If I had to point to one thing that stunted my motivation to evangelize, to go beyond highlighting cultural contributions of blacks to Catholicism to confidently asking others to become Catholic too, I’d have to admit it was racism.

When I think of growing up in St. Pius X parish in Rodgers Forge, I think of Msgr. Baumgartner.

We really love Ash Wednesday, don’t we? I love how it’s not even a holy day of obligation, and yet churches fill with people who want to receive ashes. There’s something about that mark of humility and repentance that feels so right.

Gym Meet traditions include Mary Bartel, chairwoman of the Physical Education/Health Department, serving as faculty moderator for nearly 30 years.

We fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and abstain from meat on the other Fridays of the season, but it’s not much of a sacrifice to splurge on lobster instead of beef as a Lenten meal.

The Church ought to sing the transcendence of God to Frank Gehry as it once sang it to Giotto, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Dante, Gaudí, and the architect of Chartres Cathedral. 

May this long Lent lead to an Easter of renewed hope and joy for ourselves, for the church, and for those who have been harmed.

To be human is to be worthy of God. God affirms the value of human life, by becoming human himself. But life is not easy.

Lent isn’t a test we will pass or fail. It’s an opportunity. It’s an invitation.

Every Lent we fill a basket with slips of paper with the names of people we know—living and deceased. We pull one out every morning and pray for that person that day. It’s a simple concept, but it works well for our family.