Pastor's Notes 4/1

Dear Parishioners,
Happy Holy Week! I hope that you have set aside time to attend especially the Triduum services starting Thursday Evening. They are beautiful, and this year with the revised texts, I believe we will be celebrating them as if for the first time.
This week is given to us to become prepared for the celebration of Christ's Resurrection. We are to seek freedom from our sins always, but this is an most important time. In the past, the Church taught about the Easter Duty - to go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation to to receive Holy Communion. I was asked about this recently, and I made the comment that the Church still has these requirements (they are two of the Precepts of the Church). In the past, people had to be reminded to go to Communion at least once a year. The prevailing sentiment was that they were not worthy, so they abstained. Now, it seems, too often people go to communion without properly examining themselves. At the same time, we have seen the frequency of Reconciliation decrease. Maybe we have lost the notion of sin, assuming we are still human and subject to the effects of original sin. The Triduum reminds us of the depth of our sin - that Christ would die on the Cross for us, that He would foreshadow that self-gift with the Eucharist in which He gives us His very flesh and blood to eat and drink, and that, in His resurrection, He reconciles us to our Heavenly Father. So, I again remind you - be reconciled to God. Come to the Sacrament of Reconciliation!
In Christ,
Fr. Todd