Comments on: Entering into Lent

By: Kelly

Kelly — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 22:12:16 +0000

Cardinal Sean, I enjoy your blog very much and thank you for communicating with us this way. My editorial comment on the last photo on this blogpost: Might that young woman receiving ashes have given a ;little more thought to her clothing? I find it a bit disturbing that many young (and not so young) women wear rather revealing clothing to church. Is this young lady really oblivious that her clothing is showcasing her bustline? Or does she know that but doesn’t care? Why would anyone wear alluring or distracting clothing to church? If there was ever a time and place to dress modestly and respectfully (for self and others, including priests), church is it!

The Catholic catechism has a terrific explanation of modesty, what it protects and preserves, why it is so valuable. We Catholics would do well to reclaim that virtue.

By: Debra

Debra — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:50:34 +0000

Wow, very interesting post and wonderful photos, I cant even think, that I found such information, I think this event was very important for everyone.

By: Richard Clifford

Richard Clifford — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 22:06:36 +0000

Cardinal Sean, I wonder if you were aware that there’s a traditional Latin Mass offered at your Cathedral every Sunday. Is it possible that you yourself will celebrate an Extraordinary Rite Mass any time in the future?

By: shannon m

shannon m — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:37:54 +0000

dear cardinal sean,
this weeks blog was great! i loved the renovations at the teen center. this weekend, i went to snowcamps. you might have heard of it but if not, its this great three-day camp were you have an awesome time and learn about God. C.A.M.P.S stands for christ as my personal savior. it was really good to be around people who are so in love with jesus. it taught me a lot and i recomend it to everyone.
-shannon m
P.S hope to see you soon!

By: Jenna

Jenna — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:34:47 +0000

Dear Cardinal Sean,

This past weekend I attended a religious retreat in New Hamshire called Snow Camps with two other classmates. My experience there taught me how much God loves us and how He sent His only son to die for us because He loves us. It taught me that God wanted us to go to Heaven so badly that He sent His son down so we could go to Heaven. My time at Snow Camps also allowed me to become closer to God and it helped me realize that God loves me and that I should try to think about my words and actions before I do them.

Sincerely,
Jenna Gibbons
Saint Paul School

By: Mikayla McGrath

Mikayla McGrath — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:34:31 +0000

Dear Cardinal Sean,

Give my thanks to Archbishop Timothy Dolan who became the next Archbishop of New York. That must have been a very special time for him and a great honor. We got ashes on our heads on Ash Wednesday at church during school. I hope you can visit us sometime here at St. Paul School.
Sincerely,
Mikayla McGrath
St. Paul School
Hingham, MA

By: Kate K

Kate K — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:33:54 +0000

Hi, Cardinal Sean.

This week’s blog was very interesting. I was glad to see that The Teen Center was renovated so beautifully. I’m sure that the kids there are having an even more wonderful exprerience now.

Over this past weekend I was in New York for my cousin Julie’s baptism. It was a great celebration. Before the baptism at Sunday Mass, there was a big styrofoam cross that had a basket of little wooden crosses next to it. What we were to do was to give our cross a “name” for something difficult in our life (an addiction, faith issue, health problem, etc.), and then stick it in the styrofoam cross. In doing so, we were carrying our cross throughout the Lenten season, and at the end of Lent at the Easter Vigil, they would burn all the crosses. I thought this was a wonderful exercise, and would help us get closer to God during this season of Lent. I used a few crosses, naming them things such as “temptations”, “stress”, and even “homework”. It was a very nice thing to do, and I think it will help me get closer to God as I try to carry these burdens.

I hope you have a great week! Thanks you for a great blog!

-Kate K
Grade 7
St. Paul School, Hingham MA

I hope you come to visit our school soon!

By: Deirdre

Deirdre — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:33:27 +0000

Hi Cardinal Sean,

This weeks blog is great! Im so excited that the season of Lent is beginning. Lent is a great time for us to become closer with God and help others in need. Im also very happy to hear about Archbishop Timothy Dolan.
I hope you visit our school soon!

Sincerely,
Deirdre Gill
7th Grade
St. Paul School

By: Lindsey

Lindsey — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:29:11 +0000

Dear Cardinal Sean,
I enjoyed reading your blog this week. It is always very interesting to see how your week has been and all the activities that you do. The teen center program looks very helpful to people.

Beat Wishes,
Lindsey, seventh grade at St. Paul

By: Stone Gampel

Stone Gampel — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:16:14 +0000

I engoyed reading your blog this week. Im also happy to hear about Archbisop Timothy Dolan becoming the new archbishop of New York.

from,
Stone Gampel
Saint Paul School
7th grade

By: ShannonW.

