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Parish Advent
Catechesis
Introduction: Organizing the Season
and entering Reconciliation
Advent is a wonderful time to prepare
for many things, family reunions, Christmas celebrations, reconciliation with
the Church. This season’s catechesis will focus on the Sacrament of
Confession. All through Advent, the priests will conduct an OPEN HOUSE actually
inside the confessionals for those who want to come in and visit, ask
questions or learn how to be more comfortable in confession. Open House times
are as follows: December 1 after the 5pm; December 9 after the 7am;
December 16 after the 9am and December 23 after the 11am. We hope those
who have not received the Sacrament of Confession for a long time will take
advantage of these Open Houses to reacquaint themselves with this chance to
reconcile themselves with God and His Church. Each week of Advent will have a
different focus. These topics will be covered in all Educational schools and
organizations as well as in Church. Our hope is to help our parishioners
become more aware of this great gift from Christ, our Redeemer and to
encourage more to families to come to Confession, minimally, every two weeks.
The themes for our Advent catechesis will be: December 2 Stay
Awake Examination of Consciene, Avoiding near occasion of sin December
9 Be Prepared Recognizing the powerlessness of sin in life, What it
means to believe that God is alive December 16 Receive Joy, Opening
the Soul to the Church December 23 Come, Lord Jesus, Mary’s
constant surrender is the fundamental model for reconciliation with God. Entering
Reconciliation- “Here we are Your bone and Your flesh.” (2 Samuel 5:1-3)
Today is the last day of the liturgical year, Christ
the King. We stand with Mary, at the foot of Calvary
and gaze upon what God has formed We enter the mystery through the Word made
Flesh Who dies before us in Scripture. The inscription reads what our lips
dare to speak, “This is the King of the Jews.” The thief asks the question of
our time, “Are you the messiah?” Do we wait for an answer or do we hear in
faith what we already know? The answer is burning in our hearts. In the Rite
of Penance we read, “We know the time in which we live.” “The Son of God
made man lived among men in order to free them from the slavery to sin, and to
call them out of darkness into his wonderful light.” He began his public
ministry by preaching ‘turn away from sinning and believe in the Good News.’
Since the great prophets of the Old Testament, humans have been invited to
feel sorrow for their sins and prepare their hearts for the coming of the Kingdom
of God.
John the Baptist called out to us, Prepare the way of the Lord.” Jesus now
invites all sinners to be welcomed home by His Father. His invitation is
made real by His suffering and death on the Cross of Calvary. He died for our
sins and rose again for our justification. After His resurrection, Jesus sent
the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, empowering them to forgive or hold sins. He
sent them like Himself to preach repentance and the confession of sin. He
sends us too in His name. When Jesus gave us His Apostles, he gave them and
their successors the power to forgive sins, and instituted in His Church the
sacrament of penance. We approach this Advent time with a keener awareness
of our need for reconciliation with God. Through a good examination of
conscience, we understand our weaknesses as well as our strengths, we come to
know ourselves better and see the need to say ‘I am sorry and will make amends
for what I have done.’ The quote of Samuel today indicates the intimate
relationship we have with God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are God’s
children. We can never deny our family, though we can try, we will always be
called back because even our bones are of God. T
December 2 Stay Awake Examination
of Conscience “Brothers
and sisters: You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from
sleep. Let us throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light”
Romans 13:11-14. Our Holy Father Benedict XVI, called upon the Virgin, Mother
of Mercy, "to support the ministry of priest confessors and to help Christian
communities to understand the value and importance of the Sacrament of Penance
for the spiritual growth of all the faithful" (Public Audience, 2006). The
question before us is how do we stay awake when there are so many ‘things’
