During these times, it is good to once again remember what we have been told repeatedly by our Lady when she has appeared in our troubled past – as followers of Christ, we are called to undertake penance and prayer. The specific prayer recommended time and again by Our Lady is the Holy Rosary. But what about penance, the other side of this coin? If all is mercy and we are forgiven, why does God require penance?
Read MorePenance. Suffering. Ashes and dust. It’s that time of liturgical year again. So what is the season about? Is it merely to inflict pain and punishment, to make us feel bad about ourselves and our sins? To bring gloom and doom down on us as we are reminded “you are dust, and to dust you shall return”? Certainly if we were a people without faith in a God of mercy and love, without hope for life with Him in heaven, then Lent would indeed be very dark. But we are ultimately an Easter people…
Read More