Dear friend,<\/p>\n
In the Gospel this week, Jesus addresses one of the popular opinions of the first century Jewish belief about God\u2019s interaction with humanity. Jesus asked the people, \u201cDo you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?\u201d The people recognized a sacrilege that a group of Galileans suffered. They believed because they suffered this oppression, that they deserved it. They question whether God was punishing them by allowing this sacrilege to take place. In this story Jesus makes one simple point, God does not control us. God loves, forgives, guides, inspires and heals, but he doesn\u2019t control. We all know this from our experience of sin and not being struck by a lightning bolt! We can certainly understand that an all-powerful God would have the ability to control the world; but, the humility of Christ reveals that God patiently allows us to succeed and fail based on our own decisions and conditions in the world in which we live. Christ calls us then not to look over our shoulders in fear or to live expecting retribution, but rather to allow his truth to guide us to better decisions tomorrow. The Bible says that \u201cthe wages of sin is death,\u201d but this death is the threat of eternal separation from God. The call of Christianity and the Lenten Season is to embrace the Sacred Heart of Jesus that tomorrow might be a holier day.<\/p>\n
The sacrament of reconciliation is truly underutilized in our Church. While I do think our parish makes fairly good use of the sacrament, we could do better. One of the five precepts of the Catholic Church is every Catholic should receive the sacrament once per year. As a priest of 15 years, I can attest to the great healing aspect of confession for my own life, and the lives of our Catholic faithful. I think some don\u2019t receive the sacrament simply because they don\u2019t realize the great freedom Jesus Christ desires to offer them in forgiveness. There are so many components to receiving forgiveness in the sacrament. Through God\u2019s action and the ministry of the Church, we are given certitude of our forgiveness. There is a true psychological freedom that comes when we speak our faults, weaknesses, sins, and hurts in the presence of a Church\u2019s minister in a strictly confidential conversation. I have witnessed so many miracles of spiritual, mental, psychological and even physical healings by fully trusting in the power of Jesus Christ\u2019s willingness to set one free in confession. I cannot overemphasize the good of this sacrament to the health of Christians. Please do your best to receive the sacrament of reconciliation during Lent. I have added some extra confession times during Lent. You are free to contact me for an appointment in my office or in the church confessional to schedule a confession any time. If you haven\u2019t been in years, I know that once you get through the anxiety of going, to actually experiencing the sacrament, you will feel your faith journey rejuvenated. I think we all agree it\u2019s healthy to have some anxiety about speaking our sins and faults; but, Jesus truly desires to set us free.<\/p>\n
God bless,<\/p>\n
Father David<\/p>\n
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