Preparing the Heart: Insights from the Pastor's Desk on the 3rd Sunday of Advent, Year B

Anthony Aruanna • December 19, 2023

From pastor’s desk on the 3rd Sunday of Advent, year B


On the third Sunday of Advent we are reminded again about the need of preparation and reparation for the coming of the Lord. It is again the voice of God’s messenger, Saint John the Baptist, “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord.’” John the Baptist called people to repentance because he knew that human sins are obstacles to the knowledge of God and to the recognition of the Lord’s coming in human form. In other words, the Lord cannot reveal Himself to an unrepentant soul, for that soul is blinded by sin and its consequences. John the Baptist is like the voice in our conscience which reminds us that we all need to repent, to turn away from sin, and to follow the Lord. If we could only realize who God is and who we are before God, then our immediate response to John’s calling would be authentic conversion of our heart.

We know, however, that often repentance is not that easy. For even when we know we are doing wrong, we internally get stuck. So, it is exactly to those people that the Lord speaks through the prophet Isaiah, “He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the LORD.” We all are very often the captives of sin or the worldly way of life. The Lord comes to us and He helps us when we cannot do it on our own. For that very reason Jesus has established the Church and has given us the sacraments so that they can liberate us, give us life and strength, and eventually make us holy.

A particular sacrament that helps us more than others in our way of repentance is the Sacrament of Reconciliation, otherwise known as confession. This is a reminder to come back to the sacramental confession before important liturgical celebrations of the Church like Christmas and Easter. So, while we are getting ready for Christmas it is good to prepare not only our homes, but most of all our souls. Please take this opportunity and make a good examination of conscience—you may find plenty examples of them on the Internet. Also come to Sacramental confession on the coming Monday or another day if you cannot make it then. And remember the Sacrament of reconciliation is just another way of God’s expressing His love for His people.

Below you will find a few excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding the meaning of this sacrament.

May you be filled with joyful expectation of the Lord’s coming. I wish you all a blessed week.
Fr. Janusz Mocarski, pastor


SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
ACCORDING TO THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH


1423: It is called the sacrament of conversion because it makes sacramentally present Jesus' call to conversion, the first step in returning to the Father 5 from whom one has strayed by sin. It is called the sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the Christian sinner's personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction.

1424: It is called the sacrament of confession, since the disclosure or confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a "confession" - acknowledgment and praise - of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man. It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest's sacramental absolution God grants the penitent "pardon and peace." It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the love of God who reconciles: "Be reconciled to God." He who lives by God's merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord's call: "Go first be reconciled to your brother."

1430: Jesus' call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, "sackcloth and ashes," fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance.


1431: Interior repentance is a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed. At the same time it entails the desire and resolution to change one's life, with hope in God's mercy and trust in the help of his grace. This conversion of heart is accompanied by a salutary pain and sadness which the Fathers called animi cruciatus (affliction of spirit) and compunctio cordis (repentance of heart).

1440: Sin is before all else an offense against God, a rupture of communion with him. At the same time it damages communion with the Church. For this reason conversion entails both God's forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church, which are expressed and accomplished liturgically by the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

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: