Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Holy Week is here ... Lent 2016 will soon be done But am I any different than when it all began 40 plus days ago? Did my Lenten sacrifices - prayers, almsgiving and fasting - transform me? Did they prepare me for the coming Triduum s(Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday) services? Most importantly have the readied my heart to rise again with Jesus on Easter -- a new creation in Christ ? Lent and the expectation of the coming of Spring, maybe because I live in a seasonal location, have always co-existed in my heart. Lent starts often in the harshness of winter - cold, long, dark nights. Easter arrives after daylight savings and (usually) the last snow fall. Flowers and trees are budding, maybe even flowering, and there is an emerging from the cocoon like feel to the world. But have I changed? Has this time of no television, extra prayer and attention to participating in the Sacraments, awoken something in my heart.   What will my spiritual practices look...

We are one week into Lent.  How is it going for you so far?  Have you broken your fast promises?  Are you doing great at avoiding chocolate but feel like you need some inspiration?  Are you willing to devote just a few minutes a day growing in knowledge and depth of your faith?  This list is for you.  It is not too late to make this a truly remarkable Lent, visit Veils and Vocations for more information.

monastery bell Cristian Bortes Manastirea Neamtului July 2008 What comes to mind when you hear the word “discipline?” Punishment? Do you think of those times as a child when you were disciplined by your parents for doing something wrong? Dull, repetitive actions such as practicing a musical instrument or working out to keep in shape? Perhaps even prayer, like reciting the rosary, feels like such a discipline, an endless repetition of Our Fathers and Hail Marys. I was resistant at first to applying discipline to my spiritual life. How can a discipline be heartfelt? I remember watching “The Nun’s Story” with Audrey Hepburn and noticing the way she chafed at the bell ringing for prayer. .... Lent offers a wonderful opportunity to establish a prayerful spiritual discipline. I would like to offer my regimen as an example. Click to continue.