Divine mercy is God’s refusal to leave us in our fallen condition. Jesus enters the “locked doors” of our hearts, banishing fear and sin and saying, “Peace be with you.”

A very Happy Easter to all of you! Remember two years ago when we hoped to celebrate Easter in person and that did not happen? It was one year ago on Palm Sunday when we reopened the church with a full schedule of Masses and many of you cautiously returned.

Passion is a funny word. It can mean so many things – excitement, warmth, desire, commitment, or deep emotion. It seems strange, then, that this also the name that we Catholics give to the arrest, trial, suffering, and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A lot of people seem to have an odd curiosity with the failings of others. Some love to read about an unfaithful celebrity or a politician caught red-handed in a corrupt deal. Maybe we find ourselves gossiping about family, friends and neighbors. Often, we’re swift to offer harsh judgement. Perhaps we think that will help avoid any focus on our own mistakes.

During this time in Lent, especially when there will be adults who will receive full incorporation in the Catholic Church at Easter Vigil, the scripture readings may be taken from Cycle A rather than Cycle C. The gospel selections for Mar 20, Mar 27 and Apr 3 are chosen to support the Catechumens as they move toward Easter Vigil.

Oscar Romero was born on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1917, in Ciudad Barrios, a mountain village in El Salvador near the Honduran border. He was the second of seven children. Romero's father wanted him to be a carpenter and as a young man he showed considerable promise. But he felt a strong call to the priesthood and pursued that vocation.

Romero studied in Rome and was ordained to the priesthood in 1942. He became a parish priest and later a seminary rector. He recognized the effectiveness of radio as a means of evangelizing and convinced five radio stations to broadcast his homilies and pastoral reflections. He continued to rely on the electronic pulpit throughout the remainder of his life, making it a popular platform for his ministry.

In 1521, Ignatius lead Spanish forces against a rebellion from the kingdom of Navarre, supported by France. This rebel group included the Xavier clan, which fought on the side of Navarre. At this battle, Ignatius was struck by the cannonball which changed the direction of his life. But while Ignatius was experiencing his mystical visions and pioneering the Spiritual Exercises, he was also arrested at least twice by the Inquisition on suspicion of heresy.

Today is the First Sunday of Lent. There are many avenues we could take to provide us with reflection material as we join Jesus in this 40-day pilgrimage.

Mr. Larry Hopp, a retired faculty member at Creighton University, offers us this thought: “Psalm 91 strongly reinforces the unmistakable fact of God's presence, specifically in the challenging moments of our lives.

Psalm 1, which serves as an introduction to the entire book of Psalms, speaks of two possible paths for the people of Israel: the path of the just and the path of the wicked. With its usual poetic flare, Psalm 1 describes the just one as a tree in full flower, bearing great fruit and bringing prosperity to all, while the path of the wicked is compared to useless chaff which blows away in the wind. “For the Lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes” (Ps 1:6).

In the call of Isaiah in today’s first reading and the call of Simon Peter in the gospel, both men tremble at the thought of the Lord speaking to them, let alone actually serving as a messenger of God.  Both men recognize that they are sinners – men who have faults and fears.  How can they possibly be worthy of serving our God Most High?

If you have been to a Catholic wedding, then more likely than not, you have heard today’s second reading: Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous… Love never fails. And because we hear this reading at weddings, it has become synonymous with romantic love.

But the word in Greek that St. Paul uses is not eros – or passionate love. It is agape – self-giving love. It is the love of a parent for a child, the love that gives without counting the cost. It is the love that God has for his people, that he gave his only Son for our salvation. And it is this same love that we are called to return in the Great Commandment – to agape God with all your heart and to agape your neighbor as yourself.

Why does the word Evangelization sometimes intimidate us?

It’s interesting, I think every Christian at some point on the journey (I sure do hope so) will ask themselves, “How do I Evangelize?” In fact, when I speak to Catholics about Evangelization the overwhelming sentiment is that they don’t feel equipped or confident to be evangelists.

At the wedding feast in Cana, the unthinkable happened – the host ran out of wine! Mary and Jesus were guests at the feast and Mary understood the host’s embarrassment. Jesus had not yet started his public ministry and needed a nudge from his mother to get involved. Mary quietly said to her son; ‘they have no more wine’. Like most of us, he couldn’t say ‘No’ to his mother! So, Jesus performed his first miracle by changing water into the finest wine anyone had ever tasted.

Ready or not, Christmas is next weekend! Although we may be very busy this week with final decorating, shopping and food preparations, I hope that we can all take the time to prayerfully recognize that soon we will be celebrating the fact that Jesus is very much among us!

In today’s gospel, we heard that Mary, carrying the infant Jesus, hurried to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who was also carrying a child, John the Baptist. When Mary arrived at her cousin’s home, the yet unborn John the Baptist leaped in Elizabeth’s womb, and Elizabeth herself was ‘filled with joy’! John leaped and Elizabeth was filled with joy because they recognized that they were in the presence of Jesus!