that numb us to the reality of sin; that numb our conscience in seeing right
from wrong. Matthew reminds us of the peril we face if we ignore the
conscience and live like those before the Flood. “They did not know until the
Flood came and carried them all away” (Matthew 24:37-44). The Flood certainly
woke people from their sleep and for many it was too late. It cannot be this
way for us who live in the world but are called to live for things out of the
world-the virtues and not the vices. We are finally called to become those who
“walk in the light of the Lord” (Matthew 24:44). An examination of conscience
then is urgent if we are to “stay awake,” in order to “climb the Lord’s
mountain” (Isaiah 2:1-5). As Christians in full communion with the Church, we
leave off the earthly desire for self-pleasure in order to reach Zion
our heavenly home. “For from Zion
shall go forth instruction and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem”
(Isaiah 2:1-5). How do we examine our conscience? Saint
Ignatius Loyola has given us a basic examination of conscience if we are to
make any progress in Confession. The first thing we should do is go over the General
Examination of Conscience (http://www.ccel.org/i/ignatius/exercises/exercises.html)
which is a simple form of prayer directed toward developing a spiritual
sensitivity to the special ways God approaches human beings and invites them
into Himself. The Exam may be done at the end of each day, though the
more frequent the more natural it becomes. We need to know the Ten
Commandments that we covered last year. These are benchmarks for us in living
a human and spiritually divine life. Being able to annunciate the Ten
Commandments to ourselves, our spouse or to our children is an important first
step. On par with the Commandments are the Precepts of the Church. The
Precepts serve as a mirror for us as Catholics. They point out the direction
toward which we are going. The Ten Commandments
http://www.whitestonejournal.com/tencommandments/ The Precepts of the Church
http://www.ecatholic2000.com/essentials/precepts.shtml Setting aside fifteen
minutes ensures quality thought. The quantity of time is not necessarily
important. The thing is to open oneself to His Presence, recognize His Voice,
and respond to God's movement in your heart. These are five easy steps take:
1. Give thanks to God for the favors received. 2. Ask for the grace to know
your sins. 3. Examine how you have lived this day. 4. Ask forgiveness for any
faults or weaknesses. 5. Resolve to amend these faults with the grace of God.
Now we are ready for confession because we have prayed and have remembered all
our thoughts and actions, virtuous and immoral and have become resolved to
amend our faults with grace of God. “O my God, I am heartily sorry for having
offended You. I detest all my sins because of Your just punishments. But, most
of all, because they offend You my God, Who are all good and deserving of all
my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your Grace, to sin no more and
avoid the near occasion of sin. Amen.” Avoiding near occasion
of sin We need to grow accustomed to the face of temptation and be wary
of those things that trigger temptation in our life. These triggers are
different for every person. The Devil knows each of us. He knows our
weaknesses, our desires (good and bad) and he exploits them all. His weapon is
deception, making us doubt Christ’s victory over sin and our own dignity as
children of God. The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis (http://www.leaderu.com/cyber/books/imitation/imitation.html)
in Chapter 13 (on resisting temptation) “We will never be free of trials and
temptations as long as our earthly life lasts. For Job said, ‘Therefore, we
should always be on guard against temptations, always praying that our enemy,
the devil, who never sleeps but constantly looks for someone to devour (I
Peter 5:8), will not catch us off guard. No one in this world is so perfect or
holy as not to have temptations sometimes. We can never be entirely free of
them. These temptations can be severe and troublesome, but if we resist them,
they will be very useful to us; experiencing them we are humbled, cleansed and
instructed” (TOC, 13:3). We also need to watch that we know our own true
desires, where virtue is weak and in what virtues we are strong. I may for
example, be a very patient person, but I am possessed by lust, which makes the
use of the Internet very dangerous for me. Knowing this about myself can help
