Dear Friends in Christ,
Happy Independence Day! We give thanks to God for all the blessings of these United States of America while we ask him to help us implement more effectively every day the founding ideals of our nation.
As I mentioned in last week’s letter, everything that happens in a parish begins with the sacramental encounter with Christ and flows out from there. Two sacraments uniquely connected to each other are Eucharist and Penance/Reconciliation/Confession (depending on your preferred term!).
When a priest celebrated the Eucharist, all Christians who are present participate first through their prayerful correspondence to the celebration. In a mysterious way, in fact, the whole Communion of Saints is present at the celebration of the Mass. Of course, the most privileged manner of participation in the Eucharist is the reception of Holy Communion. The reception of Holy Communion is not the kind of thing we take lightly. It is, instead, the closest encounter we will have with God until we see him face to face. That implies that we are living out that daily conversion of mind and heart to which Jesus calls his disciples in the Gospel.
This is how Penance relates to the Eucharist, insofar as through it we are reconciled to God and his Church, thus enabling us to receive Holy Communion in a state of grace. While we may go to Confession more or less frequently depending on various factors, I recommend going four times a year. The Church has a strong tradition of going at minimum once a year in preparation for the “Easter duty.”
Here at DeSales, United by the Most Blessed Sacrament, we are happy to have our annual Forty Hours celebration to adore our Eucharistic Lord. Our celebration this year will be January 23-25, 2022 and our homilist will be Father William Trader, a Norbertine priest who celebrated his first Mass here in 1974! I am also happy to announce that our Wednesday 5pm Holy Hours – with Vespers and Confessions available – will return after Labor Day. I also encourage you to make use of Confession times on Saturday afternoons or Sunday mornings. I will be hearing confessions from the confessionals in the back moving forward.
May God be Blessed!
-Father Eric Banecker