When I first met Jesus at age 15, I was gung-ho for penances, self-sacrifice, offering up little sufferings, practicing mortifications, etc. In fact, I had picked up somewhere along the line that agony was the essence of Christianity and sanctity.

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO ROME — To fight clerical sexual abuse, the Catholic Church must have clear laws and procedures, but it also must engage in "spiritual combat," because it is obvious the devil is at work, Pope Francis said.

For your average serf of medieval Europe, Christmas was a pretty good deal, but not really a big deal.

VATICAN – Pope Francis has accepted the resignation from the College of Cardinals of Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, and has ordered him to maintain "a life of prayer and penance" until a canonical trial examines accusations that he sexually abused minors.

During Lent, well-trained Catholic minds turn to thoughts of confession.

VATICAN CITY – On Ash Wednesday Pope Francis said that while Lent is certainly a time of mortification, it’s also a journey of hope that leads to the joy of Christ’s Resurrection – a journey that requires both daily sacrifice and love.

During Lent, we are all like Jesus, starving in the desert and being asked to turn stone into bread. But we must choose each and every time to say no. Even in the “Our Father” we ask God to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” But why must we face temptations during Lent and how do they shape us?
This Lenten season I decided to give up Facebook and YouTube videos. The reason was simple. I wanted to be more productive. So, I resolved to liberate myself from procrastination and to purposefully get work done.

OTTAWA - Though a recent study shows most Catholic priests are happy in their vocations, they face many challenges that could lead some to become disillusioned.

VATICAN CITY - Joy is not a word people usually associate with strict fasting and penance — unless they are Eastern-rite Catholics.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis announced an extraordinary jubilee, a Holy Year of Mercy, to highlight the Catholic Church's "mission to be a witness of mercy."

Penance in Medieval Europe, 600-1200 by Rob Meens (Cambridge University Press, softcover, 290 pages, $29.99).

At a time when the Sacrament of Penance is in decline, a new history of early Medieval penance helps put today’s apparent crisis in a much longer perspective. Rob Meens offers a scholarly overview of the formative period when sacramental confession emerged. He takes readers back to when Catholicism appeared very different from what we expect today, a journey which some might find unsettling, others enlightening.