From Ron:

Yes. This is Fr. Peter’s first time to be in Juarez. 
The parishioners took us there. We  visited 2 churches. San Lorenzo and Parroquia El Señor de la Misericordia
We also bought a paschal candle and paid by the 2 daughters or our  parishioners
The parishioners who brought us there ware part of the volunteers of the parish called los campañeros.
They are very devoted, reliable, and dedicated. They do all kinds of work in the church
We drove there and walked back through the bridge.

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Transfiguration by Brother Blair Nuyda, A.A.

Today’s Lenten reflection is written by Father Chi Ai Nguyen, A.A.,
Theology Professor at Assumption University

In the depths of our being, there is the power of life that is irrepressible. It helps us to overcome our difficulties. Being powerful doesn’t mean being without weakness. Being powerful means being capable of overcoming our weaknesses. The more we are able to face our weaknesses, the more powerful we become.

When we contemplate Jesus on the cross, we understand that the power of God is at work within weakness. God’s love for us appears the most powerful when Jesus, his Son, endures human suffering and accepts death. God’s love demonstrates its greatest strength when it embraces human weakness to the end. In today’s Gospel, Jesus takes Peter, James and John onto a high mountain to show them the horizon of their hope. This moment of light doesn’t eradicate the reality of the cross. The transfiguration precedes the cross without destroying it.

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As we enter into the liturgical season of lent, the church around us changes. Songs become more somber, the priest and deacons wear different colored robes, and Mass parts change. But how does this help us enter into Lent? Let’s dive into this with Bishop Barron.

Imagine for a moment that you are living in a world where all of your current burdens and fears are gone. You wake up in the morning with a smile so large it could move mountains; you walk around with a confident posture, knowing that there is nothing in the world that could bring you down; you greet strangers with a joyous laugh – You think to yourself, ‘This must be what Heaven is like’.

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"During this season of conversion, let us renew our faith, draw from the “living water” of hope, and receive with open hearts the love of God, who makes us brothers and sisters in Christ."- Pope Francis

Join the Assumptionists during this Lenten season of conversion and renewal as we share reflections and prayer resources to nourish your Lenten journey.

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Temptation of Christ by Brother Blair Nuyda, A.A.

Today’s Lenten reflection is written by Brother Hugo Morales, A.A.,
 Campus Minister at Assumption University

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Lent, a liturgical season where we are invited to turn our hearts to God as we prepare to experience the Easter Vigil in an authentic way. For this reason, the reading from the Gospel of St. Mark mentions that the Spirit led Jesus into the desert where he remained for forty days and was tempted by the devil. 

From this biblical context, what does the word “desert” mean as a hermeneutical key for the beginning of Lent? This word has several interpretations, among them, I would like to emphasize its meaning as a trial in order to strengthen our Christian life during this significant time of Lent.

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By Matthew-Mary Okereke, AA.

One of the things I love to bask at each time I visit the St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican is the believed relic of the Chair of St Peter famously conserved in sculpted gilt bronze by one of my favorite sculptors, Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

The question is: why is the chair preserved there on the altar? What is in a chair? The feast of the Chair of St Peter that we celebrate today is a celebration of the service of Peter and his successors; a celebration of authority as service. Notice that I did not say that it is a celebration of authority “and” service. I said “authority as service.” This distinction between “authority as service” and “authority and service” is important because if we say “authority and service” it could be misconstrued to mean that the two need not “always” go together. But herein lies the message: Christian authority is service, once, always, and in every way.

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Today’s Lenten reflection is written by Fr. Dennis Gallagher, A.A.,
Provincial Superior of the North American Province

So much of our time and psychic energy during these past months has been spent in responding to an unexpected health crisis. It has restricted our movements and social interactions, and its various constraints have burdened our hearts. As such, it has felt something like an interminably long Lent.

On this Ash Wednesday, as we begin the liturgical season of Lent, how should we orient ourselves? What might be the content of our prayer and our practice during this time of grace? Lent is our annual season of conversion, when the hope of a freshly renewed relationship to the source of our life is made available to us. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8), always ready to refashion us – in pandemic and out of pandemic.

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