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Phone: 410.547.8496 / Email: nbcc@nbccongress.org
Web: www.nbccongress.org
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By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread,
Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken;
For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
– Genesis 3:19 NABRE
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FEAST OF THE HOLY FACE OF JESUS
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
THE GOLDEN ARROW PRAYER
May the Most Holy, most sacred, most adorable, most incomprehensible and unutterable name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified, in Heaven, on Earth and under the Earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Amen.
| | AI generated image by the NBCC, created with Adobe Firefly. | | |
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What is Ash Wednesday
by The Catholic Classroom
Why do millions of Catholics flock to church on a random Wednesday to have dirt rubbed on their foreheads? It’s not a Holy Day of Obligation, yet the pews are packed.
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Click the play button to learn more. | | | | |
Image created by NBCC using CANVA | | |
Lenten Resolutions Made Simple: 4 Powerful Ways to Grow in Holiness
This Lent
Want to stay truly consistent and pursue holiness this Lent? Here are four great ways to do it!
By Courtney Roach for ChurchPop
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Although Christmas feels like it happened only weeks ago, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, which this year falls on February 18, and we are sticking to our Lenten resolutions for all 40 days.
I have been Catholic for 10 years now, and I will always compare each Lenten season to my very first Lent in 2015. I was so on fire, so enthralled with every aspect of the Church, and so eager to soak up every bit of Her truth and traditions.
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Journey to the Foot of the Cross - 10 Things to Remember For Lent
From the USCCB
Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin, former chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, offers “10 Things to Remember for Lent”:
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Remember the formula. The Church does a good job capturing certain truths with easy-to-remember lists and formulas: 10 Commandments, 7 sacraments, 3 persons in the Trinity. For Lent, the Church gives us almost a slogan—Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving—as the three things we need to work on during the season.
| | Adobe Stock Image licensed by the NBCC | |
ASK FR. JOSH
Fasting for Beginners, Spiritual Dryness, and the Engagement Season
Fr. Josh answers questions about the importance of fasting and how to start fasting for beginners, how to navigate spiritual dryness, and how to prepare for the vocation of marriage as an engaged couple.
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The Hidden Effects
of Sin
By Matthew McKenna for The Catholic Exchange
Why shouldn’t we sin? What are the consequences of sin? Chiefly, the main effect of sin is separation from God, the rupture of our relationship with Him. God loves us and created us for intimate union with Him. He gave us a way of life that strengthens our relationship with Him and finally leads to eternal happiness – morality. Sin, by its nature, is any act contrary to our nature and which thus leads us away from God. Sins are acts which, by their nature, make us incompatible for relationship with God.
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Modified Adobe Stock Image licensed by the NBCC. | | When you choose the behavior, you choose the consequences. | | AI image created by NBCC using Adobe Firefly | | |
How to Go to Confession:
A Step-by-Step Guide for Everyone
Ascension Team
The Sacraments of the Catholic Church are sacred channels of grace instituted by Christ to deepen our relationship with God and sanctify our souls. Among them, the Sacrament of Reconciliation shines as a profound gift of mercy, renewing our bond with the Lord and strengthening us on our path to holiness.
Regular Confession not only restores us to a state of grace but also serves as a compass for our spiritual journey, drawing us closer to God's heart.
| | Download this guide published by the USCCB by clicking this button: | To order, visit www.usccbpublishing.org or call 800-235-8722. This publication is also available in Spanish. | | | | | |
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FROM THE NATIONAL COMMUNITY OF CATECHETICAL LEADERS (NCCL) WEBSITE
Lent Family Activities
The pdf contains a wealth of activities families can enjoy together as they delve more deeply into the meaning of Lent:
- Ash Wednesday Blessing a Home Cross
- Ash Wednesday Family Activity
- Baking for Lent and Holy Week
- Guide to Living Lent
- Lenten Daily Prayers 1 and 2
- Lenten Family Activity
- Lenten Moments Scripture Reflections
- Prayers for Everyday of Lent
- Preparing for Lent
- Spiritual Reflections – Conversion
- Spiritual Reflections – Forgiveness
- Table Prayer for Lent
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Guided Lenten Reflection for Families
From the National Community of Catechetical Leaders (NCCL) Website
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The Season of Lent
This page on the Strong Catholic Family Faith website links you to prayers and practices for all ages, focused on Ash Wednesday, fasting, Stations of the Cross, Holy Week, holy days, and other highlights of the Lenten journey.
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CBS SPECIAL REPORT
Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. dies at age 84
From CBS News
Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson has died at age 84, his family announced. CBS News' Ed O'Keefe reports. Vladimir Duthiers anchored this CBS News special report.
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Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman’s path to canonization takes important step forward
By Terry Dickson | Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration website
Servant of God Thea Bowman’s journey to sainthood reached a major milestone recently as the diocesan phase of her canonization cause came to an end. Bishop Joseph Kopacz was principal celebrant and homilist of a Feb. 9 Mass at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Jackson, which was followed by the closing session.
| | Image: Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration fspa.org/theabowman | | |
Watch the Sister Thea Bowman Mass of Thanksgiving & Diocesan Phase Closing | Diocese of Jackson (Feb. 9, 2026) by clicking the play button below.