ShannonW. — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:05:24 +0000

Dear Cardinal Sean,

That’s great how a lot of people participated in Ash Wednesday, that must have made you very happy. It’s good to see that the Teen Center were able to carry out magnificent renovations for the young people in other Catholic Schools. Can’t wait for the next blog!

ShannonW.
A student from St. Pauls School

By: Ned Ramsay

Ned Ramsay — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:03:22 +0000

I loved reading our blog this week. I was happy to hear about Archbishop timothy dolan becoming the new archbishop of New York. I hope you are having a great lent season.

from,

Ned Ramsay
St. Paul school
Grade 7

By: Deanna

Deanna — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:56:25 +0000

Dear Cardinal Sean,

It must have been an honor to be able to be with and talk to Holocaust Survivors. Archbishop Timothy Dolan must be very excited about becoming the new Archbishop of New York. I hope you have a good week. I can’t wait for your next blog.

From,
Deanna
St. Paul School

By: Nikki

Nikki — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:55:16 +0000

Dear Cardinal Sean,
It’s good that everyone participating in Ash Wednesday. I am glad to see that The Teen Center has had such positive influence on kids. I am looking forward to next weeks blog.

-Nikki St.paul’s School Hingham

By: Caroline

Caroline — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:53:57 +0000

Dear Cardinal Sean.
I loved the renovations that were made at the Catholic Charities’ Teen Center at St. Peter’s and I wish I could go there! I am very happy for Archbishop Timothy Dolan about becoming the new Archbishop of New York.

Hope to see you soon!

~Caroline Hughes
St. Pauls School
Hingham Ma

By: Celene

Celene — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:45:19 +0000

Dear Cardinal Sean,
I hope Archbishop Dolan will do his best as the next archbishop of New York!
At my school, we have foldable cardboard boxes where we put in money and coins for Lent. This year in Lent I am putting in some of my own money from my allowance into those boxes! I think it is important to give up some of our own things because we are so fortunate to live our kind of life style while others are going hungry and a poor.
Sincerely,
Celene from St. Paul School

By: Jenna

Jenna — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:02:28 +0000

Dear Cardinal Sean,

This past weekend I also attended a religious retreat in New Hampshire called Snow Camps along with two other classmates. From my experiences there, I became closer to God and I learned that God sent Jesus to die on the cross for us because He loves us. I also learned the God wants us to come to Heaven and that is why He saved us from sin, by sending His only son. I always felt close to God, but my time at Snow Camps allowed me to become much closer and think about how much God really does love us and how we should let him into our lives and teach others about him.

Sincerely,
Jenna Gibbons
7th Grade Student at Saint Paul School in Hingham
I hope you visit our school sometime!

By: Stephen Rochford

Stephen Rochford — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:43:12 +0000

Dear Cardinal Sean:

Thank you for your e-ministry.

I wanted to ask about an article that I read on LifeNews.com yesterday. It stated that … “Caritas Christi, is joining with Centene Corporation in a bid for the government contract that would include coverage for abortion.” Is this accurate?

Thank you.

Steve Rochford

By: Alexis

Alexis — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:48:46 +0000

Dear Cardinal Sean,

I love reading your new blogs! They are very interesting to me. I have been praying during the lent season, it is very important. We received ashes on our foreheads in church also. I am happy that Timothy Dolan is the new Archbishop of New York!

Sincerely,
Alexis

By: Lindsey

Lindsey — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:31:04 +0000

Dear Cardinal Sean,
Congratulations to Archbishop Timothy Dolan as the next Archbishop of New York. This saturday at Mass, the priest was talking about Lent. In his homily he mentioned that during Lent we not only try to become closer to God but we give thanks for what we have that others don’t have. For example, for Lent I am trying not to use my cell phone as much. His homily made me think about the people who don’t have phones at all. They don’t even have houses to live in. It gave me a new perspective on the season of Lent. Also, a teacher in my school’s mother unfortunately passed away. Would you please pray for her?

Best wishes,
Lindsey from St. Paul School

By: Deirdre

Deirdre — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:30:46 +0000

Hi Cardinal Sean,

This weeks blog is great! I also think it is important that we devote this time of Lent to improving our relationship with God and others. I am so happy to hear about Archbishop Timothy Dolan. I’m very excited about the season of Lent beginning. Lent is a time to make sacrifices and strengthen our love with God.
I hope you visit our school soon! Keep up the great blogs!

Sincerely,
Deirdre Gill
7th grader at St. Paul School

By: Kate K

Kate K — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:25:28 +0000

Hi Cardinal Sean,

The Teen Center looks great now! It’s a really good thing that all those kids will have a better learning experience now.

