Expecting Easter

It's hard to believe. Tuesday of Holy Week already. Where has all the time gone? Where has Lent gone?

This time of the year, I almost always feel like I've somehow "wasted" my Lent, not given it the attention it deserves. But perhaps that's not so bad - if I could fix my sinful nature in the span of 40 days, then I would be lying to myself. So perhaps Holy Week is a chance to acknowledge the good and the bad alike, to give thanks for the grace of conversion, and to beg for more grace as a sinner in need of Mercy.

But that's not the point of my thoughts today. One of the "Goods" this Lent was a thought I had a few weeks back regarding fasting, penances, and Sunday.

For those of you unaware, Sundays are not actually a part of Lent. They are Sundays in Lent, not Sundays of Lent. And I can prove it.

Yes, but what is Mercy?

We make a mistake if we attempt to read Pope Francis as a philosopher in the manner of Pope Saint John Paul the Great, and likewise err if we attempt to read him as a theologian in the manner of Pope Benedict XVI. However, we similarly make a mistake if we consider our reigning Pontiff to be soft, weak, ignorant, or naive. He is, after all, a Jesuit.

Which is why I propose that we rename this year from the Jubilee Year of Mercy to the Jubilee Year of Jesuit Cunning.