1. It’s scary to share my struggle and to show that I have cracks because once I’ve shown my cards, I open myself up for judgment.
  2. Ash Wednesday's purpose is not to motivate our resolve to redouble our efforts to do better.
  3. Zephaniah has given us something more visceral to help us understand the love of God: the sound of salvation.
  4. Forty days after giving birth, Mary, along with her husband Joseph, presented their firstborn Son at the temple and "bought" him back with a sacrifice of two small birds. This is known as the "Presentation of Our Lord."
  5. Even as he was dying, the heart of God poured itself out for the sake of sinners.
  6. Christ our Word, as with a two-edged sword, burst the devil's belly.
  7. I think the problem with the idea of eternity is that we do not have any direct experience of it, but we encounter enough of its possibility to be unsettling.
  8. Repentance is meaningless unless we are willing to acknowledge who we are: sinners needing mercy.
  9. The usual acclamation when one becomes King is: “Long live the King!” But this King of kings, this son of David, has come to die.
  10. If Jesus shows up and you are a sinner, ‘tis more blessed to receive than to give
  11. You are the friend in low places. It’s only from this place that you are free to look outside yourself for the remedy to the issues that plague you and humanity.