Faithful priests and fervent Catholics around the planet are well aware of the big deal which Holy Week ushers in. In fact, most Catholics of good will are well aware of the big deal we immerse ourselves in within these days of grace. However, there is often sadness when our actions do not reflect our awareness. What will your mindset be during Holy Week?

Our awareness of the big deal of Holy Week means that we understand that the liturgical life of the Church is so unique during these days; no other comparison comes even close throughout our liturgical year. These days commemorate the facts of what Jesus Christ has done for the ones He loves.

The date of Easter, is, of course, determined by the first day of Spring. For memory sake, Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon, after the vernal equinox (first day of Spring). I'm sure countless numbers of us are awaiting the passage of winter on Tuesday of this coming week. Then, with keen observation we will be enjoying the abundance of new life springing forth from the earth. Meanwhile, we are continually reminded to participate, not anticipate, so we continue to discipline our minds for the moments in our midst.

I thought this would be a good time to let you in on a little secret that I discovered in my grandma's kitchen long agowhen I would help her cook all the family meals; the act of praying while cooking.

Some of you may even remember that many Catholic homes and maybe you still do, have a Kitchen Prayer plaque orpicture hanging in the kitchen.

As the 150th anniversary of the diocese gets underway March 3-4 with special Masses celebrated by Bishop Callahan in Prairiedu Chien, what follows are a few “snapshots” from our colorful history. They are condensed and adapted from “Feed my Lambs,”the official book on 150 years of Catholic life in the Diocese of La Crosse, available in parishes ($35).

Snapshots of our History

Sometimes our Lenten prayer, fasting and almsgiving remind us about the suffering and sacrifices we are encouraged to make as disciples of Jesus. While these activities, within this context, are worthwhile motives, we continue to become more open to deeper significance to Lent. Another sense of prayer, fasting and almsgiving is to remind us about how much more we need to rely upon Jesus. These external sacrifices, though difficult, bring challenge to us; we can will ourselves to bear their burdens for 40 days at a time.

So what's this all about, anyway? In preparing for Lent, which began shortly after Christmas, there are countless resources and ideas to enrich the season. With my new responsibilities as Director of Religious Education, we were looking over activities and ideas for the young people. Needless to say, combining the adult ideas with the youth ideas can be quite overwhelming. There are unique emphases from both perspectives. There are many ways to engage a number of our human senses. There are countless approaches to prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

February eleventh is the annual feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes. The day when our Blessed Mother appeared to Saint Bernadette in France and helped her discover a font of flowing water. From this font, countless people have experienced miraculous cures. In turn, our annual World Day of Prayer for the Sick is held on February eleventh.

Today is the conclusion of Catholic Schools Week 2018. We continue to be very mindful of the presence of Saint Boniface Catholic School; the only Catholic school in our county. We are also mindful of many of us who have been influence by Catholic schools at some point of our life. Often its Catholic school education which helped form a parent, grandparent or influential adult in our lives who, in turn, influenced us to take our role in the life of our Catholic Church. And so we continue to ask the question to ourselves personally and collectively about what we do to support Catholic schools locally and beyond.

For many of us, the passage of Christmas seems so long ago. For many of us, the passage of Christmas seems to just have happened. While all of those memories simmer in our minds, we come to the reality that Lent will quickly be upon us. Further, the celebration of Easter comes to our lives on the first day of April. So, rather than anticipating Easter, we participate in the times among us. We concentrate on these days of Ordinary Time which help us transition to the upcoming observance of Lent.

The more I’m around people, the more it seems there is a common complaint about people just being lesstolerant of each other; more quick to toss the first stones; rapid to criticize and the like. I also hearbroadcasters on heavy metal genre of satellite radio to mention how people, particularly at concerts, need tobe present in the moment rather than experiencing the concert through their mobile device. The saidbroadcaster continues to mention that people ought to be present in the moment with their families andfriends. Generally speaking, in the midst of a culture in which we appear to be digitally connected, we havesomehow allowed that virtual reality to deceive us into thinking that is our new reality; and somehow it’sbetter.