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When discerning and selecting our Lenten theme this year鈥�鈥�Ashes to Alleluia!鈥濃�擨 wanted to focus not only on the 40鈥慸ay journey of Lent, but on the entire arc of the Christian life. From the moment we are conceived in the humble form of a pre鈥慴orn child until the moment God calls us home, our lives are oriented toward the resurrection. Along this pilgrimage, we are continually invited to live as closely to Christ as we can. For today鈥檚 reflection, I want to highlight how the living and effective Word of God shapes and directs that journey toward Jesus.

This Sunday鈥檚 Gospel gives us the clearest example of how Jesus Himself uses Scripture to guide His life and resist the evil one. In Matthew 4, Jesus is repeatedly tempted by Satan, giving us a glimpse into the real struggle He embraced by taking on our humanity. Rather than wielding the unimaginable divine power that is His by nature, Christ instead turns to the Word of God. He responds with passages from Deuteronomy鈥攖hree firm, faithful retorts that silence the tempter and bring Him peace. In doing so, Jesus shows us how the Word can become our own defense, our compass, and our strength as we journey toward the Kingdom prepared for us through His resurrection.

This season, let us recommit ourselves to opening our Bibles and allowing the Word of God to draw us closer to Him. When we allow God to speak, we discover again that His voice is full of mercy, love, and the power to transform our hearts.

+ To God Be The Glory +

Dr. Kevin Myers

Director of Campus Ministry

The Gospel for this second Sunday of Lent is familiar to many of us: the Transformation narrative (Matthew 17:1-9).听听

Jesus invites three of his disciples to climb up the mountain.听 Try to put yourself in the position of one of them鈥�

Imagine the physical challenge of getting to the summit (I love a good hike for this reason!).听 What did they talk about on their way up?听 Did these friends of Jesus have ANY idea what would happen when they reached the peak?听 (Remember, in the 鈥榬eal time鈥� of this gospel, Jesus had foretold his Passion to the disciples prior to this – in 16:21.)听 Did they wonder why only three of them were invited?听 Pause and reflect on what this would be like for YOU, heading to the mountain top鈥� noticing your pulse and deep breathing as you climb鈥�

Of course, the summit was where Jesus鈥檚 appearance was transformed, as Elijah and Moses also appeared to them.听 God spoke through the clouds:听鈥淭his is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.鈥�听The friends fell down in fright.听听Imagine YOUR thoughts and feelings in this truly peak experience (pun intended)!

Often, we live each day, shuffling along, not really noticing what Jesus may be inviting us to do.听 Are we focused on our phones more than our companions on the journey?听 Do we try to avoid the very things that invite us to听prove听our determination?听 Do we start our Lent with great zeal, only to fall back into old patterns of complacency or numbing, which deny us the opportunity of REALLY seeing what Jesus is doing for us, with us, and in us?

We know that the victorious conclusion of Lent is revealed to us through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Our Lord, Jesus.听 Talk about a peak experience!

While we are just getting started on our Lenten journey, may we truly embrace the challenge of our spiritual mountain-climbing, in the hopes of our OWN transformation.

Phyllis Florian

Matthew 5:20鈥�26听 February 27

Jesus鈥� words in today鈥檚 Gospel are uncomfortable. He isn鈥檛 talking about obvious sins or public failures. He鈥檚 talking about what鈥檚 going on听inside鈥攁nger, resentment, words spoken in frustration, relationships left fractured. He tells us that righteousness isn鈥檛 about looking good on the outside; it鈥檚 about letting God reach the hidden places we鈥檇 rather ignore.

The ashes on our foreheads at the beginning of lent are an honest admission:听something in us needs healing.听But Jesus doesn鈥檛 leave us in the ashes. He points us toward reconciliation, toward choosing humility over pride, repair over resentment, love over being 鈥渞ight.鈥�

Stress, competition, unresolved conflicts, and quick words spoken online or in person can quietly harden our hearts. Jesus invites us to pause and ask:听Who do I need to make peace with? Where am I holding onto anger?

The journey from ashes to alleluia is not about perfection. It鈥檚 about honesty, courage, and trust that God can transform even the messiest parts of us. When we choose reconciliation鈥攚ithin ourselves and with others鈥攚e make space for resurrection joy and true Easter Alleluia.

