Today is Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, and the halfway point of the Advent Season. The word of God today reminds us to rejoice in the Lord always. As we look forward to His coming again, we rejoice because He came among us as a man over 2,000 years ago and He is still with us. Today, His presence can be somewhat hidden because of all the distractions in our world and in our lives. Through prayer and the sacraments, we can see Him more clearly if we take the time to look with our eyes and our hearts. The more we are aware of His first coming, which we celebrate at Christmas, the better we will be prepared to welcome Him when He comes again. The days of Advent are growing shorter, but there is still time to make this a truly holy season by preparing our hearts for the Lord Jesus to enter.
There are still many opportunities to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation this week and next week. Please check the bulletin for dates and times. You may also want to go to Mass an extra time during the week or spend some time in the Chapel of Divine Mercy. You can also call your family to pray at home by saying the family Rosary. You can start by just saying it once a week and then gradually add an extra day from time to time until you are saying the Rosary each day as a family. A family could not spend fifteen minutes of time in a better way than by praying the Rosary.
On Monday, December 15 at 7 PM, we will have our Advent Communal Penance Service. There will be several visiting priests here to help hear all the 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 so that we can have 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) and in confessing them we make ourselves accountable for them and we also 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.
To help in your preparation to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation you will find in the bulletin an insert with an examination of conscience and a step-by-step reminder of how and why we go to confession in the first place. Please take time to review these and share them with your families, especially your children. Parents, please remember that your children, whether in Sacred Heart School or the PSR program, will have the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation before Christmas.
A big thank you to the Predictables, Joe McNeill, Chris Serger, and Josh Watson for their annual Advent concert to benefit our St. Vincent de Paul Society and all the people they help throughout the year and especially at this time of the year. There were about a hundred or so people in attendance and the total amount raised was about $9,000 which included a few donors who matched what was donated at the concert. Thank you again to all who made this event possible to help those who are in need. God bless everyone for such generosity and care for those less fortunate.
