Advent and Confession

Karen Pepe • December 8, 2021

From pastor’s desk on the Third Sunday of Advent, year C

Conversion is an ongoing theme of Advent. It means turning around from evil ways and making a way for the coming of Christ. It is an ordering of our mind and heart and setting them towards a higher goal, that is, life in God. How do we do that?  It is a very similar question that the crowds asked Saint John the Baptist, “What should we do?”  We read in the Gospel:

[John] said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?”  He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.”  Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?”  He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages .”  (Luke 3:11-14)

Notice that John the Baptist did not tell the people to do anything unusual or strange. Rather, he gave them simple counsels: do whatever you need to do according to your state of life.  In other word, whatever you do, do it with honesty and faithfulness to your faith.  Also, do it for the greater glory of God without compromising your belief or moral behavior.  Follow God’s Commandments, all of them, and be candidly good to others.  In this way, you will make the first step toward the preparation for the encounter with the Messiah. The second step belongs to Christ, who “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”  But to receive Christ into our lives, the purity of heart and willingness to repent are essential. “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).

On a practical note, it means for Christians, that we need to show our faith in our daily actions.  Whether it be with our families, or in our jobs, or if you are a student, in your schoolwork. This means that we need to put God first in all our endeavors. Our thoughts and our emotions need to be purified and organized according to that higher goal, which is God Himself. The lives of the countless saints prove that setting your mind on God really works and brings abundant and lasting fruits. So, this a call to holiness of life in the simplicity of heart for each and every one of us. Advent is a sacred time that reminds us of the Way of Christ.

As we prepare for Christmas let us also use an opportunity to go to confession. The sacrament of reconciliation is a wonderful tool that our Lord gave us to cleanse us of our faults and to lift the burden off our shoulders laden by the consequence of sin.  Please read the conditions to make a good confession, following my column.  Also you may do a search for an examination of conscience that will help you to discern whether your actions and thoughts reflected God’s law or not.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary help you on the way to Jesus.

Have a blessed week,

Fr. Janusz Mocarski, Pastor

 

CONDITIONS TO MAKE A GOOD SACRAMENTAL CONFESSION

  1. Contrition (i.e., real sorrow for sin).
  2. A desire to amend one’s life.
  3. Confession of sins.
  4. a) With regard to each and every  mortal sin , the penitent must confess number and kind (i.e., what you did and how many times you did it). The priest does not need to hear details (e.g., the family history of why you struggle with hatred toward a brother) but he does need to hear factors that change the severity of the sin (e.g., stealing from a church adds the sin of sacrilege to the sin of theft and changes the severity of the sin). You  must confess at least all mortal sins since your last good (i.e., not invalid) Confession. 
  5. b) It is also of great benefit to confess venial sins since your last Confession – especially those venial sins which are habitual or which trouble you most. However, there is no requirement to confess  all venial sins (as that can be a practical impossibility). 
  6. c) If you have no mortal sins, you must confess venial sins as they would then be part of the necessary matter. 
  7. d) You should never intentionally hide  any  sin from your confessor.

4, The intention of performing the penance that the priest assigns as penance.

  1. a) One should perform the penance as soon as possible. After exiting the confessional, it is advisable to remain in the Church until the penance has been completed (if that is possible).
  2. b) If a penitent thinks he cannot complete the penance, he should bring that to the attention of the priest before leaving the confessional. If he leaves and simply decides not do to the penance, then the confession will be invalid.
  3. c) If for some reason a penitent  unintentionally forgets to complete his penance, he should confess that in his next confession.

 

 

 

