How to keep faithful after Lent is over

How to keep faithful after Lent is over

Easter is such a glorious day in the life of the Church that it’s celebrated for eight whole days. In my house, the octave of Easter is synonymous with “dessert every night for a week,” something my kids (and, let’s be honest, my husband and I) look forward to after 40 days of Lenten sacrifices. Catholics celebrate Easter for another six weeks after the octave, which is right and just considering the immensity of the moment in our salvation hist…

An Easter Examen of Consciousness: How to Retain the Fruits of Lent

St. Ignatius of Loyola’s most well used prayer, the Examen of Consciousness, was once defined by Fr. Mark Thibodeaux, SJ, who wrote: An Ignatian way of praying wherein one devotes ten to fifteen minutes of prayer to reviewing one’s day or half day, giving thanks for the good moments and seeking healing and/or forgiveness for the not-so-good ones. The prayer then concludes with looking ahead to the next half day or day, asking God for help to do…