But, as we always say, it’s God who gives each of us Lent, God who in each of us sheds his light on some specific area of our poverty and sinfulness, God who in his unique way gives us penances and leads us to repentance.

So far Lent has not been an easy time. There were the deaths of Paul and Janine right before it started, deaths which hit us hard. Moreover, in the case of quite a few of us, there have been death and serious illness in our families.

One thing that always happens in Lent is staff study—taking Friday afternoons to study together in small groups. Each year the subjects are different, and the variety over the years has been astounding. (Catherine Doherty always told us that nothing is foreign to the apostolate except sin.)

This year, we were able to suggest topics. Each suggestion was listed, and we prayed and signed up for one of them Those for which fewer than three people signed up were cancelled, and people from those groups signed up for others.

What was left was quite a variety including Catherine’s Doherty’s diaries in their historical context, Catherine’s poetry, Eastern Rite Vespers, the spiritual heritage of Canada (this one is in preparation for the Eucharistic Congress), drawing, bookbinding, and woodcarving.

In this day of readily available DVDs and other such technology, one group is listening to Christopher West on the Theology of the Body, another is watching a series called Pacific Rim, about the nations of Southeast Asia, and a third is listening to the lectures from an anti-euthanasia conference. Still another group is listening to the tapes from a class by Fr. David May on the Book of Exodus.

Meanwhile, the applicants and guests continue their classes. Recently, the experiences of two of the applicants enriched their study. When they watched the film Gandhi, Lisa Diniz, who is from India and who worked there for an organization promoting non-violence, and Derek Pinto, who has traveled extensively in India, were able to fill in what was happening behind the scenes of the movie.

Lent is also a time of retreats. Fr. Wild gave one to the suspended priests of the archdiocese of Brooklyn-Queens. (They have a program which includes a yearly retreat and several days of recollection).

Fr. David May gave a weekend of recollection on the spiritual life of the priest to the seminarians at St. Augustine’s in Toronto, and Helen Hodson gave Ignatian retreats to several people in Vancouver.

On a lighter level, a few days before Lent, we had our annual Pre-Lent Event, our version of Mardi-Gras. This is a variety show, mostly comedy. It always brings forth lots of creativity, and it is always funny and fun.

This year the MCs were David Thomas and Neil Patterson, and the back and forth repartee between rapping David and "serious intellectual" Neil was delightful. This year the show included "commercials"—Fr. Pelton singing jingles from the ’40s and ’50s: Pepsi Cola, Cream of Wheat, and Chiquita Banana (played by Susanne Stubbs).

The props were especially clever: a walk-on canoe and a huge slice of bread, to mention just two.

Skits are too hard to describe on paper. Suffice it to say that one was a This is Your Life about a butterball (applicant Trina Stitak in a huge stuffed bright yellow garbage bag). "The people in her life" began with Noreen, the cow!

This month, our Winter Lecture Series was not a lecture but an evening of praise and worship songs led by Susan Hookong-Taylor and Ana Da Costa, who wrote the theme song of the World Youth Day Cross for the Toronto event. Their songs were beautiful and prayerful and hearing and singing that beautiful theme song again certainly brought back memories of World Youth Day.

Last but not least, all of you who enjoy Fr. Pat McNulty’s column will be happy to know that he has just had his first book published: I Live Now, Not I, available from Madonna House Publications.

During this Easter Season, may the Risen Lord give you an ever-deepening realization of the tremendous joy of the truth of the Resurrection.