2/28/26
2/27/26
Pause for Prayer: SATURDAY 2/28
The last day of February, Lord!
Why is it that the shortest month
always seems so long?
We're still surrounded by the plowed drifts
of this week's heavy snows
but yesterday the mercury climbed 40˚
and stirred my soul
with what I fancied "a warming trend"
stirring my soul and opening my heart
to believe, afresh,
that spring is on its way...
I believe that was your Spirit, Lord,
moving within me, nudging me
from my sleepy hibernation,
my drowsy, dormant, wintered slump,
my season of idle lethargy,
my time-out, my lazy indulgence
of squandered days
and misspent nights...
Do it, Lord! Stir up your Spirit within me!
Rouse me, nudge me, stand me up!
Reboot my soul with newfound grace!
Spring-clean my mind's magination!
Renew my desire to play and create!
Reopen my ears, my eyes and my nose
to hear you and see you,
to breathe in deeply the scent of your presence
and the fragrance of nature
budding, blooming and coming to life...
Send your Spirit into my heart
and open me up to your Lenten* spring,
the gift of a season to help me remember
to return, to repent, to reconcile,
to reorder my life and restore my faith
in you and your promise of mercy and love...
Remind me, Lord,
that it's never to early
to hope for spring...
Amen.
* Our word "Lent" derives from the Old English "lencten" which means springtime (from the "lengthening" of days!) And if it's "never to early to hope for spring" then it's not too early for a song from my favorite contemporary composer!
If a video doesn't appear below, click here!
US Bishops file amicus brief regarding asylum procedures
Why am I posting this?
Because Jesus said:
"I was a stranger and you welcomed me..."
No... real life is not as simple as the Lord's words here - real life is much more complicated. And
because it is, people who want to follow Jesus need to work out how to do what he asks of us. I'm grateful to the US Catholic bishops for helping us to do just that.
On February 17, 2026, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in the matter of: Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security et al, petitioners v. Al Otro Lado et al, respondents.
This case addresses the legality of a now-defunct Biden administration "turnback policy," which blocked access to the U.S. asylum process. Under this policy immigration officers
physically and indefinitely blocked people seeking safety at official
border crossings from setting foot onto U.S. soil, thus flouting federal
immigration law.
The amicus brief is not brief - it is 23 pages long. For those not interested in reading the whole document, these two paragraphs from the brief's Summary of Argument will be helpful:
The turnback policy at issue in this case was an attempt by the government to shirk its legal duty to inspect and process vulnerable asylum seekers at the Nation’s borders. As respondents have ably demonstrated, that maneuver does not succeed in avoiding the plain terms of the Immigration and Nationality Act’s (INA) inspection and processing provisions.
USCCB writes to underscore that the flaws in the turnback policy run much deeper than plain text. The policy violates the obligation to care for refugees—a fundamental legal and moral principle that runs through nearly two millennia of Catholic faith, an international humanitarian consensus, and this Nation’s history.
NIGHT PRAYER: Friday 2/27
For several years I've posted a weekly Lenten series on a selected topic. This year, on Fridays, I'll be featuring songs we sing to honor the Cross of Jesus. (Here's a link to the first in this series.) The very fact that we sing of the Cross on which Jesus suffered and died is a testimony to our faith and belief that in his suffering and death we find our healing and our life...
Tonight's selection is Tree of Life by Stephen Starke and Walker Williams. I suggest you pray with the song first, then move on to my Night Prayer... (If a widget doesn't appear below, click here!)
The scriptures sometimes refer to the Cross as the tree on which Jesus offered his life for us, setting a comparison between the tree of life in the garden of Genesis and the tree of the Cross on Calvary from which comes our life.
Tree of Life
by Stephen Starke and Walker Williams
If a widget doesn't appear below, click here!
The tree of life with ev’ry good
In Eden’s holy orchard stood,
And of its fruit so pure and sweet
God let the man and woman eat.
Yet in this garden also grew
Another tree, of which they knew;
Its lovely limbs with fruit adorned
Against whose eating God had warned.
The stillness of that sacred grove
Was broken, as the serpent strove
With tempting voice Eve to beguile
And Adam too by sin defile.
