“Lenten Season”
A Feb. 12, 2010, broadcast by Religion & Ethics Newsweekly has a reflection on Lent by Pastor Steve Buechler of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Gaithersburg, Md.
Category: Society & culture
“Conversion breaks bonds of selfishness, pope says in Lenten message”
Read the a Feb. 2010 story on the pope’s 2010 message for Lent from Catholic News Service.
“Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI for Lent 2010”
Justice was the central theme of the pontiff’s Lenten message for 2010. Read the text of the message at the Vatican’s website.
“Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI for Lent 2011”
Pope Benedict XVI focused on the the traditional themes of fasting, almsgiving and prayer in his Lenten message for 2011. “The practice of almsgiving is a reminder of God’s primacy and turns our attention towards others,” Benedict writes.
“Ashes to Ashes”
Read an essay from ChristianHistory.net on how the early tradition of pre-Lenten repentance developed into our modern practice of Ash Wednesday.
“Fasting has spiritual, physical benefits but also points to good works”
Read “Fasting has spiritual, physical benefits but also points to good works,” a March 2, 2011 Catholic News Service story.
“Apologies Fail to Live Up to Our Expectations”
A Jan. 25, 2011, column at Scientific American reports on a new study that finds we tend to overestimate the healing power of an apology.
“Feel the pain, shed the guilt”
A Feb. 3, 2011, post at the website of New Scientist magazine rounds up research indicating that suffering physical pain — the old-fashioned way of expiating guilt — is in fact effective at easing feelings of guilt.
“Does Guilt Inadvertently Lead to More Guilt?”
Read a Feb. 22, 2011, column about guilt at the website ScienceAnd ReligionToday.com.