Prayer is so powerful. Telling someone you are praying for them—and following through—can be an extraordinary gift.

No matter how we plan, or the expectations we set for ourselves, the actual Lenten journey never seems to look the way we might have hoped it would.

“I think he realized I was troubled as a father. You have to fight for your children,” Don said. “He said, ‘I’m glad you came to me.’ What a fine example of what God calls us to do. He truly was a man of God.”

Like Veronica, who wipes Jesus’ face on the way to Calvary, and Simon of Cyrene who helps Jesus carry his cross, people we might not even know – or know well – are ready to walk beside us and lighten our load.

As we turned to leave Mass, I saw that a little boy in the back had snagged a balloon.

A few months ago, I noticed that our grocery store no longer had hand-held shopping baskets. If you wanted to shop, you had to use one of the large rolling grocery carts.

Lent is young, and we have such a beautiful opportunity to grow in love for Jesus in the days ahead. What a wonderful journey this can be.

Whatever this Lenten season brings for us, may we trust that God is longing to be closer to each of us, surrounding us with his love, and inviting us into the comfort and joy of a deeper relationship with him.

I knew he had the ring. I knew he was going to propose that night.

When I saw that Toby Keith had passed away at 62, I was stunned. Somehow it didn’t seem possible. I’m a country music fan, and his music was part of the soundtrack running in the background of my life. I remember listening to his music with my sister Treasa during the ’90s when he was […]