It took me quite a while to let go of the conviction that Easter, not Christmas, was the preeminent event of our Christian faith. For a long time, I clung stubbornly to my fond childhood memories of Christmas: family gatherings, gifts, decorations, special foods and that pervasive atmosphere of good will, joy and peace. I almost forgot: and no school! Christmas, I thought, must be first!

Holy Thursday is next week. Lent ends with the celebration of the Holy Thursday Evening Mass. The Triduum, the Great Three Days, begins, that bridge connecting Lent with the Easter Season. We will hear the Lord’s Passion proclaimed next week, from Luke on “Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion” and from John on Good Friday.

St. Francis de Sales loved what he called the little virtues, and humility and gentleness were his two favorite. Francis says that humility is a vertical virtue because it defines our relationship with God. God is creator and we are creatures. God is God and we are beloved sons and daughters. For those who long for control in life, this can be a hard lesson to learn.

If you ask people the question, “What is the worst thing that can happen to the human heart?”, many folks will almost instinctively respond by answering, “When it breaks.”

However painful a broken heart may be, a heart capable of being broken is nonetheless a heart that is alive, capable of feeling any number of emotions. In the event, there is something much, much worse than a broken heart — that is, a hardened heart.

We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee,
Because by Thy Holy Cross, Thou hast redeemed the world.
(Bl. Louis Brisson, OSFS, Cor Ad Cor, March 5-18)

Throughout the season of Lent, this refrain is spoken in churches around the world, from the humblest to the most grandiose, as the faithful gather to celebrate the devotion of the Way of the Cross.

Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her. He said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

-John 19:26-27

During the forty days of Lent we journey with Jesus as he makes his way to Jerusalem and his saving death on the Cross for each of us. During this holy season, let us heed the advice of St. Francis de Sales never to see this as just another Lent. If we do approach this Lent as just another Lent, we run the risk of not approaching it with the spiritual energy, seriousness and attention that it deserves.

I was recently hospitalized for an abdominal issue. Thanks be to God, I am on the mend. My experience led me to reflect on St. Francis de Sales’ words: “Do not look forward to what might happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day.” My translation is: “Live each “now” to the best of your ability and trust in God.”

Today is a true February day: sunny but cloudy, cool but blustery, bright but the darkness still comes early each evening. I love the winter but not the stronger winds or the shorter days. The gales and darkness can seem to win. Nature is a very good teacher for us. How often in life do the dark moments seem to overwhelm the light or the blowing winds outrun our desire for peace and calm?

In the closing pages of his book entitled American Church, author Russell Shaw describes “New Evangelization”:

“The key to new evangelization as a high priority of a new American Catholic subculture isn’t institutions and programs. Where to begin? It must start with the idea of vocation: with preaching and teaching and writing and broadcasting in every available forum the message that God intends each of us to play a unique, unrepeatable role in his providential, redemptive plan. Every life is a vocation. Today, it is not merely desirable but imperative that we acknowledge the reality of unique, personal vocation as preached and taught by such figures as Saint Francis de Sales…”