Oblate Program at Belmont Abbey, NC

Tag: Lent

The Value of Adversity

It is good for us to have trials and troubles at times, for they often remind us that we are on probation and ought not to hope in any worldly thing. It is good for us sometimes to suffer contradiction, to be misjudged by men even though we do well and mean well. These things… Read More ›

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What to Give Up for Lent 2018? Consider Twitter’s Top 100 Ideas

Christianity Today: Once again, you can follow in real time what Twitter users say they are giving up for Lent, which this year begins Wednesday, February 14. Last year, food items were three times as popular to abstain from as technology items or personal habits, according to 73,334 tweets analyzed by OpenBible.info’s Stephen Smith during… Read More ›

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Here’s why Catholics don’t eat meat on Fridays during Lent

And why fish is on the menu instead You know you are in a Catholic town when, only during Lent, every single restaurant advertises one item on their menu: fish! I have even noticed how major fast-food chains point out on their fliers the date of Ash Wednesday! Suddenly everyone cares about the liturgical seasons of the Church!… Read More ›

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6 Good Reasons to Abstain from Meat on Fridays, Even Beyond Lent

Go on, be a “fish eater” on Fridays; it will help your whole week A Protestant friend who lived in Philadelphia once said, “You know why those Catholics eat fish on Friday? They’re all Italians, and the Italians have the fish market downtown. So they got the Italian pope to make that rule so they… Read More ›

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The 2 things you should do before Lent is over

Fr. James Martin, SJ, is best known as a Jesuit priest, as editor at large of America, and as the author of several books including the New York Times bestselling Jesus: A Pilgrimage and Seven Last Words: An Invitation to a Deeper Friendship with Jesus. And yet, when it comes to Lenten practices, it appears Fr…. Read More ›

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A simple daily reflection to put the brakes on our rush-hour lives

Fr. Albert Haase offers a 5-step Examen that anyone can do. Aleteia (March 22, 2017): Over a decade ago, Fr. Albert Haase, OM, a spiritual director, author of nine books on spiritual formation (Franciscan Media, InterVarsity Press, Paraclete Press) and the presenter on four bestselling DVDs (Paraclete Press), began practicing St. Ignatius of Loyola’s daily Examen,… Read More ›

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Pope Francis: ‘consult the Bible as often as your cellphone’

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday called on Christians to consult the Bible with the same frequency as they might consult their cellphones for messages. Speaking to the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square following his weekly Angelus blessing, the Pope urged those present to give the Bible the same place in daily life as… Read More ›

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5 Ways the Devil Attacks During Lent

Feeling more temptation than usual? ‘Tis the season, and here’s how to recognize and respond to it: The Lord said to satan, “Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on him.” – Job 1:12 I don’t know about you but ever since I returned to the… Read More ›

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When our true journey truly commences

“The Father who waits for us in order to cast off our garments of exhaustion, of apathy, of mistrust, so He can clothe us “with the dignity which only a true father or mother knows how to give their children, with the garments born of tenderness and love.”—Pope Francis Lent is a time of reflection,… Read More ›

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On the Origin of Lent

Howbeit you should know that as long as the primitive church retained its perfection unbroken, this observance of Lent did not exist. For they were not bound by the requirements of this order, or by any legal enactments, nor confined in the very narrow limits of the fast, as the fast embraced equally the whole… Read More ›

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