You can feel the change in the Spiritual atmosphere all around us. Lent really does make a difference!
My wife's father had a really sweet tooth, he loved biscuits, cake and sweets. He probably would have foregone dinner and gone straight for dessert if he could have. He used to give up eating sweet things for Lent, which was a sacrifice for him. Then he would usually stay up past midnight into Easter Sunday and pretty much eat a box of biscuits himself.
I totally identify. Comfort food for me is sweets. It is a real sacrifice. I keep praying i can keep this particular fast. Funny isn't it how each of us has our weakness. Alcohol and cigarettes were never a thing for me. But dessert.....oh my. And like Bobby I love toast and butter in the morning. I am not putting jam on it and reducing the butter and it is actually sacrificial. Shaking my head. Also phone on only in the morning and evening. That is harder than giving up comfort food.
I gave up putting sugar in tea one Lent, when I was about twelve. After that I could never drink sweet tea, completely lost the taste for it.
I might seriously cut back on internet discussions (not referring to MOG) based on how bad things are getting. Though I agree with some points (hadn't heard about condescending dog statements by a prominent mayor), for one named Glenn Beck to lose it and flick the bird over such issues, shows public discourse has reached new lows. The question is, "When staying informed consistently leads to discouragement, especially concerning Church issues, being a "desert father" has an increasing appeal. After all, one can pray for Popes, bishops, clergy, and world peace in general, without needing to be aware of every frightening detail. If I end up responding primarily to prayer requests, you'll know why. Lent is here. A new category of fasting has arrived.
Mario, I gave up alot of these news sites on YouTube. It seems they are getting out of hand. If it disturbs your peace, it isn't worth it..
I agree Terry. I am only going to focus on the spiritual right now. I dont want to know these horrid details--about anything. A Lenten fast from the news. Except God's news.
One thing we hope in going out into the Desert is to have the blindness removed from ourselves a little so we can see ourselves a little more clearly warts and all. I remember a very holy priest saying in a homily one time that if we all started to tell the truth to each other about how we see each other we would tear each other apart in a great rage. He reminded us that everyone on the planet can see us clearly as we really are . The only person who cannot see us clearly is ourselves. So when the Good Lord pointed out something to me about myself a few days ago right at the start of Lent it really threw me. It was not a bad thing, some people would even say a very good thing. It was to do with how other people often regard me. It kind of stunned me in that I had never understood this before. I think this is one thing to be hoped for in Lent that a little of the blindness might go. That we might see things a little more as they really are, not as we might want them to be. It is a kind of, 'How could I have been so stupid?' moment. 2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. The Temptations of Christ, Painting by Eric Armusik, Painted in 2011,
From a post on the Totus Tuus Fb page: "Did you know that one of the most incredible recorded miracles in Church history happened on Ash Wednesday in the year 1218? While the world was beginning its season of penance, St. Dominic was at the Monastery of San Sisto in Rome. Suddenly, tragedy struck. The young nephew of a Cardinal, a man named Napoleon, was thrown from his horse and killed instantly. His body was mangled, and his family was shattered with grief. What happened next reminds us that Lent is not just about death—it’s about the power of the Resurrection. St. Dominic received the broken body, offering far more than mere words of comfort. As he celebrated Mass, witnesses watched in awe as he began to levitate in deep, ecstatic prayer. When the liturgy ended, he stood over the lifeless young man, traced the Sign of the Cross in the air, and commanded: "O young man, Napoleon, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Arise!" Before the stunned crowd and the grieving Cardinal, Napoleon immediately sat up, completely healed, and asked for something to eat! St. Dominic led the young man into the refectory (the dining hall) of the monastery. There St. Dominic sat with the boy while he ate, ensuring he was fully restored and comforted before returning him to his family. Lent is a season of "spiritual dust," but St. Dominic reminds us that we serve a God of Resurrection. Whatever part of your soul feels "dead" or "broken" this Ash Wednesday—whether it’s a habit, a hurt, or a lost hope—bring it to the altar. The same Christ who raised Napoleon can raise you to new life this Lent." #AshWednesday #StDominic #Lent2026 #CatholicMiracles #resurrection
Also from the Totus Tuus page today: "He received Jesus in the Eucharist only once.. and that single moment was enough for him to be at total peace forever... Francisco Marto didn't chase glory. He didn't seek crowds or miracles for himself. While other children played, he slipped away to the church, kneeling for hours in silent adoration. 'I want to console Our Lord,' he would say, tears in his eyes. 'He is so sad, so offended.' In 1917, Our Lady appeared to him and his cousins, revealing visions of hell, calling for prayer and sacrifice. Francisco's mission was simple yet shattering: to suffer with joy, to offer every small pain for sinners, to love Jesus in the Eucharist above all. But here is the drama that pierces the soul—he received Holy Communion only once. Even on his deathbed (his young body ravaged by illness) Francisco, knowing his time was short, prepared with trembling reverence. He made his confession. He prayed with burning fervor. He embraced heroic sacrifices. Every breath became a vigil as he longed for the sacred hour. Then it came. When the priest finally placed the Host upon his tongue, time itself seemed to stand still. Jesus—the Hidden One he had loved from afar—at last entered his heart. In that sacred instant, witnesses said the boy’s face shone with an unearthly light. 'Now I have the Hidden Jesus in my heart,' he whispered. 'I feel Him burning within me.' His final words echoed like a battle cry of love: 'My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love Thee!' Francisco died at ten years old, but his one Communion launched him straight to Heaven. Canonized a saint, he stands forever as proof: One encounter with Jesus, received with total love, is enough to make a saint. In this Lent of 2026, when the world rushes past the Tabernacle, Francisco cries out to us: Stop. Kneel. Adore. Let the Hidden Jesus set your heart ablaze. Say 'Thank you Jesus' if you believe in the Power of the Eucharist. If you believe that the Eucharist has the power to change lives, say amen and don't forget to share this to your friends to inspire them.
Ave Regina Caelorum: Pardon my ignorance but I don't think I had heard of this lovely prayer before reading about it today. Apparently it's said as an alternative to the Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen) during the season of Lent. Ave, Regina caelorum, Ave, Domina Angelorum: Salve, radix, salve, porta, Ex qua mundo Lux est orta: Gaude, Virgo gloriosa, Super omnes speciosa, Vale, o valde decora, Et pro nobis Christum exora. English: Hail, Queen of Heaven. Hail, Lady of Angels Hail, thou root, hail, thou gate From whom into the world, a light has arisen: Rejoice, glorious Virgin, Lovely above all others, Farewell, most beautiful maiden, And pray for us to Christ. I'll try to pray this Marian antiphon during Lent. Regina Caelorum, ora pro nobis.
Bless you for sharing this. I have a devotion to St Francisco and today, I needed to hear about the child-saint's Hidden Jesus.
St Francisco is such a powerful little saint. When I go to my holy hours I ask him to pray for me so I too can console "the little hidden Jesus".
I hope everyone is doing well so far this Lent. It seems like the veil is thinner than usual in regards to spiritual warfare, at least for myself.
