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Reflection for the First Sunday of Lent, Year B

By Msgr. Bernard Bourgeois Genesis 9:8-15; Psalm 25; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15 " The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days. " (Mk 1:12) In the midst of winter, February ushers in the great Paschal Season. “Paschal” comes from the ancient Aramaic pasha, meaning passover. Jesus Christ is the new and final lamb of sacrifice of the passover. The Paschal Season celebrates this mystery of faith. The most important liturgical season of the year, it includes Lent, the Sacred Triduum, and Easter Sunday, “The Great Fifty Days” of the Easter Season, and will solemnly conclude with Pentecost. For a little over three months, the Church intensely prepares for Easter (Lent), celebrates it (Sacred Triduum), and rejoices over it (Easter Season). It is the holiest time of the year! On Ash Wednesday, the very beginning of the Paschal Season and Lent, the Christian hits bottom. The actions and words are cold. Ashes are spread

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer throughout the month of March: Formation in Spiritual Discernment That the Church may appreciate the urgency of formation in spiritual discernment, both on the personal and communitarian levels. Specific Intention - To be Announced Pope Francis has decided to keep one monthly prayer intention. He is no longer proposing an urgent prayer intention. Each Sunday on which he delivers an Angelus address, he will request prayers for people and situations that are of concern to the universal Church. The specific intention will focus prayer and action from the faithful on a current event.

Pope Francis alluded to the forthcoming canonization of Pope Paul VI during a meeting with Rome’s parish priests at the Lateran Basilica this month, stating: "Paul VI will be a saint this year." On February 6th, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints approved the second miracle needed for Blessed Paul VI to be named a saint. It is believed that said canonization could take place in October. Pope Paul VI was born Giovanni Battista Montini in the village of Concesio, Italy, on September 26, 1897. He is remembered for seeing the Second Vatican Council to its conclusion and working to enact its provisions. In 1968 he authored the encyclical Humanae Vitae , which affirmed the Church’s teaching that artificial birth control is gravely immoral and contrary to marriage as conceived by God. Marriage properly understood, is the conjugal union of a man and woman for life, of exclusive and mutual fidelity, for the procreation and education of children. The dual purpose of sexua

On February 20th, dioceses in Portugal (together with others around the world) observe the feast of Sts. Francisco and Jacinta Marto. They are the youngest saints not to die as martyrs recognized by the Catholic Church. Francisco and Jacinta’s courageous witness to the faith teach us that even young children can become saints. The brother and sister who tended to their families’ sheep with their cousin Lucia Santo, witnessed the apparitions of Mary, Our Lady of Fatima. The Blessed Virgin Mary’s six appearances between May 13th and October 13th, 1917, at Cova da Iria, near Fatima, Portugal, to three poor shepherd children, was a defining moment in salvation history, presaging several significant events in the 20th century and beyond. Our Lady's urgent message speaks to us today. Mary told the children that she was sent from heaven by God with an urgent message for humanity. At that time, World War I was raging, and Europe was being torn apart by violence and bloodshed. Our La

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer throughout the month of February: Universal: Say "No" to Corruption That those who have material, political or spiritual power may resist any lure of corruption. Specific Intention - To be Announced Pope Francis has decided to keep one monthly prayer intention. He is no longer proposing an urgent prayer intention. Each Sunday on which he delivers an Angelus address, he will request prayers for people and situations that are of concern to the universal Church. The specific intention will focus prayer and action from the faithful on a current event.

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer throughout the month of January: Evangelization: Religious Minorities in Asia That Christians, and other religious minorities in Asian countries, may be able to practice their faith in full freedom. Specific Intention - To be Announced Pope Francis has decided to keep one monthly prayer intention. He is no longer proposing an urgent prayer intention. Each Sunday on which he gives an Angelus address, he will request prayers for specific people and situations that are of deep concern to him and to the universal Church.

