A papal conclave is among the most solemn events in the Catholic Church replete with ancient rituals and contemporary media feeding frenzy Today rsquo s Gospel presents a unique conclave Jesus and his disciples at a fish fry by the Sea of Tiberias that unfolds in two acts In the first the risen

For those who have made the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius the stress on what Ignatius calls repetitions initially seems tedious Ignatius exhorts the retreatant to repeat and spend days or more on the same meditation asking whether he or she feels consolation or desolation or arrives at some

The annual Easter proclamation reminds us of St Augustine rsquo s hymn to beauty God ever ancient ever new At the door of the tomb the realm of death the women hear an affirmation of life He is not here but he has been raised Echoing through the centuries this is the foundation of Christ

Each year Holy Week begins with a re-enactment of Jesus entering Jerusalem amid shouts of praise The week soon moves to his rejection suffering and death and concludes with the preconium paschale the ringing proclamation that he has been raised Each Evangelist highlights different aspects Luke

As the sequence of Sundays proclaiming repentance draws to a close the Gospel presents one of the most graphic of all New Testament narratives on the mercy of Christ that leads to new life The reading from Isaiah prepares the way as the Lord says to the returning exiles See I am doing something

Today rsquo s readings are the second of the three Sundays before Holy Week all of which stress the summons to return to God repentance Paul states the theme crisply ldquo The old things have passed away behold new things have come And all this is from God who has reconciled us to himself t