The diary of St. Faustina, which was written by her from 1934-38, contained her thoughts, prayers and reported visions and conversations she had with Jesus on "Divine Mercy."  In one particular excerpt she is told to write this:  "I am Thrice Holy, and I detest the smallest sin.  I cannot love a soul that is stained with sin; but when it repents, there is no limit to My generosity toward it.  My mercy embraces and justifies it.  With My mercy, I pursue sinners all along their paths, and My heart rejoices when they return to me. . .   Tell sinners that I am always waiting for them, that I listen intently to the beating of their heart. . . when will it beat for Me."  I thought this would be a good passage to quote and reflect upon in light of our upcoming Advent Reconciliation Service this Tuesday, December 19, at 4:30 p.m.

Whether we have sinned slightly or gravely, the Lord wants to be generous in forgiving us all of our sins.  John the Baptist continues to cry out "Prepare the Way for the Lord.  Make straight his paths." (Mk 1:3).

I pray that many of us will heed the call and give time to join "fellow sinners" in our communal Word service and consider going to individual Confession to the six or more priests who will be with us that day.  If you cannot be there for the start of the service, please come when you can as our priests should be here until at least 6:00 p.m.  The greatest gift you can give yourself BEFORE Christmas is an experience with our merciful Lord and rejoice in the peace that he gives to us through his forgiveness and that of his Body, the Church.

For those who can't join us on Tuesday, I will offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Friday, December 22, and Saturday, December 23, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (and the normal times:  8:30-8:50 a.m. on weekdays, 3:15-3:45 p.m. on Saturday, and 7:15-7:45 a.m. on Sunday).