Fr. Scott Haynes Lent does not begin in comfort. It begins in the desert. The ashes are still fresh upon our foreheads. The Alleluia has fallen silent. The Church leads us away from noise and into the wilderness with Christ. On this first Sunday, we stand beside Him in the desert wind, beneath a sky that burns by day and chills by night. Hunger sharpens the senses. Silence grows heavy. The tempter waits. And it is here, in this stark landscape, that we hear the promise: “He h

An Inuit hunter teaches a powerful lesson on lust.

Ash Wednesday calls us into that secret room of the heart, the holy place where God wants to dwell. The ashes placed upon our foreheads are visible, but their meaning is inward. They remind us that the Christian life is not about appearances. It is about conversion of heart.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the model penitent. As we follow Jesus into the desert for 40 days, let us pray, fast and give alms.

As we begin the season of Lent, we begin with Ash Wednesday and the imposition of blessed ashes. We remember the account we must render.

Fr. Scott A. Haynes Septuagesmia Sunday unlined the virtue of faith; Sexagesmia focused on hope, and Quinquagesmia Sunday emphasizes charity. As we have been preparing for Lent these three weeks, St. Paul reminds us, “And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity.” In other words our Lenten austerities, our fasting, abstinence, sacrifices, almsgiving, and prayers amount to nothing if we fail to intensify our love of God and

A man paralyzed in a train accident is miraculously cured at Lourdes by the Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

The Biblical themes of Sexagesima Sunday teach us lessons that are ever relevant.

Fr. Scott Haynes THE PRAYERS These prayers are offered on February 2 for the blessing of candles on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Let us pray. O Holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God, who hast created all things out of nothing, and by Thy command hast caused this liquid to become perfect wax by the labor of bees: and who, on this day didst fulfill the petition of the righteous man Simeon: we humbly entreat Thee, that by the invocation of Thy most holy Name

On the 40th day of Christmas, we celebrate the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple. An ancient tradition of blessing candles is kept.

Some workers worked from dawn, others since noon, and still others from mid-afternoon. Some started at the 11th hour and got the same pay,

Fr. Scott Haynes A Meditation for the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany   Brethren:  Be not wise in your own conceits. To no man render evil for evil, but provide good things not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of all men… Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good. (Romans 12:16–21) Today’s Epistle confronts us with a subject that touches every human heart: revenge. Whenever we feel wronged, insulted, or violated, something rises up within us that cries out

Fr. Scott Haynes A Meditation on 1 Samuel 8:4–7, 10–22 The elders of Israel come to Samuel with a request that seems reasonable on the surface: “Give us a king to govern us, like all the nations.”  Samuel is troubled, and the Lord reveals why. “They have not rejected you; they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.” Here is the heart of the passage. Israel does not merely ask for a new political structure. They ask for a replacement of trust. God had been their

Israel goes out to battle confident. The banners are raised. The elders speak with certainty. When defeat comes, they do not ask why their hearts are far from God. Instead, they ask what they can bring to force His hand. And so they send for the Ark.

“Tolerance will reach such a level that intelligent people will be banned from thinking so as not to offend the imbeciles.”

The jugs Jesus filled with water were used for Jewish ritual purification and washing at the wedding ceremonies.

We honor the Infant of Prague on the annual feast kept on January 14.

Contemplate the finding of the Christ Child in the Temple on this Feast of the Holy Family. Our Lord is waiting for you there.

Learn the amazing connections in the Bible between Noah's Ark which saved a remnant of mankind from death, and Christ's Baptism by John.

Learn how the bells of Christmas Mass saved men sentenced to death