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Our Pastor's Weekly Message
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Third Sunday in Lent
March 7, 2010
For those of us who are active in our Catholic faith we strive every day to put God first and our ambitions and needs second. We know that when we trust in God’s holy will for us the ordinary becomes extraordinary. However, most of us have family members, friends or acquaintances who are Catholic but don’t practice their faith on a regular basis. These once beautiful souls can be dulled and lost in the mayhem of a busy life. Sometimes people who don’t live their faith are really good people. They can be helpful and kind but without centering their actions on God, they cannot be holy. Holy people are always good. Good people aren’t always holy!!! Sometimes people simply become lazy or lose the habit of receiving the sacraments and coming to church. Sometimes they just need someone like you or me to prayerfully, lovingly and patiently bring them back.
Have you ever been lost? Isn’t it frustrating? Isn’t it wonderful when someone gives us correct directions and we find our destination easily? Often when we’re lost we become frustrated and the frustration leads us into yet more confusion. How sad it is for those souls on the journey to God who are lost. These souls that belong to God sometimes put the things of the world or even the evil one before God’s holy will. Fr. Hubert and I again invite every parishioner to bring back "a lost soul" this Lent to Jesus. Pray for them every day and invite them every week during the Season of Lent to come to the Monday Confessions and back to Saturday - Sunday Mass. As Fr. Hubert and I mentioned last weekend let’s give them direction, let’s bring them back to church and with the help of the Good Shepherd, lead them safely home. Fr. Hubert and I directed our homilies last week towards the state of Purgatory and the need to constantly pray for souls in Purgatory. Why would we not strive to minimize our stay in Purgatory or maybe even avoid Purgatory all together? Hopefully by now you have been to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and are in a state of grace. If not, come on one of the Mondays at 7:00pm or Saturday at 8:00am or 4:45pm where we will be available to absolve and strengthen you.
At our retreat last week a man asked Fr. Maciej "do we go to Purgatory if we had sinned since our last Confession and not had the opportunity to confess?" The answer is quite clear - yes. It’s impossible to enter into Heaven if our soul is not pure. While many Catholics come to this sacrament twice a year (church law teaches once a year is a minimum), sometimes we need to go more frequently if and when we sin. I try to go to Confession once a month, not because I’m that bad, at least I hope not, but because I set the bar high and strive very much toward a more perfect relationship with Christ as far as humanly possible. So my friends, let us bring back an inactive soul to Christ this Lent and let us individually work on perfecting our relationship with Christ so that we can continue to grow in His grace.
My sincere appreciation to Fr. Maciej for leading us in our retreat. Tuesday night was well attended and we were very pleased to have so many people attend Confession on Wednesday evening. Fr. Hubert and I remained busy until 9:30pm. Of course we rescheduled our last session to this past Thursday because of the snowstorm. We were very grateful to Fr. Maciej for giving his time so generously and for inspiring us on topics of faith, hope and charity.
Thanks again to our Knights of Columbus, in particular to Andy, John and Frank, who organized our recent Knights of Columbus pancake breakfast. Approximately one hundred and fifty people came for breakfast. This was a fundraiser for a needy family in town. Good job brother Knights!!!
Evangelization is the commission of every Catholic Christian. This Lent each of us is trying to bring back an inactive Catholic to church through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Our efforts have been very successful so far - praise Jesus!!! Fr. Hubert and I are delighted to welcome Fr. Geno Silva to our parish this weekend. Fr. Geno is the Vicar for Evangelization for our diocese. Welcome to St. Rose Fr. Geno.
Father Owen