wouldn’t call my childhood the happiest one a person could have. Growing up in a tiny, run-down house as the tenth of twelve children—with parents who struggled with mental health issues—I certainly learned about the fear of God. But I didn’t know how much God loved me. We were very poor, and we rarely had enough food. My father would sometimes shoot squirrels from out of the bathroom window so that we could eat, and other days we would crawl through grocery store dumpsters looking for food. We didn’t have any blankets, so in the winter we put our legs through the sleeves of moth-eaten coats. It was a hard life, but things began to change when, at twelve years old, I started babysitting for my oldest sister. She and her husband were Catholic, and I would attend Mass with the family. I could feel the presence of God in that church. My faith kept growing through marriage, the… Read More »Post #8
Post #8
Advent – The Dress Rehearsal One example of something different between men and women are dress rehearsals. Men hate them, but women love them and whether you like it or not, we have a very special dress rehearsal coming up. It’s called Advent. When we have important company coming over what do we do? We clean house and spruce up the place. For everyday guests we might make the place clean and orderly but for special guests we go further. For them, we don’t just put clutter away, we actually sort it and throw it out (Ladies, think when your future mother-in-law is coming to visit). But what about those once-in-a-lifetime, really special guests? What if it were (insert name here… the Pope, the Queen, the President, etc.) who was coming? Someone who would be followed by the press and their own entourage? Now we’re talking about a formal dress rehearsal. Well, guess what? In about a month, Jesus is coming. Are you ready? I’m not. In fact, I’ll probably never truly be ready to… Read More »Post # 7
Post # 7
Are you saved? “Are you saved?” she asked me. “Absolutely, and I hope to be in heaven one day.” I replied. “Brother, if were are saved, then you would know you are going to heaven. When were you saved?” she asked“Just today” I said.“Well, Halleluiah!” she exclaimed. I knew what she meant, but I was headed to a destination and I was on a tight time scale. I would have loved to have talked more with my rather jubilant sister but time did not permit. I anticipate that the conversation would have angled toward the topic such of “once saved always saved” which I do not ascribe to for several reasons: But so what? There are lots of words that are not in the Bible that we know plenty about (words like internet, porn, abortion and television). Are we to assume these things don’t exist? Of course not. Look, we are not automatons or machines that God programmed to think, act, and feel in a certain way. We are free beings created in His image.… Read More »Post #6
Post #6
We are healed before we enter heaven He was a well-loved, elderly priest in who fell and injured himself very badly. In fact, it was to be a fatal injury. He had been severely afflicted with scoliosis for most of his life and while he was about 5’10” in height, with his back disfigured the way it was he probably stood about 5’0”. In fact, he was so bent over that when he consecrated the Eucharist, he held it up over his head but was unable to look upon it while doing so. Though retired as a priest, he volunteered his time at a hospital for many years and was well loved by the staff. He was especially good friends with the hospital Chaplin, who was a nurse and an ordained pastor at her church. The Chaplin (who is a personal friend of mine) has a very special gift. When God allows it, she can see the angels and the saints. Since she’d formed a very close relationship with the priest and since she was… Read More »Post #5