Fr. Simon's Letter - March 27, 2022

Thank you very much for your generosity last weekend in support of our “Third Sunday” second collection. Our collection, along with a collection taken up by the students at our school will be sent to Catholic Relief Services to help families in the Ukraine. Your generosity is overwhelming and will bring much needed relief to families affected by this crisis.

As we continue our Lenten journey, our readings this week focus on God’s mercy. The Hebrew word for ‘mercy’ has its roots in the word for ‘womb.’ It suggests that the seat of mercy is the womb, the center of one’s body. It implies a physical response, one in which compassion for another is felt in the core of our being, and which then results in action. It is a word frequently predicated of God who has mother-love or father-love for Israel. The “womb-love” of God leads to forgiveness for his wayward children.

This weekend as we hear the familiar story of the prodigal son, let us remember that God is more interested in our future than in our past. He takes past sins seriously but never as the last word. God wants each of us to become the best person he wills us to be. This requires conversion — a change of heart. Genuine mercy believes God’s grace has the power to transform us. God does not owe us forgiveness, nor does God’s mercy license us to continue to sin. Rather, it demands a response to ‘go and from now on sin no more.’ God’s mercy motivates us to do better. 

God’s forgiveness is an easy thing to obtain. One needs only to ask. God forgives — he opens his loving arms and grants mercy. He gives love away. I invite you to encounter God’s mercy during this season of Lent through the sacrament of reconciliation. Confessions are heard every Monday during Lent from 7pm to 8pm and on Saturdays following the 8am Mass. Your last opportunity to celebrate the sacrament before Easter will be Monday, April 11 from 7pm to 8pm. We do not have to feel guilty over the reality of our human frailty. God is not going to sternly judge us. No, God is running down the road toward us, eager to wrap his arms around us in a loving embrace.

Our UPP ‘Brunch and Dinner’ this weekend is sold out. Thank you for your overwhelming response to celebrate our families and our community. I encourage you to continue your support to our one and only fundraiser. There are many ways to support the UPP that you will find on both, the pages of this bulletin and the parish website and even more importantly through your presence at the Gala event on May 13 at Chateau Ritz. You should be receiving your invitation in the mail, if you haven’t already. Make your reservations early for a great evening of fun and fundraising. I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming social and spiritual events celebrating our faith and our parish community.

Blessings!!