O day of sadness when the breath
Of fear and darkness, doubt and death,
Its awful poison first displayed
Within the world so newly made.
What mercy God showed to our race,
A plan of rescue by His grace:
In sending One from woman’s seed,
The One to fill our greatest need —
For on a tree uplifted high
His only Son for sin would die,
Would drink the cup of scorn and dread
To crush the ancient serpent’s head!
Now from that tree of Jesus’ shame
Flows life eternal in His name;
For all who trust and will believe,
Salvation’s living fruit receive.
And of this fruit so pure and sweet
The Lord invites the world to eat,
To find within this cross of wood
The tree of life with ev’ry good.
Night Prayer
Lord...
the Tree on which they crowned your head
became for us the throne of grace...
the Tree where you, Lord, bled for us
became the Tree where healing flows...
the Tree whose branched arms took your life
became our Tree of victory...
the Tree where you, Lord, breathed your last
became the sign of our new life...
So, let us stand there at your feet
and draw us to your outstretched arms;
and looking up, Lord, let us see
the fruit of mercy on your tree...
Protect us, Lord while we're awake
and watch over us while we sleep
that awake, we might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
Perhaps you'd like to pray with the song again...
If a widget doesn't appear below, click here!
The tree of life with ev’ry good
In Eden’s holy orchard stood,
And of its fruit so pure and sweet
God let the man and woman eat.
Yet in this garden also grew
Another tree, of which they knew;
Its lovely limbs with fruit adorned
Against whose eating God had warned.
The stillness of that sacred grove
Was broken, as the serpent strove
With tempting voice Eve to beguile
And Adam too by sin defile.
O day of sadness when the breath
Of fear and darkness, doubt and death,
Its awful poison first displayed
Within the world so newly made.
What mercy God showed to our race,
A plan of rescue by His grace:
In sending One from woman’s seed,
The One to fill our greatest need —
For on a tree uplifted high
His only Son for sin would die,
Would drink the cup of scorn and dread
To crush the ancient serpent’s head!
Now from that tree of Jesus’ shame
Flows life eternal in His name;
For all who trust and will believe,
Salvation’s living fruit receive.
And of this fruit so pure and sweet
The Lord invites the world to eat,
To find within this cross of wood
The tree of life with ev’ry good.
Pause for Prayer: FRIDAY 2/27
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| Image source |
Lent is a time for spring cleaning - in my heart - even if it doesn't look like springtime outside my window! It's a time for airing out, dusting, washing, polishing, straightening up and ordering my heart - a season for clearing out whatever doesn't belong there, whatever keeps my heart from its best and healthiest desires, thoughts and deeds.
Of course, most of this spring cleaning is God's work, not mine. Left to my own devices, I'll put off this interior cleaning for as long as I can... I make the mistake of thinking that I have to do all the work -- when all I really need to do is just get out of the way and let God do what God does best...
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and steadfast spirit in my soul...
(Psalm 51:12)
Help me get out of your way, Lord
to make room for you
to do all you want to do,
and to change in my heart
to make room for you
to do all you want to do,
and to change in my heart
what needs to be changed this Lent...
Restore my heart, refresh my heart,
renew my heart, replenish my heart,
renew my heart, replenish my heart,
recreate my heart and reshape my heart
as first you made it to be...
as first you made it to be...
Nourish what makes my heart strong, Lord
and wherever my heart has grown weak,
make it steadfast, pure and true;
heal and mend my broken heart
with your Spirit, your mercy and grace...
Sweep my heart clean, Lord, and ready me
for all you have prepared,
for the healing your touch brings,
for the peace that's only yours to give...
Create in me a clean heart, Lord:
put a new and steadfast spirit in my soul...
Amen.
2/26/26
Tomorrow is a FRIDAY in Lent!
February 27
is a FRIDAY in LENT
- a day of ABSTINENCE.
What does that mean?
On the Fridays of Lent
Catholics over 14 years of age
are expected to abstain from eating meat.
For more on this topic,
check out this earlier post.
Note:
Individual, personal health concerns and "doctor's orders"
always take precedence over regulations
for fast and abstinence!
