We are familiar with the idea that Lent is a season of  penance and sacrifice. Through acts of penance we  acknowledge our sins, express our sorrow and join our  actions with the redemptive work of Christ—we even take  on acts of penance for others, to help them find forgiveness  and

Imagine, for a moment, yourself standing on the banks of the Jordan River, having yourself been called out into the desert borderlands by the voice of a prophet; caught by the intrigue of this new baptism that he preached; promising salvation through repentance and the forgiveness of sins.  Then, from

Our first reading for this Sunday begins with an ordinary, yet inviting image: “When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear”.  It’s likely that when we hear this, our thoughts go to where the next line also goes: “so do one’s faults.”  Along with images of the wheat being separated