Meeghan Mousaw, Library Technician

pring break falling during the season of Lent always presents a bit of a challenge. On the one hand we are halfway through the semester and due for a much-needed break filled with rest, relaxation and time away from our routine. On the other hand, we have made commitments of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving for the Lenten season. It may be difficult to think about how your Lenten practices are going to fit into what your break entails with travel, spending time with family and friends, etc. My advice is to go gently.

Lent is not about having the picture perfect 40 days where you have checked every box and done everything “right.鈥� It is about recognizing our need for Christ.

So, your Spring Break may look different than your on-campus Lent. Perhaps it is being less self-reliant and recognizing your need for others or to take time for rest. It may mean that you shift your fasting from something that would disrupt family life. Or it could mean not arguing with your siblings.

When I consider the champions of the Christian Life, the saints, who have given us an example of how to live Lent, I turn to St. Pier Georgio Frassatti. I like to think he would have encouraged his friends who were climbing a mountain with him over Spring Break to do so in a way that made that climb healthy and a chance to encounter Christ, rather than stick to something that might end up hurting them and leading them astray.

Go gently this Spring break, trusting that Christ will reveal to you how you need him this week even if it’s different than the Lent you had planned.

Tricia McCarthy

The Gospel this past Sunday spoke of Jesus at the well with the Samaritan woman, a story that Catholics of all ages may be familiar with. However, my favorite part of the reading takes place just after, when the Apostles return to Jesus with food they had gotten for him in town, but Jesus says, 鈥淚 have food to eat of which you do not know.鈥澨�听I can鈥檛 help but recall the episode of the Chosen that enacts this part, where the apostle Andrew replies with a genuinely confused, 鈥淲ho got you food?鈥澨�

This moment, while comedic, exemplifies the way we as imperfect humans fail to look deeper into the words of our God, or even the world in general. The season of Lent encourages us to dig deeper into our hearts, to look beyond menial parts of our lives and find more meaning. Not everyone needs to be a philosopher who questions every word or an artist who tries to find the message behind a banana taped to the wall, but rather, one needs to pay more attention and not take everything at a surface level.

So, when you go to mass, don鈥檛 just listen idly to Gospel. Take the time to think and reflect on it. Reflect before, during and after, taking in the words and really digging deep into their meaning. Every word from the mouth of God has value and was spoken for a reason. Just听really听listen.

Amelia K Plaspohl

You are called. Called by name. Not only is your name known to the Father, but the Father knows you, and everything you have done. He knows every smile, every stifled laugh, every dream, every hope, every moment filled with joy, and He was there smiling, laughing, dreaming, and hoping with you. He was also there when you frowned, when you cried, when you cursed, when you struggled, and when you chose to turn away from his comforting embrace. Despite whatever you are experiencing, he wants you to recognize that He is with you always. Ask the Lord to bring stillness to your heart. Trust in the Lord, He will guide you to the right path. Matthew 11:28 鈥淐ome to me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.

This past weekend I was surrounded by a wonderful community of sisters on a discernment retreat, and they reminded me of God鈥檚 great love for His children. It is up to us individually to give our all to God, and not to hold ourselves back, as this sacrifice of self is life giving. He knows everything we have done. So why do we hold on to our burdens He has already carried for us on the cross? Lent is an opportunity to contemplate Jesus鈥� death on the cross, but also to prepare for the Resurrection. Jesus exemplified by His life, death, and resurrection that we must come and follow Christ so that we can die with Him (through dying to ourselves), and live.

As we are now on the back half of this penitential season, I wanted to take this reflection to simply ask one question to be pondered.

What do you need from God?

Many times, we feel like it is inappropriate or out of place to ask this question, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. God never tires of hearing from his children. So, take today, tomorrow, and not only think about that question, but answer it in direct prayer to the Father who always desires to hear from you.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation, when Mary gives her great Yes! to God.

But, secretly, today is an even greater feast – that of the听Incarnation.

We Catholics, who feel so strongly that life begins from conception – should we not hold听this听feast, today, an even greater feast than that of the Nativity which we celebrate at Christmas?

Yet we do not – we don’t even really focus on the amazing fact that, on this day,听God became man听– because He did so in the uttermost humility, quietly. Not even as a helpless yet adorable babe – He came to us听unseen, as a fetus, hiding in his mother’s womb.

