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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 like goi

Tiberius was Rome's absentee emperor around the time the Han Dynasty was getting back to business-as-usual, after Wang Mang 's brief takeover. I mentioned him before: Wang Mang, I mean. ( December 27, 2015 ) Meanwhile, Phaedrus was retelling Aesop's Fables in Latin, and Pontius Pīlātus was prefect of the Roman Province of Judea . That part of the world had been under Roman control since the Battle of Philippi , Armenia wasn't a Roman province yet, but it wasn't the force it had been during Tigranes ' reign, and that's another topic. Tigranes, Tiberius, and Wang Mang, were well-known folks in their day; 1 at least in their homelands. Two millennia later, not so much. Pontius Pīlātus is another matter. He's mentioned each year around this time, when something like 2,000,000,000 folks pay at least fleeting attention to a Nazarene's progress from top-of-the-polls celebrity to executed corpse. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

(From Rembrandt, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) (Jesus and the Adulteress, Rembrandt .) I figure you know what happens in John 8:1 - 11 . The scribes and Pharisees haul one of two folks who were committing adultery to the temple, tell Jesus what she'd done, and remind our Lord that it's a capital crime under their law.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

(From USCCB, used w/o permission.) Depending on whether or not folks are going through RCIA, we could be hearing either Exodus 3:1 - 8a , 13 - 15 ; 1 Corinthians 10:1 - 6 , 10 - 12 ; and Luke 13:1 - 9 — or Exodus 17:3 - 7 ; Romans 5:1 - 2 , 5 - 8 ; and John 4:5 - 42 during Mass today.... ...Today's RCIA goes back to 1972, "as part of the liturgical renewal mandated by Vatican II." 1 Before that we'd been using a Rite of Baptism introduced in 1614: which was just baptism. I suppose some folks are upset that we changed something that'd been around since the year Pocahontas married John Rolfe and the Siege of Osaka began. Tokugawa Ieyasu became the next shogun, and yes: there are worse things than American presidential elections. My opinion. By the way — if this post seems a bit more scattershot than usual, you're quite right.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

The last time I shared what I 'gave up' for Lent, I was severely chastised.  The person was horrified that I would seek glory for my Lenten sacrifice instead of doing it in secret where only God and I would know.  This made me sad - as it was not at all my intent.  Sharing our Lenten sacrifices, our fasts, instead allow us to do several things: Encouragement for each other .  Fasting is hard work - and we can get discouraged.  It is good to know how others are celebrating this season - it is not so much misery loves company but for me anyway.  I think more of the scripture that states a chord of 3 is not easily broken.  Accountability .  This is probably my greatest catalyst for blogging about and sharing with others my Lenten fasts.  If it is just between God and I, while that should surely be enough to keep me on track, often it is not.  I need those extra eyes on my behavior - to be sure I'm not sneaking TV apart from Sundays, or spending money (if you read Mond

As usual .. I don't offer your typical review: IT is a small book.  I like small books. Get to the point and do it in the shortest amount of time - life is busy.  Check! Build the idea of your book on the words of Pope Francis.  I like Pope Francis. Talk about getting to the point! I was on Copacabana Beach at World Youth Day, 2013, when Papa Francisco said, "Go!...the experience of this encounter must not remain locked up in your life or in the small group of your parish, your movement, or your community.  I want a mess. I want people to go out!"  Check! Remind people they have been commissioned by their Baptism to share the good news, to be heralds of the Gospel - that it is not just for their benefit.  In fact, if we are not willing to take bold risks -to be MESSY & FOOLISH, For much much more... read here ! All rights reserved, Allison Gingras 2016

I take the Bible, Sacred Scripture, very seriously. As a Catholic I have to, and I'll get back to that. I also pay attention to what some of the best minds of the last few thousand years thought about this sort of thing: " 12 I tell you, brothers, the time is running out. From now on, let those having wives act as not having them, " those weeping as not weeping, those rejoicing as not rejoicing, those buying as not owning, " those using the world as not using it fully. For the world in its present form is passing away. " ( 1 Corinthians 7:29 - 31 ) - - - which is why I still think my youthful decision to stay out of the rat race was right. ( December 13, 2015 ; May 3, 2015 ) I don't, however, take what folks like Harold Camping say seriously. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

(From Wereldburger758, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) Lent is a time for me to improve myself, right? That will be a by-product of what I do, but — no. Lent isn't about me. It's like the rest of the annual cycle of Advent, Lent Easter: we're reviewing and, in a sense, re-living what our Lord did, two millennia back now. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1095 ) Lent is when we join Jesus in the desert. Sort of. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

