The fifth Sunday of Lent 2022

Dear St. Peter Parish Family:

          Can you believe it? It is the fifth Sunday of Lent already.  I don’t know about you, but I think this season is gone very quickly. This past week we priests have had the privilege of hearing the confessions of many repentant sinners. For those of you who have not gone it is not too late. On April 5 St. Peter Parish will celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation starting at 6 PM. There will be priests from throughout the deanery present to hear confessions and share God’s forgiveness. I will also be available for confessions at Holy Spirit Parish on Wednesday, April 6 and 13^th from 9 to 10 in the morning.  April 13 I will be at Holy Spirit from 6 to 7PM in the evening. There will also be confessions on the evening of April 6 at Holy Spirit Parish. Father Steve has graciously offered to cover those that evening. I do hope you will take advantage of these opportunities for confession. God is waiting to share his love with you.

          Confession is a sacrament which can humble us. So often we think about the sins and the frailties of others. God is asking us to consider hours first. Where does conversion begin? It begins with me. I cannot ask someone else to convert unless I am willing to do the same. The gospel from Saint Luke which features the story of the woman caught in adultery is a good reminder for us. The scribes and Pharisees wanted to quickly judge her as being liable to death for what she did. Jesus flip this notion upside down by asking us to look at ourselves. “Let him who has no sin be the first to cast a stone at her.” The scribes and Pharisees had to admit that they were not without sin. The other people who were there to stone her had to admit the same thing. Eventually at the end of the gospel Jesus was left alone with her. Jesus asked her: “Has No one condemned you? No sir the woman says. Nor do I condemn you. Go in peace and sin no more.” In the confessional a sincerely repentant sinner will never be condemned. God never wants to condemn us, but what he wants us to do is to do our due diligence to avoid sinning in the future. As we get ready to wind down this season of lent let us pray that we will do our best never to sin again. 

          “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.  His mercy endures forever.  As God’s mercy endures forever; may our mercy toward others and self, endure forever as well.  May God bless you and have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Fr. Todd