Mensaje del pastor para la celebración de la Pascua 2025

By Anthony Aruanna • April 14, 2025
Queridos hermanos y hermanas,

Pastor’s message on Easter 2025

By Anthony Aruanna • April 14, 2025
Dear brothers and sisters,

From Pastor’s Desk on the Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • March 2, 2025
“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?” — Our Lord Jesus addresses this question to His disciples trying to tell them that they need to be healed of their spiritual blindness first. In this context blindness is not to believe in Christ and healing means to have faith in Jesus who is the Light of the world. In other words, when we gain our spiritual sight through faith, then we will be able to help others on the way to salvation. Without faith in Jesus we just remain living in the darkness of sin. Without Jesus we are all like blind men bouncing against the walls of reality and against each other. However, when we embrace faith in God in the person of Jesus and let our hearts be set on Christ, then He—the Son of God and Our Lord—becomes our guide. Because of that our every step will be illumined with the light of faith. While putting our faith into action in our daily life we also start bearing good fruits of an authentic and happy life.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el Octavo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • March 2, 2025
“ ¿Puede un ciego guiar a otro ciego? ¿No caerán ambos en un pozo? ” - Nuestro Señor Jesús dirige esta pregunta a sus discípulos tratando de decirles que primero necesitan ser curados de su ceguera espiritual. En este contexto, ceguera significa no creer en Cristo y curación significa tener fe en Jesús, que es la Luz del mundo. En otras palabras, cuando ganemos nuestra vista espiritual a través de la fe, entonces seremos capaces de ayudar a otros en el camino de la salvación. Sin fe en Jesús solo permanecemos viviendo en la oscuridad del pecado. Sin Jesús todos somos como ciegos que rebotan contra las paredes de la realidad y contra los demás. Sin embargo, cuando abrazamos la fe en Dios en la persona de Jesús y dejamos que nuestro corazón se fije en Cristo, entonces Él -el Hijo de Dios y Nuestro Señor- se convierte en nuestro guía. Por eso, cada uno de nuestros pasos estará iluminado por la luz de la fe. Al poner nuestra fe en acción en nuestra vida diaria, también empezamos a dar buenos frutos de una vida auténtica y feliz.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el 5º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • February 6, 2025
A menudo la gente nos pregunta a nosotros, los sacerdotes, qué hacer para profundizar en su vida espiritual. A todos se nos ocurren respuestas diferentes y, ciertamente, hay muchos caminos para una mayor vida espiritual. Hay, sin embargo, un método más probado que ha ayudado a muchos cristianos católicos a estar en la vía rápida de la santidad y a comprender mejor la vida espiritual. Es la consagración total al Corazón Inmaculado de María, o como propuso originalmente San Luis Grignon de Montfort allá por el siglo XVII, la Consagración Total a Jesús por María. Después de San Luis hubo muchos otros que siguieron sus pasos. Entre algunos de los santos más conocidos se encuentran el Papa Pío X, San Maximiliano Kolbe y San Juan Pablo II. Estos santos reconocieron que María desempeñó un papel vital en la vida de la Iglesia primitiva y que la Santísima Madre sigue desempeñando un papel importante en la Iglesia de nuestros tiempos.

From Pastor’s Desk on the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • February 6, 2025
Often people ask us, priests, what to do in order to deepen their spiritual life. We all can come up with different answers and there are certainly many ways to greater spiritual life. There is, however, a more proven method that has helped many Christian Catholics to be on the fast track to holiness and to better understanding of spiritual life. It is the total consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as originally proposed by Saint Luis Grignon de Montfort back in the XVII century, the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. After St. Luis there were many others that followed in his footsteps. Among some of the most known saints were Pope Pius X, St. Maximilian Kolbe, and St. John Paul II. These saints recognized that Mary played a vital role in the life of the early Church and that the Blessed Mother still plays an important role in the Church of our times.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el 2º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • January 26, 2025
Estoy seguro de que todos estamos atónitos y horrorizados por los incendios forestales del sur de California que afectan ya a cientos de miles de sus habitantes. La velocidad y la ferocidad del fuego sólo demuestran lo frágiles que somos como seres humanos individuales y como humanidad en general. Muchos californianos pueden estar dudando de su fe en estos momentos; muchos se plantearán preguntas: ¿Dónde está Dios? ¿Por qué permite Dios catástrofes tan terribles? Ciertamente, muchos de nosotros nos haríamos las mismas preguntas. Si Dios está detrás o no, no lo sabemos. Sin embargo, sí sabemos que vivimos en un mundo creado que tiene su propio ritmo y ciclos que se dan en la naturaleza. Las cosas suceden con y sin interrupción humana. Algunas cosas las podemos controlar (muy poco, de hecho), y muchas otras no. Lo que sí podemos reconocer es que las catástrofes naturales son una forma de llamada a la conversión y a una mayor confianza en Dios. También es una llamada a la acción para hacer la tierra más acogedora, de modo que las personas puedan prosperar en ella.

From pastor’s desk on the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • January 26, 2025
I am sure that all of us are stunned and horrified by the wildfires in Southern California impacting now hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants. The speed and ferocity of fire only proves how fragile we are as individual human beings and as humanity by and large. Many Californians may be doubting his or her faith at this moment; many will pose questions: Where is God? Why does God permit such terrible disasters? Certainly, many of us would ask the same questions. Whether God is behind it or not, we do not know. However, we do know that we live in a created world that has its own rhythm and cycles that occur in nature. Things happen with and without human interruption. Some things we can control (very little, in fact), and many things we can’t. What we can recognize is that natural disasters are a form of a call to conversion and to greater trust in God. It is also a call to action to make the earth more hospitable so that people can prosper in it.

From pastor’s desk on 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year, B

By Anthony Aruanna • October 19, 2024
Last July over 50 thousand Catholics gathered in Indianapolis for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress. Obviously, the central theme of the gathering was the Eucharist. One of the key speakers at the Eucharistic Congress, Monsignor James Shea, said:

Del Escritorio del Párroco el 29 Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario

By Anthony Aruanna • October 19, 2024
El pasado mes de julio, más de 50.000 católicos se reunieron en Indianápolis con ocasión del 10º Congreso Eucarístico Nacional. Obviamente, el tema central del encuentro fue la Eucaristía. Uno de los principales oradores del Congreso Eucarístico, Monseñor James Shea, dijo: