We began this Lent being told to: “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” But have you ever thought of repenting as a way of life? Repentance does not mean being gloomy or down on oneself. It means to face the facts of who we are as sinners, and do something about it. Perpetual repenting is an interior stance, an interior work.

The Gospel call to solidarity and justice is one that can only be lived in community with others. It is not a journey we make on our own. There are times when our brothers and sisters on that journey pass from this life into the full embrace of God. When they do, it is good give thanks for their lives and witness to the wider community the contributions they have made.

The Canadian communication expert Marshall McLuhan made famous the phrase, “The medium is the message" by which he meant that the way a message is delivered has a significant impact on how it is received. But what if the medium is one of the people of the beatitudes: the poor, the addicts, the isolated, and the homeless?