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Our physical presence at Mass is pivotal because Jesus acted in the flesh and continues to come to us in the flesh. Now, more than ever, it is both “necessary and urgent to return to the normality of Christian life…and especially the Eucharist,” as noted by Cardinal Sarah last September. This is not only wise advice from the former Prefect for the Congregation of Divine Worship, but a practical plea to all Catholics to return to the place of the utmost grace.

"I urge you to trust in God, His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and to seek to know Him more deeply in your daily journey. Repent of your sins and seek Gospel virtues. Study scripture in order to have a better understanding of the Word of God, and through study of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, deepen your knowledge of the Deposit of Faith which is the heritage of the Church. Receive the sacraments often, especially the Eucharist, with joy and reverence for it is Jesus who comes to you through His sacraments."

Separation, communion, and witness. These elements of holiness set the trajectory for Lent. By our mortifications and acts of self-denial we separate ourselves and declare our independence from the world. We do so with a view to encounter and be one with Christ, especially in His passion and death. When we conclude at Easter, we hope to give witness along with the Apostles saying, “We cannot help but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20)

I do not underestimate the real divisions in America and in what we once called the Western world. Both our editor and David Warren can testify to my Augustinian pessimism regarding the short-term prospects for the City of Man around us. If anything, I believe the divisions are more profound than most people realize, hinging as they do on incompatible and irreconcilable notions of what justice is and what the human person is. That kind of division makes political community impossible, and the best that can be hoped for is a less violent confrontation between the opposing understandings of reality.

For the Christian, this female power can never be diminished. There’s a reason that mystics throughout the centuries have said we are all symbolically female in relation to God. He initiates with grace, and we choose. He lays down His life, and we follow Him. That’s why the highest example of a Christian will always be Mary. She was presented with a choice, and, on behalf of humanity, said “yes,” just like her symbolic predecessor Eve chose “no” by listening to the Serpent.

Above all else, my brethren, fast from strife and discord. Keep in mind the words used by the Prophet in his vehement denunciation of certain persons: “ln the days of your fast your own wills are found because you torment all who are under your power and you strike with your fists ; your voice is heard in outcry.” Continuing in the same strain, he adds: “Not such a fast have I chosen, saith the Lord.” (Is. 58:3-5)

Bishop Barron on Finding Truth Amidst the Noise

One wonders whether our German bishop – devoted (at least in his own mind) to the greater good of Germany, who refused to have “the common good” reduced to “a single issue” of “what to do about the Jews,” and who styled himself in favor of “collaboration” rather than “confrontation” – whether that bishop would have reassured himself, saying: “I am certain no one will look back fifty years from now and say about me, ‘What kind of bishop would have prided himself on being a collaborator with a government that accelerated the murder of millions?’” Indeed, what, I wonder, would Bishop McElroy say in retrospect about such poor, deluded foolishness?

"We are no longer Catholics, brothers in Jesus. We find it necessary to self-identify as “conservative” or “liberal,” blurring the distinction between membership in the tribe of Jesus and membership in diabolical tribes of ideology. Indeed, the Devil prefers a politicized Catholic enemy to a far more formidable authentically Catholic enemy."

Quo vadis as a Latin phrase is usually rendered “where are you going?” But the verb has the sense “rushing to.” And the phrase emphasizes the end point, not the motion. Am I agitated, distracted, working frenetically, or putting off work? Whatever I am doing: the end of all my activity, what is it? The novel suggests: If I am not putting away everything else to move quickly towards Christ, I am going away from him.

"This repentance takes on greater significance as we are called to confront the evils of our day. The greatest danger in war is to adopt the immoral tactics of the enemy. So, in opposing the culture of death, we risk growing bitter, hardened, and resentful. Our response to evil must always be seen in relation to the “time of fulfillment,” and thus preceded by our own repentance. Only a heart set right with Christ can see with clarity and speak with charity."

"And so, if you wish to get rid of Christianity (which is of course precisely what our revolutionists wish to do), please don’t be overly aggressive; above all, don’t be violent. Instead, destroy it with a slow squeeze. As the religion dies, its adherents, most of them little more than nominal adherents in any case, will hardly notice what’s happening."

"But ultimately, real lay “power” doesn’t reside in money or professional skill or positions of influence within the Church bureaucracy. It resides in a personal witness of holiness, which is both simple and demanding. There’s an obvious calculus to this. There’s no Church without the Eucharist. There’s no Eucharist without the priest. But there’s also no priest without committed laypeople who form their sons to listen for God’s call and to sacrifice themselves out of love for God and the believing community."

"All that said, why should Catholics care about it especially? Do we really have to ask that question? Precisely what good accrues to our faith, when the principal human institution which is meant to deliver it, the family, is shot full of holes? Where are the good men for our daughters to marry? Or did we think that men simply sprout up, like weeds? They are not among us, because we neglected to make them. Why is your choir all gray, and mostly female? Where are the young and child-rich families to invigorate your parishes? They are not among us, because we neglected to raise boys to be fathers and girls to be mothers. "

"In this moment, we must strengthen our parishes and families, because together they stand between the powers of the world and the individual. We must read the “signs of the times” and strategically rebuild with an eye to true freedom. Families and small communities have the power to form “zones of freedom,” where children can grow up in the conviction that their value and dignity comes directly from God, that two plus two is four, and that freedom is our inheritance."

"There was a time when some hoped that the Catholic Church could step into the space once occupied by the Mainline Protestant churches. This was the hope articulated by a then-Lutheran pastor, Richard John Neuhaus, later a convert to Rome: a Church universal enough to counter the entropy of American pluralism and with sufficient doctrinal durability to avoid the fate of the Mainline Churches, could provide a new “religiously informed, public moral philosophy.” Such a Church could provide the ballast for our public, political life. Such a Church could help define and expound the fundamental things we agree upon, which are prior to the political things we don’t agree on."

"But, and this is the much more important point that many miss, character is destiny for a people as well as for a person. Yesterday, when President-elect Biden said that the actions of the mob did not reflect America, I wish he were correct. But he wasn’t. We are not a moral nation. We are lawless. We are not a nation that cultivates the kinds of families able to produce good citizens. Our institutions cannot be trusted to tell us the truth or advance the good. Our leaders think and live as if wrong means are justified by preferred ends. Our churches tickle ears and indulge narcissism. Our schools build frameworks of thinking that are not only wrong, but foster confusion and division. "

"The crisis, then, is a crisis of identity: What is the purpose of the Catholic Church? What does it mean to be a Catholic in the world today? These are the questions that must be answered today, and these are the questions that Crisis is here to address head-on. "

We need to remember the panic-stricken atmosphere in those early weeks of March, lest we be too severe in our judgments of those who had to make difficult decisions. But if 20/20 means perfect vision, we were certainly shown that we had hard lessons to learn and that we got a lot of things wrong. We were quick to entrust ourselves into the hands of professed experts, surrendering many of our rights as well as abandoning our religious duties and blessings.

"With a new year comes a fresh start — and not just for more organized homes or a renewed plan for healthy eating. We also have the opportunity to get our spiritual houses in order. In this week’s issue, Deacon Greg Kandra offers readers 10 New Year’s resolutions to consider embracing from a Catholic perspective, especially after the year we’ve all just experienced. After encouraging that we resolve to embrace more prayer, gratitude, frequent reception of the sacraments and works of mercy, among other things, Deacon Kandra reminds us that no 2021 list of resolutions can be complete without proper reflection on 2020." https://osvnews.com/2020/12/18/reflections-and-resolutions-for-the-new-year/