(From U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Brian May, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) (Ash Wednesday celebration aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp .) Ash Wednesday comes this week, so I'll get ashes on my forehead and start doing my Lenten routines — along with folks around the world. That won't include the usual fasting: I'm past the 18-to-59 age requirement for Catholics in my region, and diabetic to boot . We're called to holiness, not stupidity; common sense applies, or should; and I'm putting a 'resources' link list at the end of this post. 1 More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Last week I talked about why I don't try to be someone I'm not: more specifically, why I don't insist that God equip me with what's trending in charisms. Also spirit-filled administrators and loose cannons . ( January 24, 2016 ) That Sunday's second Scripture reading got me started: 1 Corinthians 12:12 - 30 . Today's second reading, 1 Corinthians 12:31 - 13:13 , picks up on the next verse: " Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.... " ( 1 Corinthians 12:31 ) I could stop there, and claim that everybody should start clamoring for "the greatest spiritual gifts." I've talked about cherry picking before. It's a bad idea.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, saw a connection between power and responsibility: " The possession of great power necessarily implies great responsibility. " (" The Parliamentary Debates From The Year 1803 To The Present Time ," Vol. 36. (1817)) Quite a few other folks have said pretty much the same thing, including a now-famous comic book writer: " With great power there must also come — great responsibility! " ( Stan Lee , in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962) (the first Spider-Man story)) It's hardly a new idea: " ...Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more. " ( Luke 12:48 ) - - - and that gets me to today's second Scripture reading, 1 Corinthians 12:12 - 30 ; the gist of which is in the shorter option.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I'm in the lower half of America's economic ladder, but I've never been homeless. That's just as well, since I've spent the bulk of my life in Minnesota and North Dakota. Winters get cold up here. I am, however, a recovering English teacher; and I like to verify my assumptions about what words mean. Here's part of my country's definition of "homeless." There will not be a test on this.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

(From CTV, used w/o permission.) (Holy Mass for the Opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica. (December 8, 2015)) There are reasons for my writing about science or technology most Fridays, and not declaring that you must worship exactly as the Apostles did: in 1962 . Briefly: I'm interested in science and technology, I know a little of what's happened over the last two millennia, and I'm a Catholic. I'm not a traditional, vegetarian, gummy bear, or whatever, Catholic; just a Catholic. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

(Our Lady of Angels, Sauk Centre, Minnesota, Saturday afternoon. (January 2, 2015)) Statues of Caspar , Melchior , and Balthazar started out across from the nativity scene in our parish church. They were lurking by the poinsettias during Friday's Mass — the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God — and no, Catholics do not worship Mary. We're not supposed to, anyway. 1 Getting back to the statues, they were in place at the nativity scene when I stopped by with a camera Saturday afternoon. Two look like they're kneeling to the Baby Jesus, the third is bowing slightly. But Friday they were in front of the altar, by the poinsettias you see in that top photo. Two of them seemed to be crouching behind poinsettia leaves; with the third several paces back, leaning out from behind a plant. It looked like they might be getting ready to yell "surprise!"... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

(From Silar, Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) (Nativity scene at the Christ the King Church in Sanok , Poland, 2010.) Shepherding is a comparatively new occupation, compared to hunting and knapping . The earliest evidence we've found so far puts the first shepherds north of Sargon 's Akkadian Empire , where the Hittite Kingdom was, a dozen or so centuries later. I've mentioned them before. ( August 21, 2015 ; October 16, 2015 ) That was about the time someone carved a bit of siltstone into the Narmer Palette , and folks started building Stonehenge ; and that's another topic. Around the time Emperor Ping died, leaving Wang Mang in charge — he was either a great reformer or conniving scoundrel, depending on who you read, and that's yet another topic — the Roman Emperor ordered an empire-wide census. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Today's first Bible reading doesn't include the last part of Micah 5:4.... ...I'm guessing that's because we see these verses mostly as they relate to our Lord's birth, about seven centuries later. Folks in Micah's day had more immediate concerns: " 3 he shall be peace. If Assyria invades our country and treads upon our land, We shall raise against it seven shepherds, eight men of royal rank; " 4 And they shall tend the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the drawn sword; And we shall be delivered from Assyria, if it invades our land and treads upon our borders. " ( Micah 5:4 - 5 ) Micah lived around Isaiah 's time, a bit over 27 centuries back. Assyria's leaders were trying to unite the (western) world into a single empire, and succeeding: for the moment.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

The Year of Mercy/Jubilee of Mercy started on Tuesday, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. 1 In my home parish, it's also when we started receiving the Eucharist under both forms: our Lord's body and blood. If you think that's sounds gory and repulsive, you're not alone. Following our Lord has involved public relations issues from day one ... ...We'll be using Latin for parts of Mass during Advent, too: which is fine with me. I like Latin. I can even understand a little of the language. Mercifully, though, most of the Mass is in my native tongue. 3 — Which brings me back to the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis, and getting a grip.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

On Wednesday, December 2, 2015, at about 6:59 p.m. UTC, 10:59 a.m. PST, two people killed 14 others at a holiday office party in San Bernardino, California. The killers were located and stopped a few hours later, and died during an armed confrontation with law enforcement. I put names of the dead, and a few links, at the end of this post. 1 I'm still experiencing anger, disgust, and several other emotions in connection with this latest mass murder. It's an unpleasant sensation, but I'd probably be more concerned if I didn't notice any emotional response. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

It's been nearly a week since I've seen someone's announcement that the end of days is upon us. False alarms are nothing new. It's been about 18 centuries since St. Hippolytus of Rome figured the Second Coming would happen in the year 500. Swedenborg speculated, in 1758, that the Last Judgment happened in the previous year — I give him points for originality — and Harold Camping got it wrong twice. ( January 25, 2015 ; April 19, 2015 ) Me? I believe what our Lord said: including what's recorded in Mark 13:32 - 37 , which ties in with today's Gospel reading.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Pontius Pīlātus was the fifth prefect of the Roman Province of Judea . That sounds important, but Pilate was one of the Equites : Roman aristocrats, but ranking below Patricians . Think of him as 'middle management.' Judea was a strategically important border province, giving the empire access to Egypt's agricultural resources, and a measure of protection from the Parthian Empire . More at A Catholic Citizen in America .