Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Next weekend we begin our Annual Forty Hours devotion. The
Blessed Sacrament will be exposed 24/7 in the Church and we will all have the
opportunity to adore the Lord who is truly present under the appearance of bread
and wine. We will also have the privilege of listening to Fr. Angelus
Shaughnessy, OFM, who will conduct a Parish Mission during those days.
A Parish Mission is a special time of conversion for the
whole parish. The Catholic Encyclopedia describes
a parish mission as a time to instruct Catholics “more fully in the truths of
their religion, to convert sinners,
rouse the torpid and indifferent, and lift the good to
a still higher plane of spiritual effort.”
It is a time of intense prayer, of turning toward the power of the sacraments
of Holy Eucharist and Penance, and of listening to the preaching of the Word of
God with the desire to change one’s life for the better. Ultimately, it is a special
time of encounter with Christ through His Church.
We need a mission or retreat to rejuvenate our love for the
Lord and face us with some of our sins that keep us from a deep relationship
with Him. We need to hear the Word of God preached in a new and refreshing way
to help us love the Gospel more and be inspired by it. To put in succinctly, every
once in a while we need to be “shaken up” in our spiritual lives.
I hope and pray that you can join us for our Parish Mission.
In Christ,
Msgr. Baker
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