Phil Lawler on Repentance and Liturgical Revival

"With Ash Wednesday just one short week away, I have been thinking about the need for repentance: not just my own need (which is great), but the need of the whole universal Church. For all of us, acutely conscious of the scandals within the Church, Lent is a good time to recall the words of St. Peter to religious leaders who had betrayed the Messiah: 'Repent, therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.' [Acts 3:19]

"When I refer to the scandals in the Church, I do not mean only the sex-abuse scandal , , , the financial scandals . . .  the scandals of episcopal malfeasance and misfeasance (about which the reminders are constant). Over and above these problems, I am thinking of the scandal of a shrinking Catholic Church.

"We - all of us, all the baptized - have been charged by the Lord to preach the Gospel to all nations. But instead of spreading the faith, we are watching its decay. In societies that were once solidly Catholic, old parish churches are closing. Even where the churches remain open, young people are filing out the doors by the hundreds of thousands, planning never to return."

In a recent commentary, Phil Lawler, editor of Catholic World News, reflected on the need for repentance in our lack of proper reverence in our celebration of the Eucharist.

To access Mr. Lawler's complete post, please visit:

Catholic Culture: Want a liturgical revival? Start with repentance. (19 FEB 20)