The Sacrament of Penance
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
On this Third week of Advent, many of you may be thinking about going to Confession in preparation for Christmas Day. Due to the pandemic, our regular Parish Penance Service has been cancelled, so you may want to think about going on Saturday (3:00-4:30 pm) or making an appointment (542-6984, ext. 0). I’d like to take a look at this sacrament, starting with repentance and having a firm purpose of amendment.
“Sorrow for sin has two aspects, two slants as it were, one backwards and one forward. Looking back, the penitent regrets and detests sin; looking forward, he determines to avoid it. Determination to avoid both sin and its occasions, in other words, firm purpose of amendment, is the crucial test of the reality of contrition. He who is determined to do his best to avoid sin, undoubtedly has true repentance, even though he may feel spiritually dry as a desert and as undevout as an iceberg. The proof of contrition is in the effective will to reform. It is all important that there should be no misunderstanding about the true meaning of contrition; remorse must on no account be confused with repentance.
The firm purpose of amendment is the most difficult act of the penitent. It is easy enough to have remorse for sin; in fact, unless our conscience has become completely atrophied, remorse is inevitable. It is not so easy to have effective repentance. St. Alphonsus says that most bad confessions are bad through lack of practical amendment; and authorities and citations to confirm his opinion could be multiplied. Owing to the subtleties of self-deceit, it is fatally easy to mistake remorse for repentance. A penitent says, for example: "I am sorry for my sin, but do not ask me to break off abruptly and completely from the occasion of sin. I could not bear to appear unkind to one who has been so good to me. I do not want to hurt his feelings." Such a soul, like Pilate, is trying to serve two masters and have it both ways, and that is certainly not effective repentance. Sometimes a penitent confesses theft. "When are you going to pay back the money?" asks the priest. "What are you going to do to get the money together?" The penitent has not thought of that; he has a vague intention of paying back at some uncertain date when he can do so without the slightest inconvenience, but the idea of doing anything practical here and now has not entered his head. That is not effective repentance either; in fact, such a confession is probably only a sop [balm] to conscience.
… [T] he Sacrament of Penance does not operate like a charm, and absolution touches only those sins for which we are truly sorry. It is possible to have a genuine general purpose of amendment against any and every sin, without an explicit purpose against each sin; but it is never wise to rely on such a general resolution, because, besides being in all probability ineffective, it does not enable us to discriminate surely between remorse and repentance.
We should test our repentance by testing our resolution. "Am I willing to employ all the necessary means to avoid this sin, no matter what the cost?" --- that is the crucial test of repentance. If we are determined to avoid a certain sin, we shall inevitably, and as a natural consequence of our determination, consider how we are going to avoid it.” For complete article go to: www.catholictradition.org/Christ/repentance.htm Excerpted from Pardon and Peace, by Alfred Wilson, CP.
—Fr. Epperson
Announcements
SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: Because we are currently living in the strange and ever-worsening world of Covid, I remind you that there is still no obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation; therefore, if you do not feel well or if you belong to a category of people that is more susceptible to this virus, or if you simply feel nervous about being around others, you need not worry about attending Mass, although in that cSe, you should watch our live-stream 8:00 a.m. Mass on our YouTube channel, “Cathedral of St. Eugene.” In addition to the 8:00 a.m. Mass, we will have a traditional, Latin Mass at 5:30 p.m. and Mass in English in the Ordinary Form at 7:00 p.m. Our Spanish Mass will be a vigil, taking place tonight at 6:30 p.m.
FEAST OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE: On Saturday, December 12, we celebrate another Marian Feast, The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. For those of you who would like to attend Mass in honor of this Feast, you can attend the 8:00 a.m. Mass or the 6:30 p.m. Spanish Mass. Our 4:30 p.m. Mass will be our regular Sunday Vigil Mass of the Third Sunday of Advent.
FLOWER MEMORIAL ENVELOPES: For those of you who receive our mailings, you should have received our Christmas packet by now. In this packet was an envelope to donate toward our cost of Christmas flowers in memory of a deceased loved one. You may put your envelope in the collection basket this Sunday (December 12/13). For those who do not receive mailings, there will be a basket placed on the stonework ledge near the east steps, containing envelopes. These may be returned to the collection basket the following Sunday (December 19/20). You can also drop them off at the Parish Office or mail them to us. Please return them no later than 12:00 noon on Tuesday, December 22. We will then have all of the names listed in our special Christmas edition of the Pastor’s Notes that will be sent out on December 23rd.
CHRISTMAS MASS SCHEDULE: At this point in time, we we are expecting the worst from our state officials in regard to a renewed stay-at-home/lockdown order. Officials are anticipating a sharp rise in COVID hospitalizations. If this happens, and hospital capacity falls to below 15%, we will be moved to the most restrictive level of lockdown. This means that we will definitely be worshiping outside. If the 10:00 pm curfew has not yet been lifted, in-person attendance at the 9:00 pm Latin Mass and the Midnight Mass will not be possible. The Midnight Mass will be live-streamed so that you will be able to view from home. We will give you more information about the 9:00 pm Latin Mass in next week’s Pastor’s Notes.
NEW OUTDOOR MASS MARQUEES: I’m sure you all noticed the amazing marquees (canopies) that now cover the entire area of the east side lawn. No more sitting under the blazing sun or the rain! We are extremely fortunate to have three very generous parishioners who donated them. To these three, I offer my sincere thanks and gratitude for what you have done during this time of great need. May our Lord reward you abundantly for your selfless generosity to your parish and fellow parishioners!
KRINGLE’S CORNER CHRISTMAS TREE FARM: If you are planning on buying your Christmas tree at Kringle’s off of the River Road Exit, next to the Luther Burbank Center, please mention that you are a parishioner of St Eugene’s. They will then donate 15% of the proceeds of the sale to our parish.
Parish Finances in the Age of Covid
As you all know, these are hard times for all parishes in terms of finances. Even though we are “shut down,” the bills keep coming in and salaries have to be paid. For those of you who have been giving a little extra each week/month, I really appreciate your generosity. For those of you who are unable to come to Mass, please consider giving on-line or the good old-fashioned way, by mail. Thank you and God bless you. Learn more »
Year to Date:
Income $592,661
Short fall $-28,360
THANK YOU to all of those parishioners who gave a bit extra to help us decrease our shortfall.
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