NIGHT PRAYER: Thursday 2/26
Lent is a season of repentance, a season for taking an inventory of our hearts and acknowledging our sins, how we've failed in loving God and one another. Lent is a season of repentance, a time to pray for God for healing mercy. Let's remember tonight, then, how great is the mercy of God...
Lord of all mercy,
even before I sin,
before I even think of failing
to abide by your word,
long before I fall from grace,
even then, your mercy is waiting, ready
to pardon and forgive me,
to mend me and to heal me,
to lift me up into your arms...
I don't deserve such mercy -
no good I've ever done
could merit such a love
as yours for me -
and yet your mercy and your love
are always there for me
and simply for the asking...
I can’t then help but wonder, Lord:
who waits for my mercy?
my pardon?
my love?
Who waits on the other end
of my long held grudges and resentments?
Who waits outside the door of my anger?
Who waits, Lord, on the other side
of my "silent treatment?"
Who waits to be welcomed back into my life?
Who waits to hear my voice,
to hear once more a loving word from me? Who waits for my compassion and kindness,
for my patient understanding,
for my pardon and my mercy?
Who waits for my mercy, Lord,
as I wait for yours?
And since your mercy waits for me
(even before I think to seek it)
(even before I think to seek it)
so I must not hold back
what mercy waits in my heart
for those who wait my pardon...
what mercy waits in my heart
for those who wait my pardon...
If your love for me is so generous
must I not be generous with others?
Must I not stand, as you do, waiting,
ready to forgive,
to speak a word of kindness,
to mend and heal what's broken,
to welcome back to my embrace
those who have offended me?
Help me remember how you taught us to pray, Lord:
Forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us...
And so I pray tonight:
grant the grace I need
to hold within in my heart
a waiting store of mercy
grant the grace I need
to hold within in my heart
a waiting store of mercy
for any and for all
who wait for my forgiveness...
who wait for my forgiveness...
Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake
and watch over me while I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
Tonight's song is a simple song, set with instrumental
interludes: a mantra for helping us pray for God's mercy,
and for the grace to be merciful as the Lord is merciful...
Lord, In Your Mercy by Val Goldsack
If a video doesn't appear below, click here!
Lent
Pause for Prayer: THURSDAY 2/26
The peace that only You can give...
That's the peace I'm always looking for, Lord
- although I often end up looking for it
in all the wrong places...
In that sense, I guess peace is close to love:
we often look for love
- in all the wrong places...
But the peace I seek, Lord,
the peace I desire,
the peace I long and hunger for
is that peace that only comes from you...
Of course, there are people, things and relationships
in which I do find peace
but if that peace is at all real, deep and lasting,
then I know that those persons, things, and relationships
are your gifts to me,
are expressions of your love for me,
are somehow sacramental signs of you and of your Spirit moving in my life...
But there's also cheap peace, Lord,
on sale in stores and on line,
where the cost is not just dollars and cents
but the price I pay in self-respect
or the loss of my integrity
in settling for so much less than
the genuine, pure and worthwhile,
the beautiful, true and deep,
the life-giving, natural and sound,
that which helps me grow in faith and love
and leads me on to share my finest gifts,
all that draws me to you, always, ever closer
and brings me to find the peace I seek,
the peace that only you can give...
Yours is the peace I always seek, Lord,
but even more in this season of Lent:
a time to seek the peace you offer,
a time to make peace where I've been at fault,
a time to speak peace when the cry is for war,
a time to share peace as the most precious gift...
It's the springtime of Lent:
a season of peace - for finding peace,
a season of peace - for making peace,
a season of peace - of looking for joy,
the joy that flows from Easter peace,
the peace, O Lord that only you can give...
In my Lenten prayer, help me find the peace
of spending time alone with you,
of finding myself in finding you,
of finding in prayer the peace I seek,
the peace, O Lord, for which I pray...
In my fasting in Lent, help me find the peace
of giving up what I do not need,
of letting go what holds me fast,
of doing without what keeps me, Lord,
from knowing your full and healing peace...
In giving alms, help me find the peace
of giving away what I want to keep,
of sharing from want with those who have less,
of wanting to give for the sake of giving
and finding in giving your peace, O Lord...
