Walking with Christ this Lent

Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2010, marks the beginning of Lent, the liturgical season in which Catholics prepare for the triumph of Jesus’ resurrection by uniting themselves more closely to Christ in His life, passion and death. The season of Lent lasts 40 days, symbolically representing the 40 days that Jesus fasted and was tempted in the desert prior to the beginning of His active ministry.

Lent is a time of conversion and repentence as Pope Benedict XVI reminds us in his message for Lent 2010:

"Conversion to Christ...ultimately means...to exit the illusion of self-sufficiency in order to discover and accept one’s own need – the need of others and God, the need of His forgiveness and His friendship." (For full text in English/Spanish)

The words of Pope Benedict, including his weekly Angelus address, weekly General Audience, homilies, and other special Lenten activities, are available on the Vatican website as text and as video. Follow our Holy Father as he leads the Church during this penitential season to renewed conversion and an ever-deeper knowledge of the mystery of Christ, that we may be prepared to joyfully celebrate the Lord's Resurrection.

A video of Pope Benedict XVI's General Audience from February 17 is available on H2O News: "Conversion, against the current of mediocre morality"

In this effort to foster conversion in our hearts during this Lenten season, we find that the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1434) suggests the following activities:

• Spiritual exercises: spiritual reading; Lectio Divina; making a retreat of the Spiritual Exercises according to St. Ignatius of Loyola; increasing prayer time – Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross), Via Matris (Seven Sorrows of Mary), the Rosary; reflecting on Sunday Gospel readings with friends and family;
• Penitential liturgies: The Light is On For You, Wednesdays in Lent in the Metro DC area; Confession times at parishes in downtown Washington, DC; in New York City, 24 hours of Confession, March 5, 2010; or call your local parish for Confession opportunities;
• Pilgrimages: a sign of penance, places of pilgrimage in the United States;
• Voluntary self-denial: fasting and almsgiving;
• Fraternal sharing: charitable and missionary works.

On-Line Resources

• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Lent 2010 Resources, including:
  • audio and video clips - daily video reflections, on the sacraments, etc;
  • examinations of conscience for children, young adults, single persons and married persons; and
  • household blessings and prayers for Lent among the many resources.
• Homilies of Fr. Carlos Buela, our Founder, available for download in Spanish
  • Dos Perspectivas de la Cruz / Two Perspectives of the Cross
  • Dios Padre y la Pasión de Su Hijo / God the Father and the Passion of His Son
  • Betania / Bethany
  • Getsemaní / Gethsemane
  • La Corona de espinas / The Crown of Thorns
  • Del Camino Real de la Santa Cruz / The Royal Way of the Holy Cross
  • Colgado de la Cruz / Nailed to the Cross
  • Amar la Cruz de Cristo / To Love the Cross of Christ

Recommended Reading for the Spiritual Life

• Sacred Scripture, particularly the Gospels, daily Mass Readings
• On the life of Jesus Christ:
  • Life of Christ and Calvary and the Mass by Fulton Sheen;
  • Christ the Life of the Soul by Columba Marmion;
  • The Sacred Passion by Luis de la Palma;
  • Life of Jesus Christ by Abbot Riccioti
  • INRI by Fr. Miguel Angel Fuentes, IVE—Spanish only
• Classic Works of Spirituality:
  • Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis;
  • Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales;
  • Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ by St. Alphonsus Ligouri;
  • Ascent of Mount Carmel and Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross;
  • Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean-Pierre Caussade
• Lives of the Saints:
  • The Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux;
  • Confessions by St. Augustine;
  • Saint Francis and Saint Thomas Aquinas by G.K. Chesterton;
  • The Curé d’Ars: St. Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney by Abbé François Trochou
  • The Family that Overtook Christ by Raymond (Biographical novel of the life of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and his family)
  • Forget not Love: The Passion of Maximilian Kolbe by André Frossard
• Discerning and Living out Your Vocation in Holiness
  • Questions on Vocations by Dennis Joseph Downing
  • Give me Your Heart: IVE Directory of Vocations
  • La Castidad ¿Posible? by Fr. Miguel Angel Fuentes—Spanish only
  • He made Them Male and Female by Fr. Miguel Angel Fuentes —English
  • Los Hizo Varon y Mujer by Fr. Miguel Angel Fuentes —Spanish
  • Modernos ataques contra la familia: El noviazgo catolico by Fr. Carlos Miguel Buela—Spanish only
  • Matrimonio Cristiano: Natalidad y Anticoncepcion by Fr. Miguel Angel Fuentes—Spanish only
  • Children and Parents by Fulton Sheen