me, make decisions that will lead me either to sin or help me avoid even the
temptation to sin (near occasion of sin). Saint Paul in his letter to the
Romans says, “let us then throw off the works of darkness (and) put on the
armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, 4
not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in
rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision
for the desires of the flesh” (Romans13:11-14). Thomas Kempis continues
saying that temptations will be with us because we have lost our original
state of happiness. These are our human trials until death. “Many try to fly
away from temptations only to fall more deeply into them; for you cannot win a
battle by flying away. It is only by patience and humility that you will be
strengthened against the enemy” (TOC, 13:3). Temptations must be confronted
directly and quickly, with every confidence of who you are and the power you
possess. Any doubt can be hazardous. “The beginning of all evil temptations is
indecisiveness of mind and insufficient trust in God” (TOC, 13:5). “In the
early stages in temptation it is necessary to be watchful, for it is easier to
overcome the enemy if he is not allowed to enter into your mind, but is
resisted and shut out as soon as he knocks. As someone said: “resist the
beginning, the cure applied afterward is too late.’ This is how temptation is:
first we have the thought, followed by strong imaginings, then the pleasure
and evil emotions, and finally consent. This is how the enemy gains entrance
into the soul, because he is not resisted, he is welcomed in. The slower we
are to resist, the weaker we daily become and the stronger the enemy is
against us” (TOC, 13:5). As I said before, the Serpent’s weapon is
deception, making us doubt Christ’s victory over sin and our own dignity as
children of God. Therefore, “we should not be discouraged when tempted, but
turn in fervent prayer to God, Who in His infinite Goodness and compassion,
will help us in all our needs” (TOC, 13:7). Saint
Paul
wrote, “together with the trial He will also provide a way out and the
strength to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). My dear friends, to avoid the
near occasion of sin means we need to vigilant in our own thoughts, words and
deeds. If we stay awake, examine our conscience daily, go to confession
minimally every two weeks, we will find ourselves stronger and more confident
to mature in the spiritual life. “Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain, to
the house of the God of Jacob that he may instruct us in his ways and we may
walk in his paths.” (Isaiah 2, 1-5) December 9 Be Prepared Today’s
opening Collect says, “Remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ
with joy.” Christ continues to be born is us every day. Through His Baptism,
His life and His ministry are ours. Faith in Christ is pure gift. He offers it
to us but also understands when it is not wanted. Faith is taken away. If we
receive Christ, we want to receive Him not as a burden, but as a joy. Our
prayer as we reflect on the Sacrament of Confession should be the same “remove
the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy.” Therefore, what
does it mean to accept the Gift God gives us everyday? Let us go back to the
Introit of Mass today “People of Zion, the Lord will come to save all nations,
and your hearts will exult to hear his majestic voice” (Isaiah 30:19, 30). Recognizing
the powerlessness of sin in life The Compendium of the Catechism
of the Catholic Church (March 2006) tells us “God reveals Himself as ‘the
strong One. The mighty One” (Psalm 24:8) as the One “to Whom nothing is
impossible” (Luke 1:37). His all-powerfulness is universal, mysterious and
shows itself in the creation of the world out nothing and humanity out of
love; but above all it shows itself in the Incarnation and the Resurrection of
His Son, in the gift of filial adoption (of us through Baptism) and in the
forgiveness of sins. For this reason, the Church directs her prayers to the
“almighty and eternal God” (50). The question for us is, do we believe this?
The question plagues man today. The past one hundred years, the world has been
at war. At the end of World War I, the “God is dead’ movement began as a
consequence of the frustration over the stalemate and agony the war produced.
The end of World War II produced a false sense of hope but left us with
feelings of alienation and suspicion that led us directly into the Cold War.
