NEXT TWO WEEKS: A SPECIAL MERCY
Today as we enter into Holy week we celebrate Palm Sunday. On this day, also called Passion Sunday, the Church remembers Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem just days before his crucifixion. As we hear the Gospel account of Our Lord’s passion we are reminded that we approach Easter, the great feast of God’s mercy and new life.
In this time of grace we are offered again a chance to draw close to our loving Saviour, offering him the crosses of our lives. This is a good time to come to the sacrament of confession to allow the grace of his forgiveness to become more real for us. Our last pope John Paul II gave us this message:
“Confession is an act of honesty and courage: an act of entrusting ourselves, beyond sin, to the mercy of a loving and forgiving God. It is an act of the prodigal son who returns to his Father and is welcomed by him with the kiss of peace.” Homily at San Antonio 1987
All are invited to the service of reconciliation on Tuesday of this week to receive this ‘kiss of peace’ from Jesus. Are our hearts bruised from life’s or-deals? Then he invites us once again to accept our need of him. In this way we can enter into Easter without fear of our weaknesses being an offence to God.
We can also ask Our Lady to walk with us through Holy Week; she whom Jesus gave to us from the cross. As our Mother she helps us, especially during life’s difficult moments. May her prayers unite us that we may celebrate the mystery of Christ’s redemption with love and devotion. Through this may we find a foretaste of that day when every tear will be wiped away.
A great legacy of John Paul II was the feast of Divine Mercy which he helped to establish. There is a novena which can be begun on Good Friday to prepare for this. There will be a Holy Hour in the Church on the feast day, the first Sunday after Easter. Confessions will again be available.
In this time of grace we are offered again a chance to draw close to our loving Saviour, offering him the crosses of our lives. This is a good time to come to the sacrament of confession to allow the grace of his forgiveness to become more real for us. Our last pope John Paul II gave us this message:
“Confession is an act of honesty and courage: an act of entrusting ourselves, beyond sin, to the mercy of a loving and forgiving God. It is an act of the prodigal son who returns to his Father and is welcomed by him with the kiss of peace.” Homily at San Antonio 1987
All are invited to the service of reconciliation on Tuesday of this week to receive this ‘kiss of peace’ from Jesus. Are our hearts bruised from life’s or-deals? Then he invites us once again to accept our need of him. In this way we can enter into Easter without fear of our weaknesses being an offence to God.
We can also ask Our Lady to walk with us through Holy Week; she whom Jesus gave to us from the cross. As our Mother she helps us, especially during life’s difficult moments. May her prayers unite us that we may celebrate the mystery of Christ’s redemption with love and devotion. Through this may we find a foretaste of that day when every tear will be wiped away.
A great legacy of John Paul II was the feast of Divine Mercy which he helped to establish. There is a novena which can be begun on Good Friday to prepare for this. There will be a Holy Hour in the Church on the feast day, the first Sunday after Easter. Confessions will again be available.
posted by Sinead Reekie at 11:30 am