Lent / Easter News
Ash Wednesday: Let Us Enter Into Lent
By • Catholic Online • 2/17/2010
Catholics will participate in Ash Wednesday Service where they will be told to 'Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel' and be signed on the forehead with ashes. GLADE PARK, CO (Catholic Online) - Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season, a season that ends at ...
Saint Augustine on the Ascension
By • Catholic Online • 2/16/2010
Out of compassion for us he descended from heaven, and although he ascended alone, we also ascend, because we are in him by grace. CHESAPEAKE (Catholic Online) - The "Liturgy of the Hours" is the Prayer of the Church. Not just the prayer of clergy. It is a compilation of scripture readings and ...
Reflection: Divine Mercy , 'Doubting' Thomas and Disbelief
By • Catholic Online • 2/16/2010
I suggest that Thomas the doubter became the Thomas the model believer, an example for each one of us. CHESAPEAKE (Catholic Online) - The Second Sunday of Easter is "Divine Mercy Sunday". Our Gospel (John 20: 19-31) recounted one of the Post-Resurrection appearances of Jesus Christ to his ...
St. Faustina and Devotion to Divine Mercy
By • Catholic Online • 2/16/2010
The light of divine mercy, which the Lord in a way wished to return to the world through Sr Faustina´s charism, will illumine the way for the men and women of the third millennium. CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - Since April of 2000 the Second Sunday of Easter has been designated as ...
An Easter Sermon from St. John Chrysostom
Catholic Online • 2/16/2010
St. John Chrysostom - whose name means "golden tongue" - was a great preacher from the fourth century. His words have lived on throughout the history of the Church. WASHINGTON (Catholic Online) - As Easter Sermon from St. John Chrysostom: Is there anyone who is a devout lover of God? Let them ...
Pope: Risen Christ comes to us in the Eucharist
Zenit News Agency • 4/21/2009
It is in every Eucharistic Celebration that the Church and every one of her members experience his living presence and benefit from the full richness of his love. CASTEL GANDOLFO (Zenit) - Benedict XVI is affirming that the Risen Christ remains with us in the Eucharist, to aid and strengthen us on ...
Pope Benedict XVI: The Resurrection of the Lord is Our Hope
By • Catholic Online • 4/13/2009
From the depths of my heart, I wish all of you a blessed Easter. To quote Saint Augustine, Resurrectio Domini, spes nostra – the resurrection of the Lord is our hope. VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) - We present Pope Benedict XVI's Easter Message in its entirety. It was accompanied by his Urbi et ...
St. Maximus of Turin: Christ is Risen!
By • Catholic Online • 4/11/2009
Christ is risen! His rising brings life to the dead, forgiveness to sinners, and glory to the saints. CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - We offer this wonderful sermon of Maximus of Turin for all of our readers as we celebrate the Resurrection: CHRIST IS RISEN Christ is risen! He has burst ...
Easter Reflection: The Two at the Tomb
By • Catholic Online • 4/11/2009
What was it like that first Easter morning? For Peter and John the Beloved, this was a day of discovery and a day of delight. WASHNGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) – Sometimes one has to lay his Bible in his lap and just close his eyes to fully capture the meaning of a passage. This is especially true ...
THE EXULTET: The Easter Proclamation
Catholic Online • 4/11/2009
Father, how wonderful your care for us! How boundless your merciful love! To ransom a slave you gave away your Son. O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam, which gained for us so great a Redeemer! CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - In Churches all over the world, Deacons or Priests will sing ...