Hence, since the question was posed, ‘do you believe this?’ man’s gut reaction
is ‘yes’ but we seem to need physical proof, the scientific method, the Thomas
approach: if I can put my fingers into his hands and my hands into his side
Our culture seems bent on proving God wrong. Yet it is unable to answer the
question for us, ‘do you believe that God is almighty and eternal and that He
communicates to us through Christ, the Church?’ To say yes, means
acknowledging God as alive and to admit that means He has power to do anything
even to conquer sin! What it means to believe that God is alive
Once we have conceded that God is alive and that He is all powerful and
eternal and that He “created the world out nothing and humanity out of love,
we can recognize that we are alive and that our humanity means something
because He created, nurtures and loves us, His created children. Above all, He
forgives our transgressions from His immense love. Within this context, we
can ask the question, how do we fit in to all this? The Compendiumtells
us “The human person is the summit of visible creation in as much as he or she
is created in the mage and likeness of God” (63). Through Baptism, we are
God’s adopted children, brothers and sisters of Christ “in the sense that he
or she is capable of knowing and of loving their creator in freedom. Human
beings are the only creatures…God has willed…to share, through knowledge and
love, His own Divine life. All human beings…have the dignity of a person. A
person is not a something but a someone, capable of self-knowledge and of
freely giving himself and entering into communion with God and with other
persons” (66). Believing that God is alive means acknowledging the Truth as
all-powerful and eternal. The Truth does not change because we do or do not
believe it. God is! “I AM WHO AM” (Exodus 3: 14). The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan,
revealed to us in today’s Gospel God proclaiming Christ His ‘beloved Son.’ The
baptism of Jesus foreshadows our own Baptism, when we became ‘sons of God’ and
share not only in the mission and life but also, the ‘glory.’ We share in
the power of the Son of God! As He has been victorious over sin, so will we
be! The Devil wants us to believe that God is dead. He wants us to be
confused about Who He is and how we relate to Him in Truth. It is in the
doubting that we become weak. It is easier to deceive a weak man that a man
who is awake and prepared! Finally, we enter into the Gospel moment and hear
again the voice of the Baptist cry out, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand” (Matthew 3:1-12)! We join the “Jerusalem, all Judea and the whole
region around the Jordan”( Matthew 3:1-12) in acknowledging our sins so we can
reconcile ourselves with the life and mission of the Son of God and come with
Him to share His Glory. “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant
you to think in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus, that
with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father our Lord
Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:4-9). December 16 Receive Joy “Rejoice in the
Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near” (Philomen 4:4,5). Today
is a wonderful day. Today is a day of experiencing joy, of experiencing true
happiness. “The Lord is near!” My friends our thoughts join the Baptist’s
today as he asks Jesus the question, “Are you the one who is to come, or
should we look for another” (Matthew 11:2-11)? We resolved last week that God
is indeed alive and lives among us. We believe that God Himself will come to
save us. However, how does He live? We rely on Scripture to tell us these
things. The word of God is given to us so God can speak in His own language to
us His children. Re-read the first reading from today’s Mass Isaiah
35:1-6a,10. If you can feel the excitement of these words, if you can picture
them in your heart, your eyes can see and your ears hear, ‘Here is your God.’
Saint James tells us to “be patient, brother and sisters, until the coming of
the Lord…take as an example of hardship and patience…the prophets who spoke in
the name of the Lord” (Letter of Saint James 5:7-10). Fellow Christians, our
gift from God is His Word Made Flesh! The Holy Scriptures, with Church
Tradition, reveals to us the Will of God. The Compendium of the Catechism
of the Catholic Church (March 2006) tell us “the full and definitive stage
of God’s revelation (confession to us of Who He is) is accomplished in the
Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, the mediator and fullness of Revelation. He
being the only begotten Son of God made man is the perfect and definitive Word
of the Father. In the sending of the Son and the gift of the Spirit,
Revelation is now fully complete, although the faith of the Church must
gradually grasp its full significance over the course of centuries” (9).
Sacred Scripture, interpreted by her authentic teacher, the Church, teaches us
the truth. “…God himself is the author of Sacred Scripture. For this reason,
it is said to be inspired and to teach without error those truths, which are
necessary for our salvation. The Holy Spirit inspired the human authors who
wrote what He wanted to teach us. The Christian faith, however, is not a
‘religion of the Book,’ but of the Word of God – “not a written and mute word,
but incarnate and living (Saint Bernard of Clairvaux)” (18).
Our joy today is in receiving the Word as spoken to us from the lips of our
Priests, Deacons & Readers, the voice of the Choir/Cantor chanting the Psalm,
and the Congregation responding that Word with gratitude and praise. Opening
the Soul to the Church “Sacred Scripture gives support and vigor to the
life of the Church. For the children of the Church, it is a confirmation of
the faith, food for the soul and the fountain of the spiritual life. Sacred
Scripture is the soul of theology and of pastoral preaching. The Psalmist says
that it is “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105)” (24).
Saint Jerome said, “Ignorance of the Scripture is ignorance of Christ” (24).
