Lenten Reflections

This Lenten season, Mario Powell, S.J., and Michael Simone, S.J., will offer weekly reflections to help you prepare for Easter.

Palm Sunday Reflection

Grace does not unfold in expected ways. This is what our readings teach us this week. In fact, through human eyes, God’s plans can seem quite obscure, even perplexing. Each of the Palm Sunday readings invites us to consider that reality.

Fifth Sunday of Lent Reflection

Resurrection is an old idea in Israelite belief. The beginnings of it appear in many of the psalms, including this week’s responsorial psalm, that celebrate God’s power to retrieve human life even from the jaws of the grave.

Fourth Sunday of Lent Reflection

The authors of Scripture attest to the reality of a “second sight.” This is a deeper perception, conferred through faith, that reveals the true nature of things.

Third Sunday of Lent Reflection

For a number of years, I have had the great pleasure of celebrating Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Harlem. This worshipping community formed me, as a newly ordained priest, into the priest I am today.

Second Sunday of Lent Reflection

Jesus took Peter, James, and John and transformed them from fishermen to apostles. Our Gospel reading from the Second Sunday of Lent presents a scene of amazement that challenges Christians to be free. It challenges us to cast our lot with the Lord, knowing that the Lord will mold us like a refiner’s fire.

First Sunday of Lent Reflection

Today’s first reading from Genesis is familiar to most people. It forms part of our creation myth. It tells our story, which is the story of God’s relationship and God’s creation. This first Sunday of Lent presents us with the second creation whose verses transport us from the creation of humanity.

Ash Wednesday Reflection

The first reading from the book of Joel uses a disaster as a sign of the end of times. This passage gives us a focus for the season of Lent. In times of disaster or need we have a God who implores us to turn back to God.

Mario Powell, S.J., ’03, MDiv’14, STL’15

Mario Powell, S.J., ’03, MDiv’14, STL’15, is president of Brooklyn Jesuit Prep and an accomplished educator who has taught and worked in both secondary and middle school settings in the Jesuit school system of the Northeast Province. Prior to his current position, Fr. Powell worked at Regis High School in Manhattan as the director of the REACH Program, which prepares middle school students from families with financial need to earn scholarships to Regis High School as well as to other leading high schools in New York City. With both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Boston College and St. Louis University, Fr. Powell is well versed in Jesuit education. He has served as a member of the board of trustees at Boston College High School and is a current board member at Fordham Prep, Xavier High School, and Nativity Preparatory School in Boston.

Michael R. Simone, S.J.

Michael R. Simone, S.J., is a Jesuit priest of the USA Midwest Province. After undergraduate studies at John Carroll University and graduate work at Weston Jesuit School of Theology, he attended Johns Hopkins University where he received a PhD in Northwest Semitics and Assyriology. He currently teaches Scripture at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry, and his research focuses on ritual and imagination in the religions of the ancient Near East. Fr. Simone is a former columnist for America Magazine and is currently a volunteer chaplain at MCI Cedar Junction.