Peter failed. We all fail. But when we meet the risen Lord, there's really only one thing he is going to ask us.

The resurrection is big news. But St. Paul reminds us that this big news spreads in small ways, like yeast in dough.

The chants sung during the veneration of the cross today remind us how bad things really are and why we can call this day good.

Watching a loved one suffer can leave you feeling helpless. Yet, as Jesus enters his own passion, he reminds us that there is great power in standing by a friend who is suffering.

St. Paul says that, more than anything, he desires to know Christ, to grasp Jesus. But he also rejoices that Jesus first grasped him.

When we get headed in a certain direction, we tend to keep going. It takes an outside force to reverse course. In the spiritual life we call this grace.

Mary's heart was completely open and docile to the will of God. We should pray that our hearts and those of the whole world would be like hers.

As I was climbing the Appalachian Trail through the Smoky Mountains, one chant kept me going. Not Aquinas or Palestrina... Dory.

Like Jesus, I'm headed into the wilderness for Lent. I'm going to test my backpacking skills with a 70 mile trek on the Appalachian Trail next week. There are lessons to be learned in the wilderness.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent and today's liturgy reminds us that it is also the start of a great spiritual military campaign.