Every Christian is exhorted to read the Scripture in light of Holy Tradition
and open wide their soul to the life of the Church which eagerly awaits their
communion with Christ. In the context of Confession, the holy Word of God
calls us to ‘repent and believe.’ Therefore, we practice our religion in
answer to this call by taking on the Rite of Penance supplied by the Church,
donated to us by Christ in order to give grace. Every two weeks guarantees
solid foundation in our reconciliation with God. When the Christian enters
confession, he enters the place of revelation, his revelation to the Church.
The Christian bares his soul to the priest so Christ may enter. God the
Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of His Son has
reconciled the world to himself, sent the Holy Spirit among us for the
forgiveness of sins. Through the ministry of the Church may God give you
pardon and peace. I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. (The Form of Absolution in The
Rite of Penance) The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic
Church (March, 2006) spells out the effects of this sacrament when it
says, “The effects of the sacrament of Penance are: reconciliation with God
and therefore the forgiveness of sins; reconciliation with the Church;
recovery, if it has been lost, of the state of grace; remission of the eternal
punishment merited by mortal sins, and remission, at least in part, of the
temporal punishment which is the consequence of sin; peace, serenity of
conscience and spiritual consolation; and an increase of spiritual strength
for the struggle of Christian living” (310). “Christ ‘loved the Church and
gave Himself up for her to make her holy’ (Ephesians 5: 25-26), and He united
the Church to Himself as His bride. He fills her with divine gifts because she
is His body and fullness, and through her He spreads truth and grace to all.”
(CCCC, 3). The Church for her part receives her Lord and Love; she opens her
arms to Him and receives joy in His presence. Liturgically we celebrate that
encounter with Christ. “They will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and
mourning will flee” (Isaiah 35: 1-6, 10). December 23 Come, Lord
Jesus The Introit for today’s liturgy “Heavens pour down your waters from
above, let the Just One descend, open up O Earth and let the Savior bud forth.
Who is the King of Glory; He is the King of Glory, Christ the Lord.” At last
we have arrived at the point of our souls opening to the heavenly rain of
grace and having nurtured this great gift in our hearts, Christ buds forth,
radiant as the dawn. At dawn, the silence is broken by the sounds of the
birds confident of His coming. Then, the first rays of Light and suddenly the
sky is ablaze with the light of Day. This day, we anticipate with joy His
coming. But this is not the end of the story. Our pilgrimage to glory has just
begun. The Opening Collect for today’s Mass announces it well, “Lord,
fill our hearts with your love, and as you revealed to us by an angel the
coming of your Son as man, so lead us through his suffering and death to the
glory of his resurrection.” The Light reveals the shadows of
the Cross. This is the destiny of every Christian our suffering brings us
completion and joy. We cannot avoid it we do not reject it. We embrace the
instrument of our death unto new life. We cannot understand clearly the
Christmas event unless we see it in the context of Calvary. Only then, will
our hearts yearn with righteousness and peace. Only then, can we utter the
words of the alternative Collect, “Father, all-powerful God, your
eternal Word took flesh on our earth when the Virgin Mary placed her life at
the service of your plan. Lift our minds in watchful hope to hear the voice,
which announces his glory and opens the minds to receive the Spirit who
prepares us for his coming. With these words, our souls can utter the
Word, “Come, Lord Jesus”. Mary’s constant
surrender is the fundamental model for reconciliation with God. “Behold,
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son…” (Isaiah 7: 10-14). Rooted in
the Old Testament, righteousness denotes ‘right relationship,’ right
relationship between the Creator and the created, between God and the human
person. Adam enjoyed this relationship, as did Abraham & Moses. Both Joseph’s,
one in the Old Testament and one in the New were called ‘righteous’ men. We
learn too that Adam disrupted this relationship by turning away from God. In
fact, our whole history of salvation is filled with man turning away from God
and God seeking man out to bring him back ‘into right relationship or
righteousness. Listen to the words of Hosea, “When Israel was a child I loved
him, out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the farther they
went from me…Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, who took them in my
arms, I drew them with human cords, with bands of love…” (Hosea 11:1-4). And
again, “return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God; you have collapsed through
your own guilt. Take with you words and return to the Lord” (Hosea 14: 2-3)!
And finally, “Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is
prudent know them. Straight are the paths of the Lord, in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them” (Hosea 14: 10). It is no different today. Still
human desire is attracted to what is easy, not necessarily to what is right.
