Make Lent a transformative and penitential experience that unites individuals with the Church and prepares them for Easter. Here are the five practices: • Morning Offering: Start each day by consciously offering all its challenges and joys to the Lord in penance for sins and in union with Christ's sufferings. This practice helps reframe daily annoyances as opportunities for small sacrifices. • Daily Fasting: Beyond just giving something up, fasting involves going without or with less food and feeling hungry. The speaker suggests striving to observe an ecclesiastical fast daily —eating one main meal and two small collations that together are less than the main meal, with no snacking in between. Fasting disposes one to receive spiritual nourishment. • Spiritual Reading: Dedicate time daily to reflect on the Word of God, meditate on scriptures, or read the wisdom of saints and spiritual authors. This can be done individually or as a family during meals. • Penitential Prayers: Incorporate daily penitential prayers from the Church's wisdom, such as the seven penitential psalms, the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary, or the Stations of the Cross. • Examination of Conscience: End each day with a daily examination of conscience, reflecting on where one has failed or sinned, and where they have fallen short of their morning offering. This practice, often part of night prayer, helps observe the movement of grace throughout the Lenten journey.

The Pope blessed my marriage 4 months ago. As a newlywed, here's what I've learned so far... -Love is a non-negotiable: Love is doing the good will of the other. Meaning intention and behavior is above all. So, ACTION is what truly matters, not feelings/emotions (even if they are valid). This idea bleeds into everything else. Example 1: Work is demanding and I need to work my best regardless of my current condition: sickness, physical pain, or feelings have been hurt). Since all work is for the Lord. That's what makes a good servant of God. Example 2: My son has embarrassed me many times in public. Normally a lot of other parents treat their kids less during the moment or take their frustrations out on them. This is called resentment and placing feelings/emotions above what actually matters. This is a great opportunity to teach him. Communication Improvement: Our communication style has changed. We removed filler words whenever we're addressing each other. Be as straightforward as possible to remove confusion. Example: Filler / vague: “I don’t know… you’re kinda being rude and it’s just making me feel some type of way.” No filler + verbs: “Lower your voice. Speak slower. Repeat your point without sarcasm.” This improves patience and forces the other person to be accountable for what they are communicating, resulting in helping each other improve. We try communicating like this before addressing a serious conversation: 1. Compliment - For a compliment to come off authentic it has to be true and during the moment. 2. Question - Ask for clarification with no negative connotation. 3. Reinforce - Reinforce her/him even if the belief or thought is wrong. ( Be on her/his side ) 4. Concern - Now with context address your concern. 5. Resolve - Solve the situation together. This form of communication resolves any bad conflict. I am still trying to get better. Only through repetition/consistency will this improve. This is a life-time commitment that comes with sacrifice. Being married young is an investment that compounds over-time.

Within the Catholic Church, something decisive is occurring, not in theory but in practice, not in press releases but in parish halls, chancery offices, seminaries, and sanctuaries. More and more traditional Catholic churches are no longer merely uneasy with LGBTQ activist groups and ideologies operating under Catholic roofs; they are actively refusing them entry, removing them where they already exist, and drawing unmistakable boundaries where ambiguity once lingered. This is not hypothetical. It is happening now, quietly, steadily, and with increasing confidence. Across dioceses, pastors and bishops are recognizing that LGBTQ groups, philosophies, and ideological frameworks are not neutral pastoral aids but carry with them an entire moral anthropology fundamentally incompatible with Catholic teaching. As a result, parishes are declining to host LGBTQ advocacy meetings, refusing the use of parish facilities for identity-based ministries that reject chastity, and prohibiting pride symbolism or activist literature on church property. Parish bulletins are being cleaned, resource tables cleared, and websites revised so that nothing remains that implies Church endorsement of ideologies that contradict the Catechism. In some parishes, ministries once operating under euphemistic titles such as “inclusion” or “affirmation” have been formally dissolved after review by diocesan authorities. Resistance takes many forms, and it is growing. Some churches resist by policy: written diocesan directives now explicitly state that parish ministries must conform to Catholic moral teaching in both doctrine and practice, and that groups promoting sexual identities or behaviors contrary to Church teaching may not meet on church grounds or represent themselves as Catholic. Other churches resist by structure: parish councils and ministry leaders are required to sign statements of fidelity affirming adherence to Catholic teaching, making it impossible for activist groups to remain without openly contradicting the faith they claim to inhabit. Still others resist by formation: priests preach clearly on human sexuality, confession is emphasized, and catechesis is strengthened so that confusion has less room to take root.

A key quality that pleases God is our generosity towards those around us, especially our guests and those we serve. At the wedding feast at Cana, Jesus was willing to accelerate his passion, or in other words, His suffering, to prevent the wedding host from facing embarrassment. Jesus’ generosity is consistently demonstrated throughout the Bible; He wants us to bring as many people as possible to His banquet and everlasting feast in heaven. As Jesus said, “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” All Catholics should embody this virtue of hospitality, understanding the significance of the Incarnation—how Jesus took on flesh through the Virgin Mary, became man, and dwelt among us. Jesus, the ultimate host, makes Himself vulnerable to us during Mass so that we may receive His grace. This should be reflected in how we interact with others in our daily lives. For example, when we have visitors in our homes, we should treat them as honored guests. It’s important to maintain traditional values, such as always offering food without being asked, entertaining them, and ensuring they feel welcomed and pleased. As parents, these values should also be passed on to our children so they can continue these traditions. Before welcoming anyone else into our homes, we should first make sure our children feel welcomed and loved. Bringing them to the dinner table every day, serving them, and spending time together as a family should take precedence over modern culture's emphasis on efficiency. We must not forget the importance of our hospitality and the way we present ourselves to those we host. The theological in all this is we meet Christ in the poor, we receive Christ in the guest and we look upon the face of Christ in each of our brothers and sisters.

Thank you for voting on the poll. The winner is education! Everything listed in the previous poll will be soon implemented as well. For now we will focus on improving our understanding of our faith. Please help me focus on what educational material you would like me to focus on to serve you. Your feedback is much appreciated.🙏 God Bless You. 1. Practical Formation: Skill development Improve your mind, interpersonal skills, self-improvement - Catholic Focused. 2. How To Handle Pain Pain is a fixed cost of life. Dealing with pain small or big is a skill that involves grace, humility, love. 3.The Addiction Of Our Concupiscence Confessions, addiction, & our sinfulness. Did you confess the same sin again? How to choose God when we feel weak. 4. Chosen To Be A Saint The imitation of Christ. The life of Jesus and how to live more like him. The focus of this community is Saint formation and moving towards Christ. If you have recommendations on educational material please put them in the comment section below 👇 🙏