Father Michael's Column

The palm branches will be arriving soon. Meanwhile, the Paschal Candle is being readied. The Music Ministry has been rehearsing. Our Easter Greeting cards (which contain the Holy Week Schedule) have been mailed. Not surprisingly, since we’re rapidly closing in on Holy Week, there is so much happening around the Parish that it’s easy to be overwhelmed. 

As a priest in a parish, I can certainly be overwhelmed. It’s always a challenge to stay focused despite the responsibilities that come with the role, plus the expectations that people have of their priests (some valid, some unfair), plus the additional expectations that an individual priest might make for himself, since most priests truly are spiritual men who are eager to serve the Lord. In addition to extra confessions and services, there are still meetings of all kinds. Numerous meetings are just a fact of life in today’s parishes. 

There are endless details and just plain hard work involved in keeping the Parish running, and at staff meetings, not only do we handle the ongoing projects, along with scheduling and coordination issues, we also try to stay open to new ideas and approaches to better accomplish our Parish goals and fulfill our Parish’s mission. My Pastoral Advisory Team, which joins me every week for prayer—after which we meet for an hour and a half—has been especially helpful to me to stay focused on moving our parish from “maintenance” to “mission” and constantly working toward our goal of becoming an “Amazing Parish”. Combined with the inevitable—almost daily—crises that happen around any active parish, it’s enough to keep a pastor “distracted” from the spirituality of the season. I have a gift for understatement. 

But even if you’re not a pastor, I’ll bet there’s enough going on in your life to find yourself “distracted from the spirituality of the season”, too. But don’t let that happen! The busier we get, the more we need to insist on taking time in our lives to re-group and re-focus, i.e., to take time to pray. Don’t give up on Lent yet. There is still time to fast and to pray.

What might be a big help to your Lenten efforts is to plan on celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Reconciliation and peace is Jesus’ gift to his disciples, and it takes on a special intensity during Lent. 

First, pray for God’s help in preparing for it. Then, determine which time you will come, and adjust your plans accordingly. 

On Monday, the day after Palm Sunday (which is next Sunday!) we have our communal penance service, with plenty of time for individual confessions after. (We have arranged for 3 extra priests to help us.) Also, during Holy Week, there are two scheduled times that are just for private confessions: Wednesday night and Wednesday at Noon. There will be 3 extra priests to help at all these times also. 

The times for Confessions are printed in this bulletin and in the Easter Card that was mailed on Tuesday. You don’t want to wait until the last minute, however. Please note that confessions normally aren’t heard once we are into the “Triduum” (the Sacred “Three Days”), which start on Holy Thursday evening with “The Mass of the Lord’s Supper”. By that time everyone should be as the Church expects us to be: reconciled and at prayer.

Another thing that will help make your celebration of Easter a joyful one is to succeed in bringing back someone who has been away from the regular practice of the Faith. During these last days of Lent, keep praying for those who may be struggling about returning to the Church—or maybe just struggling to get back into the practice of attending Mass every weekend. When the time seems right, invite that person to come with you to Church. (Palm Sunday, NEXT Sunday, seems about right to me!) Maybe invite them also to join you for a meal afterwards. (Sure, it’s bribery, but God won’t mind.) 

In Jesus,
Fr. Michael



P.S. To help push your preparation for the Holy Days into high gear, I highly recommend the special presentation of the Stations of the Cross with music, visuals, and commentary. This event is NEXT FRIDAY at 7PM. There’s music and song along with explanations and meditations. “Stations” are very much a part of traditional Catholic spirituality, but whether or not you’ve used this devotion in the past, this experience will move it to a whole new level, and give you a much deeper appreciation of the suffering that Jesus willingly took on, to save us.