|
|
|
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
410.547.8496
www.nbccongress.org
| |
AI Generated Art © 2025 NBCC
| |
Celebrating the 40 Days of Lent | How will you experience Lent and prepare for the celebration of Easter? Here are some resources that will help you on your journey. |
|
Calendar created in Canva © 2025 NBCC
| |
|
Create opportunities for Spiritual Growth through this Lenten Calendar and scriptural reflections
The Lenten season is a time of reflection, repentance, and spiritual renewal. This Lenten calendar is filled with opportunities for spiritual growth that help enhance our journey during this sacred period. This calendar serves as a guide, encouraging daily reflections and actions that deepen our connection to God and our understanding of scripture.
| |
|
The Seven Penitential Psalms
In moments when we seek to convey our remorse, particularly during the Lenten season, it is a tradition to pray the seven penitential psalms. The practice of identifying these psalms as penitential traces back to the seventh century. Reciting these psalms with intention allows us to acknowledge our transgressions, express our sorrow, and seek God’s mercy and forgiveness.
Click on each Psalm below to read the verse.
| |
AI Generated Art © 2025 NBCC
| |
Adobe Stock Photo lic. to NBCC Feb. 2025 | |
Lenten Fasting: A Guide for Catholics
Ash Wednesday falls on March 5, 2025. Here are the key guidelines for Roman Catholics regarding this day and the entire Lenten season.
Ash Wednesday is one of two mandatory days for fasting and abstinence within the Catholic Church each year, with the other being Good Friday. As outlined by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, fasting is required for those aged 18 to 59. Additionally, Catholics are expected to refrain from eating meat on all Fridays during Lent.
Fasting allows for one full meal during the day, and two smaller meals can be consumed, provided their combined quantity does not equal the full meal. The meat abstinence rule applies to all Catholics aged 14 and older.
“Those that are excused from fast and abstinence outside the age limits include the physically or mentally ill including individuals suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes. Also excluded are pregnant or nursing women. In all cases, common sense should prevail, and ill persons should not further jeopardize their health by fasting (the USCCB Questions and Answers about Lent)."
| |
Why does God allow us to suffer? | |
Adobe Stock Photo lic. to NBCC Feb. 2025 | |
Suffering 101
Podcast Host: Cy Kellett; Guest: Mark Giszczak | Aired: 4/17/2024
From: Catholic Answers
The fact of suffering poses real intellectual challenges to the Christian message. So how do we share the gospel of a loving God, when suffering seems to reflect so poorly on him? Mark Giszcack, author of Suffering: What Every Catholic Should Know, joins us.
| | |
The Importance of Forgiveness... | |
Does Forgiveness Mean the Other Person Gets Away With It? A Catholic Perspective on Forgiveness | | |
|
|
"Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they do”.
(Luke 23:34)
| |
AI Generated Art © 2025 NBCC
| |
|
By Ruth Kennedy | Catholic Voices, Apologetics Blog
I was once asked, by a friend who was not religious, why the Church required us to ‘forgive everyone’. How was it fair that you could just say sorry, and it would all be forgotten and wiped away?
I agreed with the sentiment behind his questions. I knew that he had suffered a lot and had people in his life that would be hard to forgive, for valid reasons. I also understood that this conception of the Church was a misconception, but a very difficult one to overcome. He saw this concept of forgiveness as a grave lack of justice.
| |
Why do we ‘dare’ to say the Lord’s Prayer?
by Father Richard Kunst | Diocese of Duluth
...[T]he third reason we “dare” to say the Lord’s Prayer is when we pray “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Though God’s love is inescapable and without condition, his mercy and forgiveness certainly have conditions. The most difficult condition for us to receive his forgiveness is that we must forgive others who have sinned against us. In essence when we speak these words towards the end of the prayer we are asking God to forgive us only to the degree that we first are willing to forgive.
That is actually a pretty clear theme throughout the New Testament, but for Jesus to put it into the one prayer he taught his disciples turns it up a notch. Think of all the times we have been hurt by people, especially if the hurt was bad. Have we held a grudge? What if the person does not ask to be forgiven? What if we think they don’t deserve our forgiveness? It doesn’t matter. God bestows mercy and forgiveness in reckless abandon, and so should we: seven times seventy, Jesus once told Peter, meaning without limit. This is, in fact, extremely difficult, but it is necessary (Excerpt from reflection by Fr. Richard Kunst, Diocese of Duluth News).
Read entire reflection by clicking here.
| | | |
Shining Christ’s Light: The Paschal Candle
From The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC
What does the Paschal Candle represent? In what way is the Candle an important part of the liturgy of the Easter Vigil?
“Therefore, dearest friends, standing in the awesome glory of this holy light, invoke with me, I ask you, the mercy of God almighty, that he, who has been pleased to number me, though unworthy, among the Levites, may pour into me his light unshadowed, that I may sing this candle’s perfect praises.” With these opening words of the Exsultet, which is sung at the beginning of the Easter Vigil Mass, we listen to the Deacon proclaim Christ’s resurrection. It is through the light of the Paschal Candle that we are drawn deeper into the meaning and mystery of the Church’s greatest Feast: Easter.