More Easter / Lent
'So it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead' - Luke 24:46
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. It is a season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which we attain redemption. continue reading
Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter, commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four canonical Gospels. (Mark 11:1.11, Matthew 21:1.11, Luke 19:28.44, and John 12:12.19) ... continue reading
On Palm Sunday, we celebrate the first joy of the season, as we celebrate Our Lord's triumphant entrance into Jerusalem where he was welcomed by crowds worshiping him and laying down palm leaves before him. It also marks the beginning of Holy Week... continue reading
HOLY THURSDAY is the most complex and profound of all religious observances. It celebrates his last supper with the disciples, a celebration of Passover ... continue reading
On Good Friday, each member of the Church tries to understand at what cost Christ has won our redemption. In the solemn ceremonies of Holy Week we unite ourselves to our Savior, and we contemplate our own death to sin in the Death of our Lord ... continue reading
Easter is the principal feast of the ecclesiastical year. Leo I (Sermo xlvii in Exodum) calls it the greatest feast (festum festorum), and says that Christmas is celebrated only in preparation for Easter. It is the centre of the greater part of the ecclesiastical year ... continue reading
Explore Easter, Lent & Pentecost Season
For most people the easiest practice to consistently fulfill will be the traditional one, to abstain from meat on all Fridays of the year. During Lent abstinence from meat on Fridays is obligatory in the United States as elsewhere. Christ Himself said that His disciples would fast once He had departed (Lk. 5:35). continue reading
Everything answered from when does lent end, ashes, giving something up, stations of the cross and blessed palms. The key to understanding the meaning of Lent is simple: Baptism... continue reading
Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours (or Passion) of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. First Station: Jesus is condemned to death... pray the stations now
What did you give up for Lent?
From the humorous to the bizarre, people have had interesting Lenten experiences. Tell us about what you are going to give up for this Lenten Year.
What others gave up »
Lent / Easter News
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The Power of the Resurrection in our Lives: Christ Is Risen; Indeed, He Is Risen!
F. K. Bartels - Catholic Online, 4/6/2013There is great cause for belief in the Resurrection. One of the most wonderful tenets of Catholicism and the true Christian religion the Church transmits, is that the Resurrection is a historical ...Continue Reading
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What a Day! What a Way, the Easter Way, Alleluia!
Deacon Keith Fournier - Catholic Online, 4/1/2013Have you have heard the old adage, used often in a disparaging way, He´s so heavenly he is no earthly good. I suggest again that it misses the mark completely. We are Easter people. We are called to ...Continue Reading
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The Surprise of Easter
Fr. Randy Sly - Catholic Online, 3/31/2013To make sure that all mankind knows that it is not over but actually just beginning, God has an Easter bombshell. While we may have been able to anticipate the wondrous joy of a day of resurrection, ...Continue Reading
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Easter Vigil Homily of Pope Francis: Let the Risen Jesus Enter Your Life
Pope Francis - Catholic Online, 3/31/2013Our daily problems and worries can wrap us up in ourselves, in sadness and bitterness... and that is where death is. That is not the place to look for the One who is alive! Let the risen Jesus enter ...Continue Reading
Good Friday
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On Good Friday, the entire Church fixes her gaze on the Cross at Calvary. Each member of the Church tries to understand at what cost Christ has won our redemption.
The Cross
In the symbol of the Cross we can see the magnitude of the human tragedy, the ravages of original sin, and the infinite love of God. Learn More
Ash Wednesday
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Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. It is a season of penance, reflection, and fasting which prepares us for Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which we attain redemption.
The Ashes
The ashes are made from the blessed palms used in the Palm Sunday celebration of the previous year. The ashes are christened with Holy Water and are scented by exposure to incense. Learn More
Stations of the Cross
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Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours (or Passion) of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion.
Opening Prayer
ACT OF CONTRITION. O my God, my Redeemer, behold me here at Thy feet. From the bottom of my heart... Pray the Stations
Fasting & Abstinence
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'Christ Himself said that His disciples would fast once He had departed' Lk. 5:35
Abstinence. The law of abstinence requires a Catholic 14 years of age until death to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in honor of the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles and shellfish are permitted.
Fasting. The law of fasting requires a Catholic from the 18th Birthday (Canon 97) to the 59th Birthday (i.e. the beginning of the 60th year, a year which will be completed on the 60th birthday) to reduce the amount of food eaten from normal. The Church defines this as one meal a day, and two smaller meals which if added together would not exceed the main meal.
Learn More »