In late 2014, an online book began circulating in jihadist circles entitled, Black Flags from Rome . It discusses the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in Europe with the expressed goal of sacking Rome and destroying the Vatican. Stressing Muslim grievances against the West, including the Crusades, Black Flags from Rome states: "the Islamic State’s secret weapon = secret white converts," and "recruits" sympathetic to their cause "will give intelligence, share weapons and do undercover work for the Muslims to pave the way for the conquest of Rome." Islamic militants frequently threaten the Pope and symbols of Catholicism . A pro-ISIS media group, the Wafa' Media Foundation, recently told its followers: "The Crusaders' feast is approaching... show them the meaning of terrorism." The message includes a chilling image of smoke rising from Rome with a fighter jet overhead and a jihadist standing next to the sort of makeshift armore

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer throughout the month of December: The Elderly That the elderly, sustained by families and Christian communities, may apply their wisdom and experience to spreading the faith and forming the new generations. Specific Intention - To be Announced Pope Francis has decided to keep one monthly prayer intention. He is no longer proposing an urgent prayer intention. Each Sunday on which he gives an Angelus address, he will request prayers for specific people and situations that are of deep concern to him and to the universal Church.

The Lepanto Foundation, an international foundation based in Rome that aims to defend the principles and institutions of Christian civilization, is reporting that Pope Francis has authorized a commission to 'reinterpret' Humanae Vitae 'in the light of Amoris laetitia .' Should it lead to the sanctioning of artificial contraception by the Church it would constitute heresy – a fact the report itself acknowledges: "On the subject of contraception, Paul VI expressed himself in Humanae Vitae , in a manner which theologians judge as infallible and thus unmodifiable, not because the document in itself had the requisites of infallibility, but because it reaffirms a doctrine always proposed by the perennial Magisterium of the Church. The Jesuit theologians, Marcelino Zalba, John Ford and Gerald Kelly, the philosophers Arnaldo Xavier da Silveira and Germain Grisez, and many other authors explain how the doctrine of Humanae Vitae needs to be considered infallible, not

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer throughout the month of November: Christians in Asia That Christians in Asia, bearing witness to the Gospel in word and deed, may promote dialogue, peace, and mutual understanding, especially with those of other religions. Specific Intention - To be Announced Pope Francis has decided to keep one monthly prayer intention. He is no longer proposing an urgent prayer intention. Each Sunday on which he gives an Angelus address, he will request prayers for specific people and situations that are of deep concern to him and to the universal Church.

(In 2017, this feast is superseded by the Sunday liturgy.) Karol Jozef Wojtyla was born in 1920 in Wadowice, Poland. After his ordination to the priesthood and theological studies in Rome, he returned to his homeland and resumed various pastoral and academic tasks. He became first auxiliary bishop and, in 1964, Archbishop of Krakow and took part in the Second Vatican Council. On October 16, 1978 he was elected pope and took the name John Paul II. His exceptional apostolic zeal, particularly for families, young people and the sick, led him to undertake numerous pastoral visits throughout the world as Pontiff. Among the many fruits which he has left as a heritage to the Church are above all his rich Magisterium and the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church as well as the Code of Canon Law for the Latin Church and for the Eastern Churches. In Rome on April 2, 2005, the eve of the Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy), he died peacefully in the Lord who opened the

Since 1926, the third Sunday of October has been set aside for the Catholic Church the world over to renew its commitment to the task of evangelizing all nations, as called to by Christ. World Mission Sunday, the annual worldwide Eucharistic celebration for the Missions and missionaries of the world, will be on October 22th. The collection on the next-to-last Sunday in October is a unique, global effort for the entire Church to provide for the building up of over one thousand local churches in Asia and Africa, the Pacific Islands, and parts of Latin America, Europe [and the United States]. Through the work of these churches, and their witness to Christ, the poor receive practical help and experience God’s love, mercy, hope and peace. This year, Pope Francis reminds us that mission is at the heart of our Faith. St. Therese of Lisieux. Patroness of Missionaries, pray for us.

