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“Our Father Who Art in Heaven” (Matthew 6:1-21; The Lord’s Prayer)You know, during Lent there is a strong tradition to do a series on some part of the Catechism. And that’s what we’re going to do for this Lenten season. Today we begin a nine-part sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer. I’m calling it “Lord, Teach Us to Pray,” which is what the disciples asked Jesus to teach them. And Jesus responded by giving them the Lord’s Prayer, as well as other teaching about prayer. Apparently, Jesus wants his Christians to pray. He thinks it’s important. He gives us instruction...

Almighty God, help us to take to heart through Your Holy Word the truth that sin entered the world through human disobedience to You. Our sin has filled this world with envy, selfishness, hatred, greed, and other sins too many to list. Yet human sin cannot be victorious over the grace of God that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord. We pray that You pour Your grace upon us as we strive to lives of sacrifice and holiness. Enable us to daily defeat sin, so that we will know that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory. Through...

Rhythm is life giving. We function according to days, weeks, months and years. We celebrate anniversaries and birthdays, dread tax time and look forward to time off. The cycles we go through help us move forward and stay in sync with the people around us. They increase both our productivity and our enjoyment of life, and they are essential to the health of our society. We see this truth throughout the natural world as well. Our calendars and timetables are based on seasons and phases, the perfectly predictable movement of our planet and moon through space. Rhythm is a form...

“The Joy of Repentance” (Luke 15:1-10)Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of Lent. And today we begin a series of six midweek services under the theme, “A Little Lenten Lukan Joy.” Let me explain. This year in the church’s three-year lectionary is “The Year of St. Luke.” That means for most of the services in this current church year the Holy Gospel will be one appointed from Luke’s gospel. And so we’re really focusing in on this particular book this year. In our Bible class, we’re doing an in-depth study of the Gospel of Luke. Most...

On Ash Wednesday "The forty days of Lent recall Israels sojourn in the desert and the temptations of Jesus at the beginning of His public ministry." Vatican City, February 13, 2013 (Zenit.org). Before delivering his catechesis today, the Holy Father said the following to the faithful present: "Dear Brothers and Sisters, As you know, I have decided [applause] Thank you for your sympathy, I have decided to give up the ministry that the Lord has entrusted to me on April 19, 2005. I did this in full freedom for the good of the Church, after having prayed at length and...

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on Oct. 28, 2012. Credit: Anne Hartney/CNA. Vatican City, Feb 12, 2013 / 08:28 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Amid the buzz created by the Pope’s announcement that he will retire, it could be easy to miss the fact that his last Mass will be on Ash Wednesday and not in the normal location for the first day of Lent. “It’s very clear that St. Peter’s is a much bigger church than Santa Sabina in Aventino, so for a celebration in which we expect there will be a lot of faithful, bishops...

“Baptized into Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:1-11)Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, you and I have been “Baptized into Christ Jesus.” As such, we have received the bountiful grace and abundant forgiveness of God, washing away all our sins and assuring us of everlasting life, all of this free of charge. But this raises the question: Your baptismal certificate: Is it a license to sin? Or is it a death certificate? Here’s what I mean. Because God’s grace is so free and abundant, because our Father loves to forgive us for the sake of his Son, some might mistakenly think that...

A Marshall County Attorney in the midst of prosecuting an attempted murder case was asked by the court Wednesday to remove a smudge of ash from his forehead, a Catholic custom done in conjunction with the beginning of Lent. Conservative writer Ken Black of the Marshalltown Times-Republican reports that Paul Crawford, an assistant county attorney, returned to the courtroom following a lunch break with the ash on his forehead. Catholics place the mark, which is often done in the shape of a cross, on their foreheads as a sign of repentance. The ash itself is often a by-product of the...

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 "When you fast. . .": An Ash Wednesday Post   Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the traditional period of "Lent". "Lent" is an old English word for "Spring", but of course for Christians it is more than a recognition of the changing of seasons, it is a call for a change of heart. I recently did an hour-long radio interview on the practice of Lent on Catholic Answers radio, the podcast of which can be heard here. I'm not going to try to reproduce all I said there in this post. In addition, to...

“What to Do with Your Sins” (Psalm 51:3-4; Joel 2:12-13; 2 Corinthians 5:21)Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. There are a number of things that people do when this season comes around. Some people give something up for Lent. They may give up soda pop or ice cream, for instance. Some people take something on for Lent, like a regular exercise routine. Whether by giving something up or taking something on, these folks may be using Lent as a second chance at the New Year’s resolutions they stopped doing, oh, sometime around January 8. Now...

