Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Today's feast is an occasion to once again don the Brown Scapular, which somehow got lost in my luggage a while back. In renewing my enrollment to the Blessed Virgin in conjunction with the partial indulgence of WYD and the plenary indulgence of St. Paul's Jubilee, I hope to make detachment from sin a daily task, the scapular serving as both penitential nuisance and visible reminder that I am still a disciple, still on trial, still running the race, still fighting the good fight.

We are slaves to the flesh, Cardinal Pell reminded the jubilant crowds at the opening mass. "Following Christ is not cost-free, not always easy, because it requires struggling against what St. Paul calls 'the flesh,' our fat relentless egos, old-fashioned selfishness. It is always a battle, even for old people like me," the 67-year-old cardinal said.

"Don't spend your life sitting on the fence," Cardinal Pell told them, "because only commitments bring fulfillment."

I need to renew this commitment. The time is now.