Dear Friends in Christ,
Because of the various holidays, our bulletin deadlines have been weeks in advance, so it is not possible to write in “real time.” So, this bulletin is being written back on November 20th!
As you know by now, Fr. Frank Campo has transitioned from St. Patrick Parish to another parish. Our loss is most definitely their gain. Although I only had the chance to live with Fr. Frank for a few months, I greatly enjoyed his fraternity. We ate meals together on most nights, told a lot of stories, and had some good laughs.
He has graciously agreed to help us out for Mass when we need him and when he is available.
During these darkest days of the year, it can feel as though we only see the sun for minutes a day. No sooner does the sun rise, then it begins its rapid descent. I know that some enjoy cold winter days, but I was made for sun, light, and warmth. In the midst of this darkness, we light the second candle of the Advent Wreath. We are reminded that the Light is indeed coming into the world. Christ’s birth comes just as we sit in the greatest darkness. His birth coincides with the return of longer days.
One of the things I particularly like about Advent is there is a sense of inevitability. Ready or not–like the sunrise itself–the Lord will come. On Christmas, he will arrive, but already we perceive during Advent the first rays of dawn. The wreath gradually begins to increase the light around us until at last He who is Light from Light shines forth in all his splendor.
If you find yourself during these weeks of Advent more aware of the darkness that may have some hold in your own life, do not be afraid. One of the deceptions of sin is that it tries to convince us that the darkness it casts over us is unbreakable and permanent and that our sins define us. The light of the Advent Wreath awakens hope within us and reminds us that the Child to be born for us will save us from our sins.
Fr. Sijo and I will do our best during these last weeks of Advent to provide additional times for Confession. I encourage you to come, step out of the darkness, and to be healed by the light of Christ. The Light who is coming into the world is not just for everyone else. He comes for you. He comes to enlighten you, to warm you, and to heal you. Christ loves you, personally. Do not be afraid!
Also, if you happen to be one of those people who hasn’t been to confession in 78 years or if you have some serious sins that you’ve been lugging around for years, and you think the priest is going to somehow be shocked or angry, I would like to say this to you: Nothing makes a priest happier than to hear a good confession. When a priest gets “a big fish,” it makes his day. He thinks to himself, “Now this is why I was ordained!”
The best thing you can do before coming to confession is to make a good examination of conscience. To the best of your ability, remember all of the sins you have committed since the last time you confessed. Then, to the best of your ability, list the sins and approximately how many times you may have committed them. You don’t need to give the priest background, explanations etc. If the priest needs you to clarify something, he will ask, but usually just the sins need to be named. The priest might offer some brief words of advice and then you express your sorrow for your sins. After that, the priest will offer you absolution. The best thing you can do is to come prepared to name all of your sins as succinctly as possible. You can say, “I got angry on many occasions.” The priest does not need to know that while you were going to pick up a chocolate cake for your Aunt’s 75th birthday party (which had to be postponed for three months because your daughter moved to Arizona for her new job), you got angry because the person in the left lane cut across two lanes of traffic without signaling. All of that can be summed up by saying, “I got angry while driving.” This holds true for other sins as well. The priest mostly wants to hear the sins named, not the details.
I remember when I was a kid there was a commercial on TV for the “Hair Club for Men.” At the end of the commercial, the guy selling the product would say, “Not only am I the hair club president, I am also a client.”
As I encourage you to go to Confession this Advent, I’d like to say that I do so not only as a confessor, but also as one who is a frequent penitent.
Your Brother in Christ,
Fr. David Barnes