Festina Lente[1] When I was in college, I read an insightful article by the Japanese Catholic author Shusaku Endo.[2] He told the story of an ancient Buddhist temple atop a high mountain in Japan. The temple was so high and remote that it took pious pilgrims hours and even days
Read moreLent: Living in the Fast Lane
“But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then they will fast” –Matthew 9:15– Lent, as we all know, is a time of special fasting and abstinence. There are, of course, a number of physical benefits of fasting and abstinence. We might
Read moreIt’s Lent. Don’t Give Up!
Another Lent is already upon us. It hardly seems possible. When we think of Lent, we usually think of “giving up” something. We ask each other, “What are you going to give up for Lent this year?” Yet I believe this approach somehow misses the mark. Lent is not a
Read moreFraudulent Forks and Pretending People
Nor do I judge according to the look of man: for man seeth those things that appear; but the Lord beholdeth the heart. –1 Samuel 16:7– Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you are like whited sepulchers, which outwardly appear to men beautiful, but within are full of
Read moreGo, and Sin No More
A Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year C Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin any more.” –John 8:11– I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me. –Philippians 4:13– The one who sat on the
Read moreTemptation: It’s Not All Bad
A Homily for the First Sunday of Lent Temptations are often very profitable to us, even though they can be troubling and painful; for in them we are humbled, purified, and instructed. –Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Book I, Chapter 13, § 2– I am old enough
Read moreSacred to the Lord
A Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent, Year B Remember the Sabbath day—keep it holy. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the LORD your God. You shall not do any work, either you, your son or your daughter, your
Read moreStay Aboard
A Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent, Year B Window in the Eucharistic Chapel in the Church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, Paris God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water. This prefigured baptism,
Read moreExtreme Makeover: Heart Edition
Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. –1 Peter 3:15– Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? –Luke 14:28– Decades ago, I picked up a little pamphlet, published by InterVarsity
Read moreThree Signs of Sanity
A Meditation for Independence Day 2020 To watch Fr. Ezaki’s Video of this Homily click here At that time Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them
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