God is calls us to be in right relationship with Him. He is calling us now to
“repent and believe.” As all of us prepare to be home for Christmas, we
remember that Home is a place for love. You know and I know that human love is
never perfect. All of us struggle to find perfect love, or to be perfect
lovers, and often times we fail, or come up short. So our home becomes at
times a hard place in which to live. But, we can turn our eyes to Mary, the
Mother of Jesus. She who was human, like us was able to find perfect love only
through Jesus. She found it in the manger at Bethlehem; she found it under the
Cross of Calvary. She found perfect love any time she mirrored the life of
Jesus, every time she gave up her own will to follow his. What makes Mary so
important to the Christian is her constant surrender of self to God in
imitation of her Son, Jesus. Mary’s constant surrender is the fundamental
model for reconciliation with God. Mary becomes a great example of being
righteous, in right relationship with God when she is herself, when she lives
what it means to be a suffering servant -one who loves in service to Christ,
the Church. We share that mission, you and I, to teach the great lesson of
life, the wonderful mystery of human dignity, a Gospel of life and love- a
discipline for good character and solid personal growth: obedience to the life
of Jesus. This is our gift at Christmas, to be reconciled with God and His
Church; to regain the relationship fostered by God Himself through our Baptism
in Christ. It is our gift from our Father Who has always loved us, a hand held
out in mercy and forgiveness, a treasure embedded in our hearts, but never
meant to stay there. The fruit of this love, by its very nature must go forth
to a wanting world to open minds, to break open hardened hearts, to make the
sad joyful, the lonely embraced, the poor, wealthy in the perfected love of
Jesus. Mary brings us here to this place we call the manger, where a
vulnerable, innocent child extends His hands to embrace the lost, to clarify
the confused and make safe those who are anxious. Make this Christmas a
celebration of Mary’s heart, the true manger of Jesus. “She will bear a son
and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their
sins” (Matthew 1: 18-24). Let us commend ourselves and all
of creation to the love and protection of the Mother of God. Remember
O most compassionate Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled
your protection, implored your Help, and sought your intercession was left
unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto you O Virgin of Virgins my
Mother; to you do I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother
of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions but in your Mercy hear and
answer me. Amen. Confession at Saint John Bosco Church “Give me
Souls” (Saint John Bosco). You have come to encounter the
Lord’s forgiveness and compassion; it is a very personal moment in your
relationship with God. To get the most from your confessional experience
with Christ, you should prepare well. You should arouse in yourself a deep,
true sorrow for your sins, how they have offended against God who loves us
infinitely, and how they have hurt our fellow men who so need our help. You
should not try to ferret out each and every sin-serious attitudes of sin will
usually come to mind immediately, nor should you waste your time in useless
regrets. Please remember that the Sacrament of Confession is above all an
act of God’s love, it is a personal moment to be lived in a relationship of
love with God. It is not a routine (or an ordeal) to be gone through, but very
much a part of the individual’s renewal which takes place in each person,
especially here at Saint John Bosco Parish Church. How to go to
confession Step 1: Make the Sign of the Cross Step 2: Tell
Father how long it has been since your last Confession Step
3: Confess your sins The Confessor may offer some words of consolation,
encouragement or direction and then give you a penance. He will then ask you
to recite the Act of Contrition. “O my God, I am heartily sorry for having
offended You. I detest all my sins because of Your just punishments. But, most
of all, because they offend You my God, Who are all good and deserving of all
my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your Grace, to sin no more and
avoid the near occasion of sin. Amen.” Step 4: After the Absolution, the
priest will say: Give
thanks to the Lord, for He is good. You respond: His
mercy endures forever. You are free now to leave the confessional and do
your penance. Please remember also to pray for our Holy Father, our
Archbishop, Cardinal Justin Rigali and your priests. Be merciful to
them O Lord, watch over them with your care. Help them to be faithful to the
Creed, fervent in their prayer, longing for the Eucharist, seeking out souls
and willing to give their whole life in obedient service to Christ, the Church.
We ask this with the help of Mary, Mother of the Redeemer. Amen.
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