The original meaning of Lent in the early Church and how Jesus' dialogue with the Samaritan woman at the well can help us add another dimension to our understanding and experience of the Lenten Season. In the early days of the Church, Lent was...
The parable of the merciless servant illustrates the meaning of "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," a petition included in the Lord's Prayer. Anger can be righteous, but when we let it harden into resentment it becomes...
Lenten fasting works best when accompanied by almsgiving and works of mercy, says Leo the Great, writing around AD 450. This powerful combination brings healing, spiritual renewal, and progress in virtue....
The adulterous woman to whom Jesus said "neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more" was the recipient of the free gift of a grace that was costly, not cheap. The pardon of the adulteress, and all of us, cost Jesus his...
The key penitential practices of Lent-prayer, fasting, and almsgiving or mercy are here explained by one of the greatest preachers of the early Church. Saint Peter Chrysologus shows how Lenten prayer, mercy and fasting are one, and they give life to each other....
Basil the Great here urges generosity in almsgiving. Basil views works of mercy as sowing seeds of charity that bears the fruit of eternal happiness....
The seven corporal & seven spiritual works of mercy, where they come from in Old and New Testaments, and why they must always be kept together following the example of Jesus in the gospels....
Mercy goes beyond justice & who is responsible. Mercy is love’s response to suffering. How the Eucharist, charity, and the works of mercy are related, and practical principles on building a lifestyle of mercy in the Year of Mercy...
The traditional works of mercy show that while charity must begin at home, it cannot end there for Christians who wish to be faithful to the Scriptures. Our hearts and our works of mercy, must have a universal or "catholic" reach....
The mystery of mercy revealed in the sufferings of Christ and our obligation to make that extraordinary mercy known to everyone. Our response must be not only prayer, but evangelization. The connection between the Eucharist in which which receive the blood of Christ...