Every year as the Feast of the Annunciation approaches, I think of how our Blessed Mother received the news that she would be the mother of Jesus.

For as long as I can remember, the Baltimore St. Patrick’s Day Parade has been part of my world.

This Lent, as we walk toward Easter, we have a beautiful opportunity to ask ourselves what is missing in our spiritual life and spend time just being with Jesus.

Some Sundays getting to Mass is trickier than usual, and this weekend, my husband and ended up going to separate services since we were all on different schedules. I was running behind, and I headed to a parish we only visit occasionally.

It made me feel as if God was saying, “Just keep your eyes on Jesus, and your Lent will be just fine.”

I was so proud of him. I didn’t care whether he made the team. I cared that he would feel good about how he did. I wanted him to be happy he had given it a shot.

It’s hard to believe that Lent starts in just a few days and that Ash Wednesday is this week. I’m looking forward to Lent and have no concrete plan yet—except filling our prayer basket with intentions to pick each morning.

As we look ahead to the start of Lent, I’ve been thinking that that is a question we can ask ourselves about our relationship with God. “How do we show God that we love him, and how does he show us that he loves us?”

Even people who remember not to scarf down a box of Nerds minutes before Mass still have questions left to discern and explore.

Our children love ramen, but I don’t think I’ve ever made homemade ramen before.