This and That:
The Light Is On For You
Are you burdened with the same sin as you were a month, a year or two year ago? Would you like to be set free from guilt? Are you ready to stop a destructive pattern in your life? Do you believe that God’s mercy can empower you to change? If you answered “yes” to any of the above, then we have an offer for you!
This year during Lent, our parish is participating in an Archdiocesan-wide reconciliation program initiated by Archbishop O’Brien called The Light is On for You. On five consecutive Wednesdays in Lent – March 4, 11, 18, 25 and April 1 – the sacrament of Reconciliation will be offered here at Our Lady of Grace from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. A priest will be in the Reconciliation Room during that 90 minute period.
Every Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Baltimore will have confessions available on these five Wednesdays and we invite you to join us here for this sacrament. If you have been reluctant to come to the sacrament or have been away for some time or just found it difficult to get to a
Saturday afternoon confession time, this is a great opportunity to receive penance.
So where in the church is the Reconciliation Room? You are not alone – many people are not aware of the location. When you approach the church through the Courtyard, enter through the wooden doors on your left. Just past the second set of wooden entrance doors, there is a blue door on your left, before the water fountain. That is the door to the Reconciliation Room. If the door is open, the priest is available for confession and if it’s closed, another penitent is receiving the sacrament. Feel free to wait in the foyer or go into the chapel to pray while you are waiting.
We have simple pamphlets containing the steps in the rite of individual Penance, if you are unfamiliar with it. We will have these pamphlets available on a table in the foyer on Wednesday evenings, in case you want to review the rite before going into the Reconciliation Room. Feel free to take the pamphlet in with you. Also, there is a brochure in the bulletin this weekend to remind you about the parts of confession and the Act of Contrition.
In addition to the Wednesday evenings, we will have our Communal Penance Service for Lent on Monday, March 23rd at 7:30pm. Confessions will also continue to be available on Saturday afternoons from 4:00pm to 4:30pm, as they are throughout the year.
Many Catholics no longer have an appreciation for the benefits of celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation, especially if they do not commit any serious sin. We know that our sacraments give us a tangible experience of God’s presence through words, gestures and sensible elements such as bread, wine, oil and water. When we celebrate Reconciliation, what becomes tangible is God’s mercy extended to us through the ministry of the priest. We have the incredible experience of hearing the priest say, “I absolve you from your sins…” This experience of receiving absolution is the focus of the sacrament, more than the sins we confess.
Lent is the season of the church year in which we are called to do penance in preparation for renewing our Baptismal promises at Easter, when we will affirm that we reject the allurement of evil and we profess our belief in the God who saves us in Jesus.
Why not take advantage of one of the opportunities to experience God’s mercy during this season – by receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation on a Wednesday evening, a Saturday afternoon or at our Lenten Penance Service on March 23rd? If you have questions about the sacrament, please feel free to contact me at the parish office.
Blessings,
Sister Mary Therese
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