Let us “start strong” and “show God” to the world and those around us, and give a demonstration of the unseen by being Christlike in our lives and in our love.

As we begin our Lenten journey, we cannot know what we will experience through these 40 days. We don’t know what obstacles and opportunities life will present. But Lent can change us in positive, beautiful ways if we are open to how God is working in our lives.

Perhaps we can go beyond turning down treats and consider centering our Lenten promises on honoring God properly maintaining the earthly vessel he has provided for us to do his work.

The Archbishop Curley community honored African-American history and culture through the Franciscan perspective with a special Feb. 19 event that featured a distinguished guest speaker and a creative approach to meditative prayer.

A badly exaggerated “can-do” attitude is symptomatic of the sin of pride that played such a devastating role at the dawn of human history.

During Lent, people are spiritually hungry. We are in the desert, and it can be a lonely and dark time—this time of repentance, this season with no alleluias. By remaining active on social media—or even approaching it more intentionally—you have the opportunity to help others see and connect with Christ in a new way.

I always say, if someone doesn’t believe in God, take him or her to a sunrise, a sunset, the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, the mountains or a beach. The pure majesty of such panoramas should infuse faith.

Ash Wednesday is next week, so sometime before now and then, we will fill our Lenten prayer basket.

In these days before Lent begins, you—like me—might be trying to figure out what to give up or take on for the 40 days that lie ahead. I still haven’t decided, but these are some questions I am considering.

At the end, that is the deepest impression her letters leave: here is a woman of extraordinary courage whose configuration of her life to the Cross was a source of both personal strength and literary genius.