We are rapidly coming to the end of our Lenten preparation for Holy Week. Following these 40 days of fasting, charity and repentance from our sins, we then celebrate the greatest news of human existence.

 That is Easter Sunday and the conquering of death which each of us must pass through. Now however, if we are faithful, we do so with Christ who has gone before us and who will raise us as He was raised. We are reminded that the stakes for all eternity could not be higher.

 

At the beginning of Lent, in this column I proposed an image that began on Ash Wednesday. That was of seeing in the distance the hill of Calvary and the cross of Christ. Our Lenten task was to begin the struggle to and up that hill. Because it is an arduous climb to Good Friday and the foot of the cross, we needed to let go of the baggage of sin that holds us back. 

 

The shedding of sinful habits, of sloth and indifference to our faith during Lent is very good for us. And by Lenten penance and charity, we shed the habits we have formed and we move more eagerly to the cross. At the same time, by prayer, the reading of Scripture, the Stations of the Cross and especially the Mass, it is as if we have taken the proper nourishment. Our souls become stronger and resistant to the fatigue and challenges to living faith for a lifetime.

 

Next week, we will observe once more a day that has had a great impact for many in recent years. It is our Be Reconciled Day. You may have heard some of the advertisements on the radio and the personal invitation they contain to come to confession on that day when priests will be hearing confessions throughout the day in our parishes. It takes place on the last Wednesday before Holy Week each year.

 

The goal is to give a particular time and place of focus for the faithful to come to receive the sacrament of forgiveness in a way that seeks to meet everyone’s schedule and convenience.

 

Each year, I hear from priests about people who have been away from confession for years and who have been moved to come on this day. Often, when asked why they have come, they give two answers. Some say they have known for a long time that they needed to come, and Be Reconciled Day is just the right time and circumstance. But others say they come because they had heard, perhaps from the priest at Mass, perhaps from other sources, that they were invited to come.

 

If you have been away from confession or haven’t yet gone this year, please come. I do invite you. Check for times and places at https://bereconciled.rockforddiocese.org.

 

The Sunday following Be Reconciled Day, April 2, will be Palm Sunday. At that Mass the faithful received the blessed palms to be placed in a place of reverence in our houses, and we read the Gospel account of the suffering and death of Jesus. It is always a beautiful and moving Mass.

 

This year we have been highlighting the need for all of us to join the Church community regularly at Sunday Mass. That habit, like going to confession, has weakened for many in recent years. Following COVID, many have still not returned to Mass, although the number of Catholics not joining in Sunday Mass has been declining for years.

 

Please, make this Lent and Holy Week to be the time to get things restored. Confession and a return to Mass. These are great goods. They are the way we climb that hill to join Mary at the foot of the cross. It is the place we need for the good of our souls and to be one with Christ.

 

A blessed Holy Week to all.