Dear Parishioners:
“Remember You are Dust and to Dust You Shall Return.”
Lent began on Ash Wednesday as our foreheads were smeared with ashes and we were reminded to “Repent and believe the Gospel.” It is our annual opportunity to refocus on Christ in our lives and convert our hearts more fully to Him. The Venerable Fulton J. Sheen said, “We can think of Lent as a time to eradicate evil or cultivate virtue, a time to pull up weeds or to plant good seeds. Which is better is clear, for the Christian ideal is always positive rather than negative.” These are wise words to guide us as we begin the forty days of Lent.
Lent is a penitential season. It is a time to focus on repenting from our sins and renewing our faith. Making a good Confession is the best way to cleanse ourselves from sin and start fresh with a renewed focus on Christ before celebrating the glory of Easter. There are ample opportunities for Confession at OLM. Every day at 11:45 am, before the 12:05 Lenten Mass, Confession is offered. Also on Mondays at 6:00 pm, two priests, including a guest priest, will be available for Confession. There is Confession also on Saturdays at 3:00 pm.
Next Saturday, we will have All-Day Confessions here at OLM. There will be four merciful priests available from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Eucharistic Adoration will take place during the hours of Confession. It is a great opportunity to get a fresh start this Lent with the forgiveness of sins and the grace of the Sacrament of Penance. I ask that in your charity, you please pray that many people will come to Confession, especially the reluctant and those who have been away from the sacrament for years. Pray for the Confessors who will spend hours in the confessionals forgiving sins!
At the beginning of her classic memoir, “The Long Loneliness,” the Servant of God, Dorothy Day, writes about what it is like to go to confession. She sets the stage: “Incense in the air, the smell of burning candles…the noise of the streets coming in to emphasize the stillness.” But then she gets to the point of it all. How hard it is. Going to confession is hard, she writes, likening it to writing. Writing a book is hard, she explains, because you are “giving yourself away.” But she adds, “If you love, you want to give it yourself.”
If you want to know what these 40 days of Lent are all about, that’s it. If you love, you want to give love. This Lent, give your love to Christ, go to Confession to be reconciled, go to Mass to be strengthened, and make the Stations of the Cross to contemplate Christ’s love.
Father Patrick Mary Briscoe, OP with his latest book, Witness: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation
Next week, our Annual Lenten Mission begins. This year, we are blessed to have Dominican Friar, Father Patrick Mary Briscoe, OP, as our Mission Preacher. He is the promoter general for social communication for the Order of Preachers (The Dominicans) and resides in Rome. A sought-after preacher and speaker, Father is the author of a new book, Witness: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation. His Mission, entitled “Witness,” is inspired by his new book.
Fr. Patrick earned a licentiate in moral theology degree from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC. Following his ordination, he served as a chaplain and theology instructor at Providence College and as a parish priest at St. Pius V Church in Providence. He is a fine priest and an outstanding preacher, so I encourage you to make the Mission. Father Patrick has visited OLM many times and resided here for a few weeks in the summer of 2024. We look forward to welcoming him back!
It is a long tradition for parishes to invite a guest priest to preach a Mission, especially during Lent. The goal of the Mission is to help lukewarm Catholics renew their faith, convert tepid souls to greater fervor, and encourage pious souls in their good resolutions to serve God. Just as Jesus and His Apostles went from town to town preaching the Kingdom of God, so a preacher comes to our parish to encourage us to repent and renew our Catholic faith.
Fr. Brodeur is away this weekend preaching a Lenten Mission at Mount Carmel and Saint Mary Parishes in Bristol. Pray for him and the success of the Mission. Fridays are for fish and Stations! Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless!