On Thursday, December 19, we will be celebrating our Parish Advent Reconciliation Service. It is a celebration for everyone in our parish. It is a moment when we gather as God’s family to celebrate our Father’s love and mercy, for as Scripture says:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercy never comes to an end. They are new every morning…
Lamentations 3: 22
At the beginning of the document proclaiming the year of mercy, Pope Francis tells us that in Jesus, we see the face of the Father’s mercy. At the heart of the Christian community is the experience of hearing the voice of God’s mercy, of seeing the face of mercy. In this we find life.
The Christian life is an invitation to be the face of mercy for others. Jesus tells us both to see God’s presence in the other and to show it forth. When we do that well, we encounter not only the other but God. The incarnation is the event of mercy. God has drawn near to us so that we might draw near to him. He has touched us so that we in turn may touch him. It was to have hands, it was to be near us, to speak to us, to show us boundless mercy that God took flesh.
In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we experience the touch of God – a touch that forgives, heals, restores, renews, reassures. God never tires of showing mercy. He delights in accompanying us in our life’s journey.
Let us celebrate God’s love and mercy together on December 19th at 5:15pm in St. Ann’s Church. We welcome Frs. Peter Tomkins, Thomas Kakkaniyil, Dominique Trinh Do, Ben Buela. They will be celebrating with us and hearing confessions.
Your Brother,
Fr. Obi