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Catholic priest who was abducted in Cameroon appointed auxiliary bishop
By Silas Isenjia | EWTN News
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Father John Berinyuy Tatah, who was among six Catholic priests abducted in Cameroon’s Bamenda Archdiocese on Nov. 15, 2025, and later released, as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese.
| | Bishop-elect John Berinyuy Tatah of Bamenda Archdiocese in the Cameroon (Image: Rev. FR. Jude Berinyuy, VC Catholic University Ndop) | | IN HONOR OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH: | | Dr. Louis T. Wright and colleagues at patient bedside, Harlem Hospital, New York, N.Y. From left to right: Dr. Lyndon M. Hill, Dr. Louis T. Wright, Dr. Myra Logan, Dr. Aaron Prigot, unidentified African American woman patient, and unidentified hospital employee. Photo Credit: Joe Covello (for Black Star), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. | | |
12 Black Doctors Who Made Groundbreaking Contributions To Medicine
By Ahsan Washington | Black Enterprise
Although Black doctors faced systematic exclusion from numerous American healthcare institutions, they have played a crucial role in medical breakthroughs that transformed the field. Black doctors and their medical innovations elevated surgical procedures, approaches to cancer treatment and public health policies created life-saving standards that modern medicine continues to use. The legacies of these physicians demonstrate how Black excellence born out of segregation and inequality continues to shape discussions on health equity, healthcare access, and patient trust in medical systems.
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35 Black Athletes Who Changed the World
In honor of Black History Month, these are the athletes who changed the game both on and off the playing field, from Muhammad Ali to LeBron James to the Williams sisters.
By Jose Martinez, Ralph Warner, Angel Diaz, Jack Erwin, and Thomas Golianopoulos for Complex
Though sports have been described as the great unifier, that wasn’t always the case. There once was a time when Black athletes weren’t allowed to compete against white athletes. But legends such as Jack Johnson, Jackie Robinson and Althea Gibson helped break down racial barriers, while fighting through racial slurs, violence, and death threats. In the end, they paved the way for superstars such as Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Venus and Serena Williams.
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Did You Know Baltimore Is Home To the Nation’s First Wax Museum Dedicated To Black History?
By Editor Staff for Newsbreak
The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, located in Baltimore, Maryland, is a powerful cultural institution dedicated to preserving and honoring Black history through immersive storytelling. Founded in 1983, the museum began as a small grassroots effort in a downtown storefront on Saratoga Street. Today, it spans nearly 30,000 square feet at 1601 East North Avenue, occupying a renovated firehouse, a Victorian mansion, and former apartment buildings.
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NBCC WEBINAR PRESENTATION:
Tuesday, March 10, 2026 from 7:30 to 9:00 PM EST
Click on the image below to open a larger pdf image
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NBCC WEBINAR PRESENTATION:
Wednesday, March 18 beginning at 12:00 NOON EST
Click on the image below to open a larger pdf image
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IN-PERSON EVENT:
Friday, March 27 beginning at 7:00 pm EST
Bach's St. Matthew Passion
Location: Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, 5200 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21210
Whether you are a longtime admirer of Bach or discovering his genius for the first time, this performance promises to be an unforgettable evening of music and reflection in Lent.
| | | Led by Basilica Music Director Samuel Rowe, this special co-cathedral collaboration between the Baltimore Basilica and the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen brings together exceptional musicians from the Basilica Schola Cantorum, Three Notch'd Road Baroque Ensemble, and the Catholic University's Women's Choir to perform one of the greatest masterpieces of sacred music ever written. | | |
IN-PERSON EVENT:
Saturday, March 28 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Holy Week Quiet Retreat: “A Pilgrimage to the Heart of Easter”
A Day of Reflection with the Oblate Sisters
Registration: $25.00, includes lunch and light refreshments. Location: Oblate Sisters of Providence Convent, 701 Gun Road, Baltimore, MD 21227
Click image to view larger pdf.
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COMING IN NOVEMBER 2026
Black Catholics: Footsteps to Sainthood
A new series from CatholicTV
Click the play button to view the trailer
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A Light for the Journey: Archdiocese of Baltimore's New Pastoral Council Guidelines
Rooted in Scripture, the newly released Pastoral Council Guidelines (December 2025) offer a renewed vision for synodal, discerning leadership at the parish level. Drawing from the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, the Code of Canon Law, and Archbishop William E. Lori’s pastoral letter A Light Brightly Visible 3.0, this document clarifies the mission, structure, and spiritual grounding of Pastoral Councils. Emphasizing prayerful discernment, synodal listening, and a missional focus, the guidelines call councils to move beyond administration toward collaborative pastoral visioning — supporting pastors in shepherding vibrant, evangelizing parish communities.
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RECORDED WEBINAR:
From Burnout to Balance: How Boundaries Protect Mental Health
An NBCC Webinar Presentation by Dr. A. Mechelle Haywood
| | | | Join Dr. A. Mechelle Haywood for an empowering webinar that explores how intentional boundaries can safeguard emotional well-being and restore a sense of balance in daily life. Dr. Haywood will unpack the roots of burnout, offer practical strategies for setting healthy limits, and guide participants toward creating sustainable habits that nurture peace, productivity, and personal fulfillment. | | |
During her presentation, Dr. Haywood referred to the podcast "Boundaries" as a great resource.
Click on the image to listen as Alasdair Groves talks with Laura Andrews about boundaries. What does it mean for us to consider boundaries as Christians?
| | Click the image to go to the podcast. | | |
Two Apps you may want to download this Lent!
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YouVersion Bible App
The Most Downloaded
and Used Bible App in the World
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LentPray40: The Return – Hallow’s Lent Community Prayer Challenge for 2026
Join Mark Wahlberg, Chris Pratt, and Jonathan Roumie this Lent on Hallow, the #1 prayer app.
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