Clothed in Virtue

 02-28-2021 Second Sunday of Lent The Transfiguration by Lodovico Carracci, 1594 "This is the will of God: your sanctification." St. Paul's words today are good and applicable.  As we saw a few weeks ago, St. Paul reminded us that life is a race toward heaven and every day gets us further to that goal.  The following Sunday, he reminded us to be careful for the trap of pride, don't be prideful about your penance and sacrifices.  The next Sunday, we were told that the key to our lent (and life) is charity: love of God in all actions.  The next Sunday, we were told not to waste this opportunity.  It only comes once a year.  This Lent will not come again and God gives us this opportunity to grow in holiness, and we won't get that chance back.  Now this week, St. Paul is reminding us of our goal: this is the will of God, your sanctification.  God wants you to become a saint.  That is why He created you. In today's Gospel, we catch a glimpse ...

 02-21-21 First Sunday of Lent Philip Augustin Immelraet, “The Temptation of Christ,” 1663 During the season of Lent, God and the Church ask that we take on more penance than we normally do throughout the year.  Austerity of the season makes it harder for us, and yet the Church has this letter from St. Paul that says these are the days of grace, the acceptable time; time for us to make reparations for our sins and call down the mercy of God, to free us from the chains that our sins have forged for us.  We need strength in our souls to firmly resist temptation in the future, but also be better able to fight the devil. Our Lord deals with the famous 3 temptations of the devil meant to divert Him from His father's mission.  These temptations follow his 40 days of fasting in the desert.  It is through that effort of being in the desert that he prepares to deal with the devil. Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.  It was throug...

 02-14-2021 Quinquesgesma Sunday Quinquagesima means "fiftieth" in Latin.  This is 50 days before Easter; the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.  This holy day was traditionally part of a pre-Lenten countdown to help the faithful prepare for Lent.  The revisions of the liturgical calendar after Vatican II eliminated this pre-Lenten season. St. Paul the Apostle by Claude Vignon "If I have not charity, I am nothing." The church is truly a mother when she prepares us for Lent.  Lent is one of the most important times of the year because Easter is the most important feast.  It is so important that we have these three Sundays leading up to Lent.  These three Sundays help us prepare to have a good Lent, and how we use them will determine if we have a good Lent or not. First Sunday we hear: Training is difficult and it takes work.  It's hard work to earn the crown.  The crown that we will win is an eternal crown: Heaven. Second Sunday we hear: a warning. ...