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Saturday 3 to 4 pm at St. Peter’s Church
4:00 to 4:30 pm at St. Brigid
Every Thursday at
St. Joseph’s Oratory
8:30 am to 6:00 pm.
Wanted: Humble sinners who know the forgiveness of God. These make good servants of the Gospel. They can be priests, deacons, sisters or brothers.
A new website has been developed by the Office of Parish Life in order to help all of us participate in the essential mission of the church – evangelization. The website at www.evangelizebuffalo.org, partly funded by a grant from Our Sunday Visitor, includes resources, available programs, a video of faith stories, ideas for evangelization teams, one-on-one evangelization strategies, a selected bibliography and more. There are methods for enriching the faithful, welcoming newcomers, inviting inactive Catholics, and creating leadership. A section on transforming the world connects evangelization and working for justice. We invite you to visit the site and make use of the very practical ways to bring the Good News of Jesus to others.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and commemorates the start of a period of preparation for Jesus' coming on Easter Sunday. As you start your own Lenten Journey this week, remember the selfless sacrifices of Jesus. With three dollars the cost of feeding a family of four one meal, what can you sacrifice to allow for just a donation of that amount - coffee and a bagel? Remember your neighbors in need, and give as generously as you can to Catholic Charities' 2012 Appeal, benefitting tens of thousands in Western New York. Protect. Strengthen. Empower. Please give to the 2012 Catholic Charities Appeal. Find out more at http://www.ccwny.org or call (716) 218-1400.
Our parish campaign will begin March 17th and end on Palm Sunday, April 1st. If you are going to be out of town during this time and would like to contribute early, please contact Jim or Bonnie Woodruff at 768-7826.
WEDDING BANNS II
Kyle Cunningham &
Chelsea Baker
“Faith Moments” Daily Spiritual Radio Message Begun by Christ the King Seminary - Christ the King Seminary recently began airing 60-second spiritual messages on WBEN radio at 7:44 AM. The messages are spoken by Catholic clergy and lay alumni of the Seminary on various topics that relate the weekly scriptures to the daily lives of Western New Yorkers. Listeners will be able to hear the messages Monday through Wednesday every week in 2012. The series of audio messages is also available on the Seminary’s web site or at www.faithmomentsonline.org The program is being made possible through a grant from the Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.
7TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
It's astonishing to some people that we Catholics will spend time talking to a priest about our deepest faults. Confession of sins and being assured of God's forgiveness is not something that everyone readily understands. But when we take the time to really acknowledge our sinfulness, to admit to ourselves, to God, and to another person (the priest) what we have done wrong, we can experience the healing that comes from the confession of our sins.
The Gospel today explicitly reminds us that the forgiveness of sins is connected to healing. When we confess our sins, make an act of contrition, and receive absolution we are healed in that sacrament. The paralyzed man who was dropped through the roof in front of Jesus by his friends had his sins forgiven. Much to the astonishment of the crowd, the paralytic got up, rolled up his mat, and walked out the door. It was that easy.
There is a lot of misconception about the sacrament of penance. Once a person gets over the hurdle of fear or shame though, it really is as easy as the actions of the paralyzed man. There was a lot of work on the part of others to get him in front of Jesus. They had to carry him there, open the roof, and lower him down. And before we go to confession, there is some work we have to do. We have to examine our conscience, and be willing to be honest with ourselves and with God. But after that it's easy. We sit down, tell the priest our sins, receive a penance, pray a prayer of contrition, receive absolution, and then go on our way.
It is the work of reconciliation that takes much longer, sometimes even a lifetime. Because sin fractures relationships, confession really is the easy part. It is what we do afterwards to heal the wounds that is the most demanding. It is a good thing Lent begins on Wednesday!
©2011 Liturgical Publications Inc