Tomorrow, we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the United States. It is a holy day of obligation because the feast was transferred to December 9 from December 8. This happens when December 8 falls on a Sunday and the Second Sunday of Advent takes precedence over the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Masses will be at 8 AM, 9:30 AM, and 7 PM.
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception affords us the opportunity to again reflect on Mary’s part in God’s plan for our salvation and her willingness to give herself completely to Him. For her part in God’s plan for our salvation, which was to give birth to the Savior and thus become the Mother of God, she was conceived without original sin. Mary was preserved from sin from the first moment of her conception. This does not mean that she was not tempted. Jesus Himself was tempted. But she never sinned. This is a great and wonderful example to all of us. We too are given sanctifying grace at Baptism. God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within us, gives us the grace to overcome all temptation in our lives.
As we celebrate the Immaculate Conception, let us ask our Blessed Mother to help us not sin so that we may too be fully a part of God’s loving plan of salvation for the whole world.
On Wednesday, December 11, we will have our Advent Communal Penance Service at 7 PM. There will be several visiting priests here to help hear confessions. Please take this opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation so that you can prepare your heart to receive our Savior in Holy Communion on Christmas Day. Through confession we are reconciled to God and to the Church, giving us the grace and power to do well in our daily lives by loving God and our neighbor.
Going to confession is not always easy because we do not want to admit our sinfulness to anyone. The scriptures tell us to confess our sins (The Letter of James). In confessing them, we make ourselves accountable for them. This helps us realize that we need God’s help to do better. We cannot do this without His help and His love in our lives. We should rejoice that God loves us so much that He is willing to forgive us over and over again no matter what we do; all we have to do is ask. This is the very reason He gave us this wonderful sacrament. Please take full advantage of it frequently. You will find an insert in the bulletin today to help you prepare for this sacrament.
I am very grateful to all those who brought food items to the Thanksgiving Day Mass. I know that the St. Vincent de Paul Society will make good use of these donations to help feed the poor during the Christmas holidays. I am also very grateful to all those who took items off the Giving Tree in the chapel to purchase Christmas gifts for those in need at this special time of the year. There are so many generous people here at Sacred Heart. Your willingness to give is always inspiring and exceptional. I know there are always so many requests, especially at this time of the year.
As I did in past years, I would highly recommend the Dynamic Catholic website to help you and your family make this Advent the best ever. Simply go to the website BestAdventEver.com and sign up. You will receive helpful reflections and prayer ideas as well as practical things that can help you and your family rediscover Christmas. These daily emails will help you slow down in the midst of the holiday rush so the Advent Season does not slip by without helping you prepare to encounter Jesus as He comes into our world again and again.
FORMED, NETFLIX FOR CATHOLICS. It has been eight years since we introduced FORMED to our parish family. It may be best described as Netflix for Catholics. It enables you to access Catholic audio and video series that teach us about our Catholic Faith, Sacred Scripture, Sacraments, living our faith in our daily lives, and so much more. There are also good movies that the entire family can enjoy and find inspirational. There are programs for children of all ages that you can use at home to teach your children about our Catholic Faith. There are always new resources being added so there is always much to look forward to as we grow in our faith. Another idea might be to gather friends at home and to form study groups that you can set up on your schedule. FORMED offers many options for individuals, families, groups of friends and neighbors, parish groups, and many others to come together and share their faith. I hope that everyone will take advantage of this great opportunity. The best part about it is that it is FREE. There is no cost no matter how often you use it. The parish pays a yearly subscription rate that covers everyone in the parish. If you have not yet tried FORMED, go to FORMED.org and sign up using our parish code, 2QC77G. Try it! I am sure you will be FORMED in Christ.
