Cathedral Family,
It's amazing that I am writing to you about preparing for Palm Sunday and Holy Week! Remarkably, this coming Sunday begins Holy Week, the most sacred week of the year for Catholic people. Realizing that we may feel “unprepared,” I am writing to encourage you, as well as myself, that these last days are important. No matter how we may feel our Lent has gone so far, today is the first day of the rest of our lives!
Entering this holy season is a matter of the heart. God wants our hearts. It is said that our patron St. Francis, whose Jubilee year we are celebrating, would spend long hours meditating on the passion of Christ as Holy Week neared. He would contemplate the sufferings of Christ, and he received the grace to experience Jesus’s own suffering in his prayer. He consistently wept before his prayer time was over. Later in St. Francis's life, he was one of the few saints who had the privilege to experience what is known as the stigmata—the five open wounds in the flesh. These wounds he bore, in union with Christ’s own wounds, never healed, but needed to be attended to, so they would not get infected. His wounds mysteriously emitted a beautiful rose scent. In tender care for his close friend, St. Clare even knitted him soft gloves to cover his wounded hands.
Why did Jesus give St. Francis this experience? It seems extraordinary that spiritual gifts are given not so much for the one who receives them, but rather as a witness for others. As I write about this event in his life, we are being witnesses to the deep love a soul can have for the Lord. We can love Jesus so much that we allow Him to reproduce His sacred wounds in us. We may not experience the stigmata, but our love for Him could be aroused in us by considering all of the suffering He endured for us.
One of our best responses to His love is to make a good and sincere confession. We need the blood of Christ to wash away our sins and iniquities. The sacrament of reconciliation is a healing sacrament. It goes to the depths of our souls to take away the harm we have done to ourselves, to others, and to God.
The sacrament of Confession comes directly from Jesus himself, who first gave this sacramental gift to the Apostles and the whole Church on the evening of his resurrection when he appeared in the upper room. Jesus said to his apostles in this sacred moment, “Receive the Holy Spirit---whose sins you forgive are forgiven, whose sins you retain are retained.”
On Saturday, March 28th, we will have confessions all afternoon from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM. We will also have several priests throughout the Cathedral to hear our confessions. During this time of confession, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed on the Altar, and meditative, prayerful music will be played. Before coming to Confession, please practice the examination of conscience. Information on how to examine your conscience can be found in this bulletin and in the different entrances of the Cathedral. Most importantly, pray to the Holy Spirit to ask for the clarity of mind to see humbly who you are. We need that grace in order to make genuine progress in our Christian discipleship.
Finally, I invite you to attend my final presentation of a Lenten Series, “Into the Deep,” this Wednesday at 7 pm in the CCR. The topic will be the Liturgies of Holy Week—how to embrace what the Church is doing at this time of year more meaningfully.
Please keep our 14 catechumens in your prayers and Lenten sacrifices. We are so blessed to welcome these new Catholics. They need all of us to be part of their welcome.
Continue to pray for our “Rebuild my Church” Campaign. As of March 12th, we have received $2,121,100 in pledges from 83 families! It is a concrete way the Lord is calling us to sacrifice for the good of times---but for the future generations to come!
In Jesus,
Father Christy