On the Lenten Season Man "Is Precious Dust in God's Eyes" VATICAN CITY, FEB. 17, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today at the general audience in Paul VI Hall. * * * Dear brothers and sisters, Today, Ash Wednesday, we begin the Lenten journey: a journey that extends over 40 days and that leads us to the joy of the Lord's Easter. We are not alone in this spiritual itinerary, because the Church accompanies and sustains us from the start with the Word of God, which encloses a program of spiritual life and...

Sky News presenter Kay Burley was forced to make an on-air apology today after mistaking a tribute to Ash Wednesday on American vice president Joe Biden’s forehead for a ‘large bruise’. The controversial Miss Burley, 49, made the comments during a conversation with the news channel’s U.S. correspondent, Greg Milam. When made aware of her ignorance during a commercial break, Miss Burley then compounded her insulting words by saying: ‘I’ve said three Hail Marys, everything is going to be fine.’

February 17, 2010 Biden's Forehead Shows Ash Wednesday Mark [Pic in URL] Posted by Brian Montopoli (AP)Vice President Joe Biden appeared at an event marking the one-year anniversary of the economic stimulus package today with a noticeable black smidge on his forehead. For many the mark was immediately recognizable as the ashes given to Catholics on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Biden, America's first Catholic vice president, also received ashes, which are meant to symbolize repentance and serve as a reminder of human mortality, last year. On Wednesday morning, President Obama issued a statement commemorating Ash Wednesday, saying...

Fox News analyst Bob Beckel today criticized Vice President Joe Biden for wearing ashes on TV; today is Ash Wednesday and Biden is Catholic. In the middle of a discussion on President Obama’s stimulus plan, Beckel gratuitously said, “Sorry about laughing, but I looked at Joe Biden’s forehead, and I know it is Ash Wednesday, but I’m not sure I would wear that ash on the air. Anyway….” Catholic League president Bill Donohue wasn’t amused: Bob Beckel’s admonishing remark, “I’m not sure I would wear that ash on the air,” makes us wonder whether it is the public display of...

  Rev. Richard John Neuhaus long wondered about the phenomenon of innumerable Catholics, pious and not, practicing and not, who throng to churches at all hours of Ash Wednesday to receive ashes on their foreheads on the first day of Lent. He was unable to pinpoint a reason why the annual ashes exceed both the Lord's birth and resurrection in popularity; in fact, ashes have become such the rage that even some Protestant churches have begun distributing them. Motives aside, the fact remains that on Ash Wednesday a formidable team of Catholics in trains, planes, and office corridors offer...

I'm watching Premier Hussein give a speech about job creation, and Joe Biden keeps popping in and out, with some sort of black object smeared across his forehead. In HiDef, it also looks like he has stitches in his left eyebrow.

Ash WednesdayJoel 2:12-18 Psalm 50:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14, 15 2 Corinthians 5:20 -- 6:2 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 CompunctionAsh Wednesday addresses the heart. Ashes are sprinkled on our heads, but Lent is lived in the heart. God wants pierced hearts. God looks for the broken heart. "Even now," says the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments" (Jl 2:12-13). Paradoxically, in order to give God one's whole heart, it must first be pierced and broken. This is what we mean when we speak of compunction...

Christians mark the beginning of Lent with Ash Wednesday church services and self-reflection. And it's not just Catholics who are participating. Ash Wednesday, which is next week, includes the practice of having ashes placed on your forehead. While the ash marking is often associated with Roman Catholicism, Christians of various denominations are increasingly participating in Ash Wednesday services, which are traditionally contemplative and somber. In the Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday is "a call to do penance for sin," said Lucas Pollice, director of catechesis for the Fort Worth Diocese. Ellen Lewis, associate minister of University Christian Church in Fort Worth,...

The New York Palace Hotel / Niklaus Leuenberger New York City, N.Y., Mar 26, 2009 / 11:56 pm (CNA).- The manager of the luxurious New York Palace Hotel was fired after obscenely ordering a Catholic employee to clean the ashes from his forehead on Ash Wednesday.According to the New York Daily News, on Feb. 25 the hotel’s managing director Niklaus Leuenberger told bell captain Mike Murray “Wipe that f-----g s--t off your face,” referring to the ashes Murray had received at an Ash Wednesday service.The 893-room five-star hotel is 55 stories tall and is on Madison Avenue across the...

The manager of one of the city's most luxurious hotels was given the boot after ordering a Catholic employee to clean up his forehead on Ash Wednesday. "Wipe that f-----g s--t off your face," managing director Niklaus Leuenberger told a bell captain at the New York Palace Hotel on Feb. 25, sources said. The unholy ultimatum ended up costing Leuenberger his job at the Palace, a swanky 55-story tower on Madison Ave. across the street from St. Patrick's Cathedral. "As of Monday, March 23, Leuenberger is no longer employed by the New York Palace," hotel spokeswoman Teresa Delaney told the...