Dear Parishioners:
Some of you may be familiar with the term “Easter Duty” and relate it to the obligation to go to confession and receive Holy Communion during the Easter season. If you already have a habit of regular confession and Communion, you can fulfill the obligation without much effort. If not, it is worthwhile to recall what the Church requires and why. When considering our sacramental duties, we should first realize that the Church proposes certain rules and requirements to help us grow in grace and get to heaven.
For those who grew up in a traditional Catholic household, it may be surprising to learn that the term “Easter Duty” does not appear in the Church’s canon law, nor is it mentioned specifically in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Rather, the idea stems from two related Church laws: to receive the Eucharist at least once a year during the Easter season, unless a serious reason indicates another time as preferable (canon 920); and to receive absolution in sacramental confession for any mortal sin at least once a year (canon 989).
Of course, this is the minimum required by the Church, and today most practicing Catholics receive Communion during not only the Easter season (broadly defined as the period from the First Sunday of Lent to Trinity Sunday) but also many other times of the year when not in a grave state of sin. Less popular, however, is the practice of confession,
One motivator for confession is often a nagging uneasiness that we experience when we have hurt someone and a desire to set things right. We may try to dismiss this uneasy feeling or rationalize our behavior, but ultimately we know that we have fallen short and sinned. We need to make amends with those whom we’ve wronged and realize that God is the first one offended by sin. That is why we make our way to the confessional — to present ourselves before Jesus in the person of the priest and receive the Lord’s pardon and peace in absolution.
The Catechism teaches that this sacrament has many effects, the foremost of which is “restoring us to God’s grace and joining us with him in an intimate friendship” (1468). Sin damages our relationship with God. We don’t deserve and cannot earn God’s forgiveness, yet he gives it for the asking. In Confession, we drink from the depths of Divine Mercy, where God replenishes us with the graces needed to live in and act out of love each day. Considering that we are reborn spiritually in confession and fortified by grace in Holy Communion, we should think of our Easter Duty as an opportunity to become the better disciple God calls us to be.
Next Saturday we have All-Day Confessions with four priests available every hour from 9:00 AM until 3:00 PM. It is a great opportunity to make a good Confession, do your Easter Duty and clean your soul! Invite someone you know has been away from the Sacrament of Confession for a while to come along with you.
Next weekend we celebrate Palm Sunday and I am happy to announce we are blessing and distributing palm branches at all Masses. Last year due to the COVID-19 restrictions we were prohibited from doing this. With more vaccinations and restrictions easing up, we will resume this great tradition. Of course, Palm Sunday is more than getting palm branches. The day is called both “Palm Sunday” and “Passion Sunday.” The first name comes from the fact that it commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem when the crowd had palm branches (John 12:13). The second name comes from the fact that the narrative of the Passion is read on this Sunday. Pope Benedict Emeritus XV states:
“Palm Sunday is the great doorway leading into Holy Week, the week when the Lord Jesus makes his way towards the culmination of his earthly existence. He goes up to Jerusalem in order to fulfill the Scriptures and to be nailed to the wood of the Cross, the throne from which he will reign forever, drawing to himself humanity of every age and offering to all the gift of redemption.”
I ask for your prayers this week as I am on my Annual Retreat at Arnold Hall in Pembroke, Massachusetts. Last year I was unable to make a retreat due to the pandemic. Please know of my prayers for you while I am on retreat.
Get ready for Holy Week and make your Easter Duty! Stay safe. Be well. Do good. God Bless! Pray, fast, and give alms! The Rice Bowl Collection is taken up next weekend (March 27/28), please be generous. Thank you!