This week's message from Fr. Bob

Today's Readings:

1st Reading Act 2:42-47
Responsorial Psalm Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
Reading 2  1Pt 1:3-9
Gospel  Jn 20:19-31

Homily for 2nd Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, 2020

On this Sunday’s solemnity of Divine Mercy, the Church calls us to rejoice that the Sacrament of Confession, and the peace that flows from it, are the “first fruits” of Jesus’ Resurrection.  In the Old Testament, the People of God—Israel—gave God the first fruits of their harvests, although they were so precious and needed for life.  But in the New Testament, it’s God who gives to His People—the Church—the first fruits of the Resurrection of His most precious Son.

Many of our separated brethren claim that there’s no need to confess one’s sins to a priest.  Against such a claim stand the words of St. John the Evangelist, who tells us that just a few hours after Jesus’ Resurrection, He showed Himself to His apostles, “breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.  Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’” Consider from three perspectives the first fruits that flow from this gift of the Holy Spirit.

First, Confession reflects the nature of the sinner.  Jesus established a sacrament where we are required to confess our sins to another human being—indeed, a fellow sinner—to receive the benefits of the sacrament.  God knows that if He made the default for forgiving sins the direct confession of one’s sins to God, the average sinner would grow spiritually weaker over time.

For example, if you start a confession of your sins directly to God and have trouble remembering them, it’s easy to say, “Well, God knows everything.  I don’t need to remember all my sins.”  That can begin a habit by which the sinner presumes upon God’s goodness, and demands less accountability from oneself.

From the opposite perspective, the priest is not likely to know our sins.  So the burden is on each of us as a penitent to present ourselves honestly to God through a thorough account of our sins to the priest.  But one of the benefits of Confession is that the more honest we are about our sinfulness, the more we appreciate the beauty and abundance of God’s mercy.

Second, Confession reflects the nature of the Church.  The priest in Confession represents not only God, but also the other members of the Body of Christ.  One of the many problems with the idea of just confessing one’s sins directly to God is that our sins offend not only God.

Jesus taught His disciples that God’s commandments boil down to two:  to love God and to love one’s neighbor.  This two-fold command is symbolized by Jesus’ Cross.  The Cross has a vertical beam symbolizing the love meant to flow between me and God.  The horizontal beam symbolizes the love meant to flow between me and my neighbors.  As Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, the priest in Confession represents both God and man:  my God and my neighbors.

Third, Confession reflects the nature of God Himself.  On the evening of His Resurrection, Jesus breathed on the apostles, and said to them :  “Receive the Holy Spirit.” In Confession the penitent receives this same Holy Spirit, and if we know one thing about the Holy Spirit, it’s that He’s never satisfied to give life when He can give life abundantly.  That is to say that in Confession, God not only forgives sins but gives many other gifts as well.

The Catechism lists all the graces that God gives in Confession.  Yet perhaps most important among them is “an increase of spiritual strength for the Christian battle” [CCC 1496].  This gift is why we ought to make a sacramental confession at least once every few months, even if we don’t have any mortal sins to confess, but only venial sins.

After all, what is one of hardest parts of “the Christian battle” if not forgiving those who have hurt you?  The divine forgiveness that we receive through Confession strengthens us to offer human forgiveness more easily to those who have wronged us.

Some people think Confession is only about the washing away of the sins of one’s past.  But Confession is also about God equipping us for the days ahead.  Confession prepares us so that when we leave the confessional we might serve Him as bearers of mercy, so that we might love God and neighbor as God Himself loves. If you need confession please call the parish office to set a time to confess until we resume our normal confession times. -Fr. Bob Garrow

Intercessions 

V/ As we rejoice in Christ's victory:
R/ Risen Savior, hear our prayer.

For the Church. May she rededicate herself to living and proclaiming Christ’s mercy…R/
 
For peace. May the holy greeting of Jesus to his beloved disciples and friends spread its grace over the whole world…R/
 
For a swift end to the coronavirus pandemic that afflicts our world, that our Risen Savior will heal the sick, strengthen those who care for them, and help us all to persevere in faith…R/
 
For our parish community. May Jesus, who gave his apostles the power to forgive sins, renew and purify us on this Mercy Sunday with all the cleansing power of his paschal sacrifice…R/ 
 
For those who have died, may they live forever with Christ in the glory of the resurrection…R/  
 
For the prayers in our book of intercessions, and for those prayers we hold in the silence of our hearts (pause 5 seconds), and for:

Intentions of Larry Jarze, 4:15 Vigil Mass
Richard Monhaut, 8:15 Sunday Mass
The People of the Parish, 10:30 Sunday Mass
 
As we rejoice in Christ's victory…R/ 
 
In company with Mary, the Holy Mother of God, St. Anthony de Padua our patron, and all the angels and saints, in peace…R/

St. Anthony de Padua: Pray for us!