You’re probably familiar with the original “scary story” beginning: “It was a dark and stormy night…” Mark doesn’t begin his story of Jesus’ Passion with those exact words, but he nevertheless strikes the same ominous, foreboding note: It was two days before the Passover and...

It’s got a familiar ring to it – feast before the famine. In a sense, that’s a large part of what Mardi Gras – literally, “Fat Tuesday” is all about. But not entirely. Yes, one part of the celebration is the splurge before the fast (which, as any dieter knows, actually makes the...

Lent is the 40-day period before Easter when Christians prepare to witness, celebrate, and participate in the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the early church, the forty days before Easter were devoted to study of the essential elements of Christian teaching so that...