I would like to meet Holocaust survivors one day. The Holocaust was a horrible, awful time in our world’s history and we need people who actually went through it to help us prevent hatred and genocide from ever happening again. I am interested in learning about the Holocaust. Our class is going to Washington DC this year, and we will be visiting the Holocaust Memorial Museum.

I was in New York over the weekend, and with the grace of God, got home safely on Sunday night. My family and I were there for the baptism of my little cousin. But we also went to Sunday Mass, and when we were there, the Church had a large styrofoam cross. In a basket next to it were many little wooden crosses. What we were supposed to do was “name” our cross, something hard in our life (an addiction, health issue, problems with faith, etc.) and stick the cross into the bigger cross. We would “carry our crosses” throughout Lent, and at the end of Lent, all the little crosses would be burned during the Easter Vigil. I thought this was a wonderful spiritual thing to do that would help me on my journey throughout Lent.

Thank you for the great blog!

-Kate K
Grade 7
Saint Paul School, Hingham

I hope you come to visit our school soon!

By: Paul Dang

Paul Dang — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 09:11:10 +0000

Dear Cardinal Sean, I love reading your blogs. I met you at Franco American school in Lowell and at Saint John the Evangelist church in Chelmsford last year. It was really a priviledge to me. If you are ever around Lowell, please come visit Pho Da Lat restaurant. We have the best Vietnamese food in Lowell which is run by a Catholic family. Thank you.

By: Mackenzie

Mackenzie — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 04:04:34 +0000

Dear Cardinal Sean,
This week’s blog was very interesting to read. It was nice to see everyone celebrating Ash Wednesday and preparing for Lent. The renovations of the Catholic Charities’ Teen Center at St. Peter’s looks really nice. I am glad that many people attendended the ceremony too.

Sincerely,
Mackenzie from St. Paul’s School

By: Br. Jay Rivera, SFO

Br. Jay Rivera, SFO — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:13:05 +0000

I am glad to see that Cardinal Sean has taken steps to heal the rift between Catholics and our Jewish brothers and sisters due to the unfortunate statement made by Bishop Williamson of the SSPX. Such a regrettable comment not only offended the Jewish people, but many Christians as well. It sets a very poor tone for those who are looking to the Catholic Church to be the voice of reason and compassion in a world where these two virtues seem to be waning.

All of us can learn from Cardinal Sean’s activity and efforts on behalf of reconciliation between the Jewish and Catholic communities. As Catholics we are bound to take to heart the words of Christ, “Ut unum sint,” that we may all be one.

St. Benedict exhorted his monks to a conversion of manners. Our way of life must change for the good and never compromise the work toward unity, regardless of the smallness of the steps that have been taken. Our holy father St. Francis called every creature Brother.

Often brothers and sisters will speak hurtful words, but the sons and daughters of the Father should always lead by their example of humility and repentence when they have hurt another person.

Many Catholics wonder why the Church is not more assertive in promoting the conversion to Catholicism among people of other faiths. What we must remember is that before we can invite others to embrace our faith, we must prove to be worthy of their trust. How can others trust our preaching, if our actions are hurtful and divisive?

Br. Jay, SFO

By: Mariah

Mariah — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 01:57:44 +0000

Dear Cardinal Sean,

This past weekend I visited a great program in New Hampshire called Snow Camps. There, I became closer to God and realized just how much he loves me. God’s way of showing us his unconditional passion to love us is through giving up his only son to save us from OUR sins. This really helped me to realize that God wants to form a personal relationship with both me and you for we are his children; however, we are the only ones who can let him into our lives.

I really enjoyed you blog this week. Thank You!

Sincerely,
Mariah Ward
7th grade student at St. Paul School

By: Jake

Jake — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:15:42 +0000

Cardinal Sean,

I am happy the lent season of 2009 has come. I am also glad to hear about Archbishop Timothy Dolan becoming the new Archbishop of New York. I hope it is a nice and peaceful 2009 lent season!

Jake
Grade 7
St.Paul School Hingham
Hope you visit us soon!

By: Gabrielle

Gabrielle — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 21:02:59 +0000

Dear Cardinal Sean,
Best of luck to Archbishop Timothy Dolan! The Holocaust was a very low point in history. Israel Arbeiter and Steve Ross, must of gone through a really hard time facing the horrors that they experienced in the death camps.I am looking forward to next weeks blog!

I hope that you visit our school soon!

~Gabrielle
7 Grade, St Paul School Hingham MA

By: adriano klopfer

adriano klopfer — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 11:54:03 +0000

Congratulations cardinal Sean.
Its a very good blog,I read every week.
One reader from Brazil,adriano.