Within a cave of winter cold,
A newborn King gets gift of gold.
The babe is our Lord,
Who escaped the sword,
Because his dad does what he’s told.
The King grows up and fasts and prays,
Within the desert, forty days.
Temptation then came,
But he beat the game,
Because he minds The Father’s ways.
The King does heal and teach and feed,
He’s hailed with palms; beaten with reed.
The crowd screams, Yes, kill!
Then his blood does spill,
Because of fear and hate and greed.
The King is slain and put in grave,
By everyone he came to save.
And though he is dead,
There’s nothing to dread,
Because he rose and us forgave!
Within a Lent of winter cold,
Let’s mend our hearts; do what we’re told.
We’ll fast, and we’ll pray,
Forgive the wrong way,
And give The King our gifts of gold.
We are in a time when we cannot go to our normal place of worship and celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with the rest of our church community. Yet the third commandment tells us that we are to keep holy the sabbath day! It has been suggested that we watch Mass online or on TV. This is a wonderful opportunity for the domestic Church (which is the family) to delve deeper into the beauty of the Mass.
“Mmm….just right!” your mouth tells you as you take a sip of the perfect latte, cappuccino, coffee, hot tea or whatever you start your day with. But if there’s too much sugar, not enough cream, or the temperature is too cold or too hot, it can throw a wrench in the works. You mumble & grumble and pour and stir until you get it just right. How do I know? Because I find myself scrupulously preparing my cup of morning brew! 
A large crowd followed and pressed around him. (Mark 5:24) And understandably so. Jesus had just healed a man possessed with numerous demons and was on his way to the house of a synagogue official who had begged him to heal his gravely ill daughter.