Read more...
| |
|
What Are The 7 Steps In Going To Confession (Reconciliation)? | | |
|
The Power of Eucharistic Adoration
By Susan Tassone | Catholic Digest
Like many Catholics around the world, I experience the power of Eucharistic Adoration. When I wrote one of my books about St. Faustina, I went to Adoration frequently. Actually, back then, the Adoration chapel was right down the hall from my office. (I had the privilege of working for the late Cardinal Francis George in Chicago.) I was able to stop by any time of the day to pray silently before the Blessed Sacrament.
After work hours I spent time in the Presence. I often said to myself: “I am tired. I could be home.” But there was never a time that I did stay and not feel refreshed after my visit. It was so palpable; it truly amazed me. Soon I was back in the chapel seeking God’s direction for my writings. Again, without fail, I was flooded with ideas. I felt directed. I knew what needed to be done.
Read more...
| | |
His Excellency, The Most Reverend
Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D., S.T.D.
Diocese of Belleville
“The Resurrection of the Dead: The Challenge of St. Paul”
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
When American Airlines flight 5342 collided in midair with a military Black Hawk helicopter and plunged into the icy waters of the Potomac River on January 29, 2025, bringing to a sudden end the lives of all 67 people on board, most people were stunned by a deadly, rare major airline crash in the United States. Responding to the disaster that befell such remarkable people, who had no idea that they had “an appointment in Samarra,” some said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with their grieving families,” or “May their memories be a blessing!” Some friends of those who perished lamented, “They are in a better place,” or “She is united with her husband,” or “They are at peace.”
Read more...
| |
Photo from the Diocese of Belleville | |
The Stations of the Cross
With Reflections
The First Station: Jesus is condemned to death
We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Mark 15:12-14: [Pilate brought Jesus outside and said to the people], “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” “Crucify him!” they shouted. “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
Reflection: Jesus stands before Pilate, accused of crimes he hasn’t committed, and He Who is Without Sin mutely accepts the blame for the sin of all. Trust allows for this, Jesus’ full trust in God’s plan—the promise of resurrection and salvation. This was the light that led him through the darkness.
Prayer: Jesus, we avoid adversity. We fear humiliation and run from suffering. But you chose to take up the cross, a symbol of humiliation and suffering, and did so with steadfast acceptance. Teach us, we pray, to carry our burdens with the same grace, remembering that you will never leave or forsake us.
Download PDF Document
| |
AI Generated Art © 2025 NBCC
Reflections written by ACE Advocates for Catholic Schools. Edited and compiled by Ann Berends. Photos of Stations 1-14 from University of Notre Dame’s outdoor Stations (Ann Berends). Station 15 photo: Bob Whitehead wood carving (www.whiteheadcarvings.com). Used with permission of ACE Advocates for Catholic Schools.
| |
|
What is the source of Wisdom?
Fr. Cedric Pisegna presents the homily for EWTN's Catholic Daily Mass on February 26, 2025
| |
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
(Prayer for Peace)
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
| |
Photo by Qasim Mirzaie, via Pexels, free to use. Duotone applied in Canva. | | | |
A Catholic's Guide to Fat Tuesday
From Dynamic Catholic
What’s your favorite celebration of the year?
As Catholics, the one thing we do more than anything else is celebrate. We celebrate life, death, new life, and eternal life. We celebrate education, innovation, discovery, love, truth, beauty, goodness, forgiveness, reconciliation, unity, family, and new life. We are a people of celebration.
Fat Tuesday is one of the most loved celebrations of the year—for Catholics and non-Catholics alike! It’s the last day before Lent begins…and the last chance to feast and celebrate before the 40-day season of fasting and reflection. Fat Tuesday, also known as Shrove Tuesday, Shrovetide, or Mardi Gras, is a joyful conclusion to Ordinary Time and a joyful preparation for one of the most important Catholic seasons: Lent.
Read more...
| |
Praying with the Psalms
3-Minute Devotions for Lent and Holy Week 2025
by Shannon Wimp Schmidt
In Praying with the Psalms, Catholic writer and podcaster Shannon Wimp Schmidt will lead you in contemplative devotions based on verses from the season's responsorial psalms. These daily prayers will keep you rooted in quiet reflection and the powerful words of the psalms. This Lent, embark on a transformative journey that will invigorate your soul and draw you closer to God.
| |
|
|
|
|
Join a Lenten devotion in which you can participate.
Group Prayer and Reflection on
The Spiritual Work of Racial Justice
by Patrick Saint-Jean, S.J.
A Month of Medications following the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises.
| | | | |
|
|
A Gift of Joy and Hope--Pope Francis
In this encouraging book, Pope Francis explores the meaning of true joy and offers an inspiring message: even in dark times, the light of hope can shine bright.
The past few years have been extremely challenging, but even in dark times, the light of joy can shine bright.
| | |
|
|
|
Navigating the Interior Life
Spiritual Direction and the Journey to God
This timely resource from SpiritualDirection.com serves as an excellent companion during Lent. In clear and straightforward prose, author Dan Burke provides a valuable roadmap for spiritual growth, complete with signposts to help you stay on track. He navigates the challenging terrain that can jeopardize your spiritual well-being and shows you how to discern God's will each day, guiding you to follow it in a meaningful way.
| A separate Study Guide is also available from SpiritualDirection.com (click here to see more about the study guide) |
| | | | | |
