Being a teacher may not buy me the BMW of my dreams, but days like this make me feel like a millionaire.

Many years for Lent I take on too many goals and give up too many things. A few days into Lent, I invariably realize I have failed at everything I planned to give up and take on.

Archbishop William E. Lori has created a new Institute for Evangelization for the Archdiocese of Baltimore and has named Edward Herrera as its first executive director.

The annual discernment retreat is a chance for potential seminarians to learn more about what it takes to be a priest, meet men who are already in formation and ask questions about the life and ministry of a priest.

Perhaps it’s a blessing, then, that the church gives us Lent in midwinter. It’s a season of soul-searching; the gray skies give us no other choice but to turn inward and examine the dark spaces we’d rather not explore.