It may seem strange that in the middle of Lent we are told to rejoice The reason for this is not that we might have a breather from the rigors of penance How many of us are even experiencing any real rigors Rather this moment of rejoicing fittingly follows the fundamental theme found in the re

Those of us who were raised on any kind of catechism whether the pre-Vatican II Baltimore Catechism the Dutch catechism that was popular during the 1960 rsquo s and 70 rsquo s or today rsquo s Catechism of the Catholic Church were introduced to a list of characteristics or ldquo attributes rdquo

If you witnessed a phenomenon in the heavens like those reported at Fatima or Lourdes or Medjugorje would you turn away in disbelief Even skeptics are often mesmerized by what they cannot explain We profess faith in the power of God and in the possibility of a manifestation of that power and yet

Strange as it may seem it is very difficult for many of us to accept gifts When we do receive them we feel compelled to reciprocate in kind We often believe that we must earn what we get Perhaps we do not want to be beholden to others or we are convinced that we do not deserve any such gift O

quot Return to me with all your heart rdquo This is the cry of a lover who has been separated from the loved one either by distance or time or perhaps by betrayal It is a heart-to-heart cry In the writings of Joel it is God begging Israel to return to God rsquo s gracious and merciful love W

As children we learned the Golden Rule Do unto others as you would have them do unto you But as we grew older we realized that the world operates according to a slightly different version of that rule Do unto others before they can do unto you We were told Don rsquo t give an inch Hit lsquo