Be the peace I pray for these Lenten days:
the peace I desire, hunger and thirst for,
the peace I long for, deep in my soul,
the peace the world needs but can't give itself,
the peace that wisdom and truth provide,
that peace that comes from only you,
the peace O Lord, that only you can give...
Amen.
I found this song after writing the prayer above and on finding I thought, "Maybe I should just post the song!" Well, I decided to post both - but for sure, don't miss the song...
Peace by Danny Gokey
If a video doesn't appear below, click here!
NIGHT PRAYER: Wednesday 2/25
I want to make time this Lent, Lord,
to reflect on the state of the union
we share between my heart and yours...
And not just my heart, Lord...
I want to study the state of the union
between my free will
and your plan for me;
between my daily speech
and your saving Word;
between my many thoughts
and your holy wisdom;
between all of my deeds
and your law of love;
between my mortal flesh
and your Holy Spirit;
between what I desire
and your claim on me;
between my humble being
and your life divine...
But to do this, O Lord,
to assess and reflect on
the state of our union,
I first must plead and hope and pray
for the gift of your wisdom,
your Spirit's grace,
to faithfully guide me - to the truth -
of how things are between us
and the path I must follow,
in mercy and peace,
to perfect union with you...
Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake
and watch over me while I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep rest in your peace...
Amen.
I hope you'll enjoy and find prayerful this beautiful, simple song by Sinmidele, a Nigerian singer/composer...
Perfect Union by Sinmidele
If a video doesn't appear below, click here!
2/25/26
Catholic bishops recommend reforms to immigration enforcement
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| La Sagrada Familia by Kelly Latimore |
Just prior to the State of the Union address yesterday, a group of US Catholic Bishops in border states and beyond published these recommended reforms to immigration enforcement. This statement offers a good presentation of the position of the Catholic Church on these matters. (It also represents a humane approach to the same issues.)
Statement of the US Catholic Bishops
in Border States and Beyond
on Recommended Reforms
to Immigration Enforcement
in the United States
February 24, 2026
in Border States and Beyond
on Recommended Reforms
to Immigration Enforcement
in the United States
February 24, 2026
We speak out as pastors in border states and beyond concerned about the impact of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) recent and ongoing immigration enforcement activities against individuals and families who are without legal status in our country.
While we acknowledge the right and duty of a sovereign nation to enforce its laws, we also believe that those laws should be upheld in a manner that protects the God-given human dignity and rights of the human person.
As Congress and the administration consider options to reform how immigration enforcement is conducted in our nation, we offer the following policy recommendations which, we believe, will help protect the human rights of immigrants and their families:
The right to apply for asylum at the border should be honored. We are very concerned with bona fide asylum-seekers being denied the opportunity to apply for asylum at the US-Mexico border. The right to apply for asylum is part of US and international law. Denying them this right leaves them in dangerous conditions and situations, subject to abuse by criminal organizations. Access to asylum at the border should be fully restored. We also oppose the arrest and detention of law-abiding refugees who have been lawfully admitted to the US, as has been proposed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Sensitive locations should be protected. We strongly urge you to restore “sensitive locations”—places of worship, schools, and health-care facilities—as protected from immigration enforcement activities. These locations must be protected to ensure that immigrants and their families are able to access, without fear, important services necessary for their well-being and survival. In fact, access to these services — religious practice, education, and health-care — is protected under US law.
From our perspective as pastors, we have found that members of our flock have decided not to attend Mass or access the sacraments of the Church because of the fear of immigration enforcement. We consider this an issue of religious freedom—a right enshrined in both the US Constitution and international covenants. Moreover, children should be able to attend school without fear and those in need of urgent medical care should be able to seek treatment with confidence. The reinstatement of these sensitive locations would preserve basic access to these necessary and life-affirming services.
Immigration enforcement should not focus on those who are contributing to the nation. We reaffirm the position of the US Catholic bishops that those immigrants and their families who have built equities in our country and are otherwise law-abiding—the vast majority of the undocumented—should be given an opportunity to come out of the shadows and earn their citizenship over time, becoming full legal members of and contributors to their communities and the nation. As such, we believe that immigrants and their families who are contributing to the common good should not be targeted for removal.
