Ash Wednesday. — The Wednesday after Quinquagesima Sunday, which is the first day of the Lenten fast. The name dies cinerum (day of ashes) which…
Raphael BenedictMarch 14, 2019
Pope Francis chose French biblical scholar, Anne-Marie Pelletier, to write the meditations for this year's annual Good Friday Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum.…
Raphael BenedictApril 11, 2017
Holy Week invites us to let go of self and embrace the Lord anew through continuing conversion. How desperately we all need to hear the Good…
Raphael BenedictApril 11, 2017
During Lent we should seek to return to him with a whole heart, the Pope said in a morning homily Lent is a time for…
Raphael BenedictMarch 31, 2017
At the end of his annual Lenten penitential service on Friday, Pope Francis was the first to go to the sacrament of confession, afterward hearing…
Raphael BenedictMarch 20, 2017
With Easter only a month away, plans have already been set in the Vatican for the celebrations surrounding the big day, and the lead-up to…
Raphael BenedictMarch 17, 2017
We admit that shadows lurk within our hearts. "I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want." (Romans…
Raphael BenedictMarch 17, 2017
On Sunday Pope Francis said Lent is a time to really contemplate the sacrifice Jesus made for each of us on the Cross, which is…
Raphael BenedictMarch 13, 2017
If you’re an Irish Catholic (or any Catholic) living in the United States, you will need to check with your local diocese before indulging in…
Raphael BenedictMarch 10, 2017
There is a secret that few people know about sacrifice. Lent is a time to think about sacrifice and what it can do to you…
Raphael BenedictMarch 9, 2017
Lent is the time before Easter during which the faithful abstain and fast in remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made on Calvary. It is…
Raphael BenedictMarch 8, 2017
On the first Sunday of Lent, Pope Francis said if we want to fight against the temptation of sin, we must be familiar with the…
Raphael BenedictMarch 7, 2017
Every year we give something up for Lent. Sometimes picking what to give up is hard and other times we consider doing something extra to…
Raphael BenedictMarch 7, 2017
God commanded it, Jesus practiced it, Church Fathers have preached the importance of it – fasting is a powerful and fundamental part of the Christian…
Raphael BenedictMarch 3, 2017
Lent brings the death and resurrection of the Lord more insistently into the horizon of our lives. Before the Lord, we are all weak and…
Raphael BenedictMarch 3, 2017
'Give alms...Pray to your Father...Fast without a gloomy face...' (Matthew 6:1-18) Giving alms, Jesus teaches, means making the needs of others our own, especially the…
Raphael BenedictMarch 3, 2017
As Ash Wednesday kicks off the Lenten season, Catholics enter into 40 days of abstaining from sweets, technology, alcohol and other luxuries. But did you…
Raphael BenedictMarch 1, 2017
Everyone knows that Mardi Gras kicks off the upcoming 40-day Lent, which honors the time Jesus fasted in the wilderness, but did you know there…
Raphael BenedictMarch 1, 2017
On Ash Wednesday Pope Francis said that while Lent is certainly a time of mortification, it’s also a journey of hope that leads to the…
Raphael BenedictMarch 1, 2017
Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is a time to celebrate with feasting before the start of Lent. Popular culture has turned the religious festivity to…
Raphael BenedictFebruary 28, 2017
Without making room for God’s word in their heart, people will never be able to welcome and love all human life, Pope Francis said. “Each…
Raphael BenedictFebruary 7, 2017
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Lent is a new beginning, a path leading to the certain goal of Easter, Christ’s victory over death. This season urgently…
Raphael BenedictFebruary 7, 2017
Lent is a special time of prayer, penance, sacrifice and good works in preparation of the celebration of Easter. In the desire to renew the…
Raphael BenedictFebruary 23, 2016
Question: I have severally heard people arguing the fact that the lent season is not up to 40 days and few other argue that it is…
Raphael BenedictFebruary 23, 2016