This humility is not unique to the Incarnation. He loves to come to us in this hidden way.

It is the “Godhead here in hiding” which St. Thomas Aquinas sings of in his ode to the Eucharist.

It is the ass on which Christ rides, as king, into Jerusalem.

It is the passion Christ suffers.

It is the cross on which He dies.

On Palm Sunday we lift our voices in praise, welcoming Jesus as our King, yet the very path He rides begins His solemn walk toward Calvary.听

The shouts of 鈥淗osanna鈥� open not only Holy Week but the journey of love that will lead Him to pour out His life for us.

This week invites every disciple to walk beside Him鈥攏ot only at the foot of the Cross on Good Friday, but through each moment of His self鈥慻iving: His teaching, His silence, His suffering, His surrender.听As we accompany Him, we are asked to offer our hearts to the One who offers everything for our salvation, letting His love reshape us as we follow Him from triumph to sacrifice, and from sacrifice to the hope of resurrection.

On this Holy Thursday, the beginning of the Triduum, we often look ahead and think of the celebration of Easter as a sweet break and light in the darkness. However, that鈥檚 sometimes the issue. We try to avoid the dark and only try to stay in the light. Impossible. You cannot avoid the night to get to the day. Today, Holy Thursday, invites us to a more intimate and dark space: the Garden of Gethsemane.

A Christian author I like, Max Lucado, wrote, 鈥淒on鈥檛 avoid life鈥檚 Garden of Gethsemane. Enter it. Just don鈥檛 enter it alone.鈥� I love this. I have a post it of it in my office. It rings true.听 The garden is not a distant historical site鈥攊t鈥檚 the current state of our offices and desks. As the academic year hurtles toward its conclusion, the weight of expectations can feel crushing. For students, it is the suffocating anxiety of finals and the uncertainty of what comes next. For faculty and staff, it is the relentless stress of deadlines, grading, and the emotional labor of supporting a weary campus.

Gethsemane is where our humanity meets its limits. It is the place He sweats blood鈥攁 physical manifestation of deep stress. Jesus did not bypass this agony; He entered it fully. He shows us that feeling overwhelmed is not a failure of faith, but a part of the human journey.

In the deep of our life’s Gethsemane, the temptation to isolate. When we are stressed, we tend to withdraw, convinced that no one understands or that we must prove our strength by suffering in silence. But even Christ sought the company of His friends, asking them to “keep watch.”

Do not numb the stress or pretend it isn’t there. Bring your anxiety to the Altar tonight. Christ walks beside you, and so does your community. This community.

As we enter the Passion of Christ this week, remember: the Garden is the precursor to the Resurrection. We enter the shadows tonight not to stay there, but to find the God who meets us in the dark.

The Universality of Jesus鈥� Broken Heart

We enter the remembrance of Jesus鈥� suffering every Good Friday.听 This year, as people throughout the world are drenched in human suffering, the wounded and dying body of Jesus on the cross in a visible reminder of the perennial assault on the human person and communities that has plagued human history.听 Today, the Church calls us to gaze on the Cross together as the People of God to go beyond the recognition of our personal sinfulness to the magnitude of human brokenness embodied in Jesus鈥� death.听 The violence inflicted on Jesus鈥� body during his passion and death is a vivid sign for us to grasp the pain and devastation that is acutely present throughout the world.

In offering this reflection for Good Friday, I recognize that my heart is broken. Gazing at the Jesus鈥� body on the Cross and listening the passion narrative in St. John鈥檚 Gospel today, we freely place the depth of our personal woundedness at the foot of the cross where it will be taken up into the broken heart of our merciful and compassionate Christ.

On this day, what we see is the suffering of our Lord and Savior.听 We see GOD suffering for us. It is the day that we are called by God to bring our sorrow to the Cross with a willingness to share in His suffering love for a hurting world.

On this day, the reality of our human pain, both small and often utterly overwhelming, is intimately joined to the compassion of Christ鈥檚 heart that freely carries the universal suffering of humanity. Here, our daily sorrows are anchored to His sorrows and most importantly to the most profound incarnated reality of hope in His death. 听It is this divine hope which animates our lives and calls us to love one another as Christ has loved us.

