Catholic Fire

I love this reflection on Lent by Our Holy Father that I found over at Eagle and Elephant - it's just beautiful! The desert is the place of silence, of solitude; it is the absence of the exchanges of daily life, its noise and its superficiality. The desert is the place of the absolute, the place of freedom, which sets us before the ultimate demands. Not by chance is the desert the place where monotheism began. In that sense it is a place of grace. In putting aside all preoccupations we encounter our Creator. Great things have their beginnings in the desert, in silence, in poverty. It is not possible to share in the mission of Jesus, in the mission of the Gospel, without sharing in the desert experience, its poverty, its hunger. [Go here to read the rest .]

The following are notes from a talk given by Fr. Dominique, a few years ago, about the meaning of Lent. I have adapted them very slightly in order to help clarify the meaning in English, as the speaker is French. The content is still the same. Lenten Reflections Lent is a retreat that the Church gives us in order to re-focus on what should be first in our lives. The purpose of Jesus' life was to glorify the Father and Save the world. Today, we are called to rediscover the dignity of being invited to live as the Son. Lent is not first a time of giving up but a time to re-choose to be victim of Christ, the Lamb. It is a time to live the Beatitudes. If sleeping less makes us gloomy, then we should sleep as we normally do. Lent should bring us joy – Christian joy. We become joyful when we live out the sacrifice of Christ in our lives. To re-choose a Christian joy means to embrace the sorrowful mysteries that lead us to the glorious. During the Lenten season, we must refocus on Jesus Ch...