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer throughout the month of October: Workers and the Unemployed That all workers may receive respect and protection of their rights, and that the unemployed may receive the opportunity to contribute to the common good. Specific Intention - To be Announced Pope Francis has decided to keep one monthly prayer intention. He is no longer proposing an urgent prayer intention. Each Sunday on which he gives an Angelus address, he will request prayers for specific people and situations that are of deep concern to him and to the universal Church.

Pope Saint Pius X’s papacy was both courageous and immensely consequential. The Modernist crisis in biblical exegesis occurred during his reign. Using new methods of historical and literary criticism scholars challenged the meaning of Scripture. Such methodology led to erroneous conclusions that called into question many Church dogmas. St. Pius X published the encyclical, Pascendi dominici gregis , denouncing the Modernist heresy. He also instituted the Oath Against Modernism to be sworn to by all clergy, pastors, confessors, preachers, religious superiors, and professors in philosophical-theological seminaries. The oath addressed five solemn tenets central to the Catholic Faith . It reads in part: "I believe with equally firm faith that the Church, the guardian and teacher of the revealed word, was personally instituted by the real and historical Christ when he lived among us, and that the Church was built upon Peter, the prince of the apostolic hierarchy, and his successors

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer throughout the month of September: Parishes That our parishes, animated by a missionary spirit, may be places where faith is communicated and charity is seen. Specific Intention - To be Announced Pope Francis has decided to keep one monthly prayer intention. He is no longer proposing an urgent prayer intention. Each Sunday on which he gives an Angelus address, he will request prayers for specific people and situations that are of deep concern to him and to the universal Church.

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer throughout the month of August: Artists That artists of our time, through their ingenuity, may help everyone discover the beauty of creation. Specific Intention - To be Announced Pope Francis has decided to keep one monthly prayer intention. He is no longer proposing an urgent prayer intention. Each Sunday on which he gives an Angelus address, he asks for prayers for specific people and situations that are of deep concern to him.

In a letter read at the funeral of Cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop emeritus of Cologne, Germany and one of four cardinals who wrote the dubia to Pope Francis last year . Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI praised his late friend as a "passionate shepherd and pastor", who died at peace with God and his will for the Church. According to CNA/EWTN News : "Benedict, who had known Meisner personally, noted that the late prelate... had found it difficult to leave his post in Cologne upon retirement, especially at a time when the Church needs persuasive priests 'who resist the dictatorship of the Zeitgeist and who live and think the faith with complete determination.'" The Pope Emeritus continued "However, what moved me all the more was that, in this last period of his life, he learned to let go and to live out of a deep conviction that the Lord does not abandon His Church, even if the boat has taken on so much water as to be on the verge of capsizing

LifeSite reports on an opinion piece by a former Vatican official discussing Pope Francis’ refusal to answer the dubia issued by four of his cardinals concerning the doctrinal implications and proper interpretation of Amoris Laetitia , the post-synod apostolic exhortation on the family. The confusion that emerged in the wake of Amoris ’ release has resulted in myriad conclusions and widespread uncertainty . The LifeSite article begins: "Why doesn’t the Pope respond to the Dubia? The former director of the Vatican Bank thinks he knows why. Ettore Gotti Tedeschi suggests that Francis is sending two messages through his silence: that he can contradict himself if he likes and that he wishes to impose a 'New Catholic Morality' on the Church. This new morality would be based not on doctrine but on the subjective opinions of the individual conscience... Ultimately, Francis’ silence — which allows doubts to continue to flourish — is a denial of objective truth." Mr.Te

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer throughout the month of July: Lapsed Christians That our brothers and sisters who have strayed from the faith, through our prayer and witness to the Gospel, may rediscover the merciful closeness of the Lord and the beauty of the Christian life. Urgent Intention - To be Announced Pope Francis has decided to keep one monthly prayer intention. He is no longer proposing an urgent prayer intention. However, on every Sunday on which he gives an Angelus Address, he asks for prayers for specific people and situations that are of deep concern to him.