On this day, we are called to pray together the words of Blessed Basil Moreau, 鈥淎ve Crux, Spes Unica鈥� in the silent sacred pause of Good Friday. As women and men of hope, join me in prayer and conviction to act in ways that alleviate the suffering of our wounded world, to comfort those in pain, be to presence to those who mourn, and to advocate for the end of violence in our community and to bring peace in our world.

鈥淭his is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.鈥� (Psalm 118:24)

Have you ever started your day with this phrase from Scripture? Give it a try. As soon as your eyes open and your feet hit the floor in the morning, say it in your head or out loud. Try this for three consecutive weeks. I assure you, well actually the Lord assures you, and science confirms, that awakening with such a spirit and attitude will change you from the inside-out.

As many of you know, over the past 18 months or so I have done a deep dive into the research on the neuroscience of happiness. During one of my morning rituals, which includes prayer, exercise, daily mass attendance, professional reading, and listening to podcasts, I began to hear repeated messages about joy, happiness, and human flourishing. In our busy and always connected lives, pursuing this feeling can often feel so fleeting.

In his book听The Happiness Hypothesis听(2021),听author Jonathan Haidt, who also authored the book听The Anxious Generation听(2024), a text that our students explore in their听Questions of the Mind and Heart First Year Seminar,听outlines a series of practices that we can undertake to help to elevate our mental health and lead to a life of flourishing. They include participating in groups with a shared moral or charitable purpose, engaging in physical, in-person rituals like group activities or shared meals, practicing meditation or quiet focus to calm our frenetic minds, and sacrificing for causes larger than oneself to quiet the ego’s focus.

Another one of my favorite researchers on this subject is Arthur Brooks. During this Easter season, his newest book,听The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness,听is on my reading list. Like Haidt, Brooks hypothesizes that meaning and happiness can be found by promoting emotional self-management by trying to eliminate negative emotions, focusing only on what truly matters like beauty, goodness, truth, healthy relationships, and in sharing happiness with others. According to Brooks, “the secret to happiness is love” (Brooks and Winfrey,听Build the Life You Want).

We can also look at the ancient philosophers Aristotle, Aquinas, and Augustine, and to more modern philosophers like Alasdair MacIntrye. For Aristotle, happiness is not a feeling that happens to us, but rather, an activity of the soul that is in accordance with the pursuit of virtue (Nicomachean Ethics). In听Confessions, Augustine shifts the focus of happiness towards a divine dependence. Similarly, St. Thomas Aquinas equates听beatitudo,听or perfect happiness, with a relationship with God (Summa Theologica). And MacIntyre in听After Virtue, argues that happiness is not a subjective feeling, but rather, is a “life spent seeking for the good life”.

In the days that followed Christ鈥檚 death, we can only imagine the fear and terrible loss that his mother Mary, faithful followers such as Mary Magdalene, his friends and relatives, and the apostles must have felt. As today鈥檚 Gospel indicates, however, just as Jesus had promised, following his tortuous death on the cross, he promised resurrection. When his mother Mary and Mary Magdelene encountered Jesus along their way to share the news with his disciples, his words spoke clearly to them, 鈥淒o not be afraid鈥� (Matthew 28:10). Likewise, as he walked alongside the disciples on the road to Emmaus, they realized, 鈥淲ere not our hearts burning within us? (Luke 24:34).

In the Congregation of Holy Cross, Constitution 118, we read:听But we do not grieve as men [and women] without hope, for Christ the Lord has risen to die no more. He has taken us into the mystery and the grace of this life that springs up from death. If we, like Him encounter and accept suffering in our discipleship, we will move without awkwardness among others who suffer. We must be men [and women] with hope to bring. There is no failure the Lord鈥檚 love cannot reverse, no humiliation He cannot exchange for blessing, no anger He cannot dissolve, no routine He cannot transfigure. All is swallowed up in victory. He has nothing but gifts to offer. It remains only for us to find how even the cross can be borne as a gift.

On this Monday of the Octave of Easter, let us begin this day, and commit ourselves every day, to the pursuit of true happiness and joy. What my personal deep dive into the science of happiness, and through strengthening my prayer life, has revealed to me is that joy, happiness, and flourishing are found first and foremost in the love of Christ and with the love of others.

He is risen! Do not be afraid! Let your heart burn within you! May each of us be men and women with hope to bring! For after all, this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

I love you all!

Ave Crux, Spes Unica,

Dr. Marco J. Clark