the poetry of Thomas Flowers, SJ -
But tonight
There’s light enough
Even if the clouds
Have all but quenched
The moon glow…

During this season of Lent, Catholics are encouraged to reflect on their lives and confess their sins in preparation for the Easter mysteries. The sacrament of reconciliation (confession) is one of the most grace filled rituals the Catholic tradition has to offer. While it is true that God can and does forgive us outside of confession why deny yourself the chance to enter into a ritual that will give you deep consolation from an experience of being heard and being forgiven? The priest …

~by James Martin, SJ (2006)

Editorial Review from Amazon: The sacred grotto at Massabieille, near the town of Lourdes in southern France, appeals to Catholics like no other place. This is the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, the place where Mary appeared to a humble peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 and spoke words of comfort and simple faith. At Mary’s behest, Bernadette dug in the rocky soil of the grotto and struck water. A puddle soon became a spring that gushed forth …

Sacramentum is offered as a resource for those engaged in the collaborative ministry of responding to those who themselves have received a call to religious and priestly life.
In considering the role and place of vocation in the Church of the developed world today, it seems appropriate to articulate a sacramental theology for how we go about imaging what it is we are doing. Ordination is not simply a two hour sacrament that celebrates a man’s successful completion of theological studies. We all know this. …