Immigrant families should be kept together. We also strongly urge you to ensure that the separation of families, which can have detrimental effects on the family unit, is minimized by allowing them, to the greatest extent possible, to remain together in the US. Deporting “mixed-status” families as a group—families with at least one family member who is a citizen—can significantly harm family members who have been born and raised in our country, especially US-citizen children. Studies have shown, as well, that separating US-citizen children from their parent(s) can cause children unnecessary emotional harm and inhibit their development.
Due process should be restored in the immigration system. We strongly believe that everyone should receive the due process afforded by our justice system, including a right to appear in court, ideally with the benefit of legal representation. The right to due process is enshrined in our Constitution. We believe that certain policies currently being pursued by immigration enforcement undermine this right--the use of expedited removal, warrantless arrests, administrative warrants, courtroom arrests, and racial profiling, among other policies--and should be prohibited.
The use of tactics to intimidate and create fear in the community should be halted. The use of certain tactics by immigration enforcement officials are designed to intimidate immigrants and create fear in the community. The use of masks, random stops without probable cause, roving patrols, and physical abuse of immigrants and others has been well documented. Such tactics can intimidate immigrants, even those with a legal basis to remain in the US, and prevent them from asserting their rights. We urge that the use of these tactics be stopped.
Detention standards should be enforced and vulnerable groups should not be detained. The expansion of detention facilities across the nation, such as the so-called Alligator Alcatraz in Florida, is of grave concern to us, as many of these facilities are being built in remote locations, incarcerating immigrants in substandard conditions and in some cases without access to appropriate medical care and religious services. We echo the recent statement from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that the administration’s plan to convert warehouses into mass detention centers is “deeply troubling.” In our view, the use of detention should be minimized, not expanded, and alternatives to detention be pursued.
We also urge our immigration enforcement officials not to detain vulnerable persons and groups, including families and children, pregnant women, and the disabled. We also strongly assert that detainees have access to religious and pastoral care, including Mass and the sacraments of the Catholic Church.
Congress and the administration should fund reintegration programs for deportees. Finally, we urge the US government to help mitigate the root causes of irregular migration—the lack of economic development, climate degradation, and conflict and insecurity in sending nations—as well as to invest in reintegration programs to ensure that immigrants can safely and humanely reintegrate into their original homes and support themselves and their families in dignity. Immigrants should not be deported to third countries.
As the US Catholic bishops and many across the country have advocated for decades, Congress should repair the US immigration system by placing hard-working immigrants and their families on a path to citizenship and by improving access to the legal immigration system. As was stated in a Special Message in November of last year, the US bishops oppose “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people” and believe it is detrimental to the human rights of our fellow human beings and not in the best interest of the nation.
As Congress and the administration deliberate changes to how immigration enforcement is conducted across the nation, we urge them to consider these recommendations. As always, we stand ready to work with them to create an immigration system which ensures public safety, protects human rights, encourages economic growth and justice, and upholds our heritage as a nation of immigrants.
Most Reverend Gustavo Garcia-Siller
Archbishop of San Antonio
Most Reverend John C. Wester
Archbishop of Santa Fe
Most Reverend Paul D. Etienne
Archbishop of Seattle
Most Reverend Edward J. Weisenburger
Archbishop of Detroit
Most Reverend Peter Baldacchino
Bishop of Las Cruces
Most Reverend Oscar Cantú
Bishop of San Jose
Most Reverend John P. Dolan
Bishop of Phoenix
Most Reverend Daniel E. Garcia
Bishop of Austin
Most Reverend James A. Misko
Bishop of Tucson
Most Reverend Gerald F. Kicanas
Bishop Emeritus of Tucson
Most Reverend Michael Pham
Bishop of San Diego
Most Reverend Mark J. Seitz
Bishop of El Paso
Most Reverend James S. Wall
Bishop of Gallup
Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio
Bishop Emeritus of Brooklyn
Most Reverend Bruce Lewandowski, CSsR
Bishop of Providence
Most Reverend John Stowe, OFM Conv
Bishop of Lexington
Most Reverend Peter Da Bui
Auxiliary Bishop of Phoenix
Most Reverend Eduardo A. Nevares
Auxiliary Bishop of Phoenix
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