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Bulletin Letter
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My Dearest Parishioners,
1. Jesus said in the gospel of Mark 1:15 these powerful words: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.” Repent simply means turning from sin and returning to the Lord. This is celebrated powerfully in the sacrament of confession. Everyone is encouraged to make a good confession during these forty days of Lent. We will have four priests for confession this Wednesday, March 10 from 6:00-7:00 pm and four priests on Saturday, March 13 from 9:00-10:00 am at the Holy Family Life Center. Please take advantage of this graced opportunity.
Isaiah the prophet said theses insightful words (Is 1:16): “Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil, learn to do good.” Sin is a misdeed, wrong and evil and affects our relation with God, ourselves and others. For something to be a sin, these things are necessary: One, it is wrong, two, I know it is wrong and three, I do it anyway. There are the two types of sin. One is venial and the other is mortal sin. Venial sin is a less serious sin and mortal sin is a serious sin that breaks our relationship with God. A person needs to go to confession before receiving communion if a mortal sin is committed. Confession is also a healing sacrament because the Lord acts in the Sacrament with his healing and forgiving power.
In all the sacraments, every priest acts in the person of Christ who is the head of the Church. In the gospel of John (Jn 20:22-23) Jesus said after he had risen from the dead these words: “Receive the Holy Spirit, whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven, and who sins you retain are retained.” Plan to come to our extra confessions this Wednesday or Saturday and experience the Risen Lord say to you personally, “Your sins are forgiven.” Repent because the Kingdom of God is at hand.
2. The tripod of Lent is prayer, fasting and almsgiving. I encourage you through your almsgiving to financially support our excellent St. Maria Goretti Catholic Grade School to help us bridge the gap between what we receive in tuition and the actual cost of running our school through the School’s Annual Appeal. Our goal is $150,000 and we continue to need your help so we can meet and surpass our goal. You can drop off your gift at the school or parish office or drop your gift in the collection basket. Include the note on your check that the gift is for the Annual Appeal of SMG Catholic School. I want to thank you for your financial support of our school and parish and for all of your generous gifts.