The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 is recorded by all four evangelists. He did not use it as a moment of self aggrandizement, but rather to prepare the way for the greater miracle of the Holy Eucharist. Our Lord is demonstrating through this miracle that He can not only fulfill us physically by addressing our hunger, but He is the there to fulfill us spiritually through the holy sacrifice of the Mass.

A specific type of foolish speech that deters progress in the spiritual life is complaining. The act of complaining makes it almost impossible to cooperate with God’s grace, for it locks us into ourselves and away from reality. Thus, it removes us from God. Complaining is not the same as making a negative judgment, for sometimes those judgments are necessary. When bitterness and resentment enter into the frame, this is where we begin to poison our spiritual lives by shifting judgment into complaining.

Considering the metaphor of cleaning the house, making a good confession immediately comes to mind. Confession, like cleaning, does not begin randomly; first we must assess where to begin and what efforts are required. In the context of confession, this is undertaken through a thorough examination of conscience. This preliminary step is indispensable because it reveals not only those sins we need to confess but also the sometimes radical steps we must take to keep our souls free of filth going forward.

We must always desire to become saints. At first blush, this directive may fill us with fear and discouragement. Is this not too much to ask? Are we not encouraged to focus on the little things, like being true to our respective stations in life? These little things are indeed good—so long as they arise from a supernatural motive. But without an ultimate desire for sanctity, how supernatural can our motives truly be?

One of the great errors the Church has faced over the centuries is the temptation to avoid the Cross. The Church faces this same problem today. Some argue that the traditional Mass focuses too much on Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. We find this mentality expressed in the Novus Ordo Missae or New Mass. This liturgy avoids the concept of sacrifice, replacing it with the idea that the Mass is nothing more than a communal meal.

The spiritual life consists of looking only at Jesus and doing everything for Him. This is what the Church calls purity of intention. Yet rather than simply aiming to please God, we often act to please only ourselves. While it is easy to claim we do everything to please God, this sermon discusses four ways to examine if that’s truly the case and encourages us to correct any false intentions.

The Church dedicates the month of March to St. Joseph. He is the patron of the Universal Church. Just as the Blessed Virgin is the mother of all Christians, St. Joseph has been entrusted with the care of all, including the Church herself. This makes sense as St. Joseph was entrusted with being the father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover, he stands as an example for all. He was a man who accepted the will of God completely, even in the face of requests he could not fathom.

Temptations are always part of our lives. Everyone will be challenged by them, as Our Lord was. Then there are what we call the near occasions of sin. Some of us may believe that we can resist them despite succumbing to these vices in the past. We must be aware of our inclinations toward these sins while also adamantly avoiding those situations that would allow us to fall into them.

Lent is a great time to receive graces, but we cannot receive them in vain or let them go to waste. The story of the life of José Sánchez del Río, a fourteen year old boy who died a martyr without giving up the Catholic Faith, is a profound example of how we may receive God’s grace, indeed God’s strength, without relinquishing it even under the most trying circumstances.

Lent has arrived. Whatever trepidation we may have had leading into this season, the reality is the crosses we are called upon to carry are far less a burden than we hold in our imagination. Lent presents an opportunity for us, indeed a freedom, to practice the virtues we must always adhere to. And this penitential season offers us a renewed opportunity to draw closer to God.