Dear Parishioners,

If you read my letter last week, you know that this Thursday, October 11th is a special day of prayer and penance for our parish. This day of prayer and fasting is something called upon by our bishop in order to pray for the Church. It will be a normal day of Eucharistic Adoration with devotions spread throughout the day including:

• Noon Rosary

•  3 pm Divine Mercy Chaplet

• 7 pm Stations of the Cross meditation

• 9 pm Traditional Latin Mass (low Mass) and Benediction

I hope that many of you can make it to some of these devotions or lift up some sort of prayer or personal penance. That being said, I would like to clarify these acts with a couple questions people might have.

Q. Why are we doing penance for the sins of the bishops and priests?

Our bishops asked us primarily to pray for the victims of sexual abuse and then for the clergy and then for the Church in general. Through our baptism, we are all one body in Christ. As St. Paul reminds us in Corinthians, when one part of the body suffers, we all suffer. (1 Corinthians 12:26) The Church is suffering due to the acts of the leaders, but renewal of our Church will only happen as an act of the whole body. We are all suffering due to sin and we all need forgiveness. So, now is a moment where we can all come together in Christ and pray for one another.

Q. What is the use of prayer and fasting?

Prayer is a great gift from God in which we lift our minds and hearts to Him and let Him lead us. Prayer is to the soul what breath is to the body. The world is full of distractions that keep us from focusing on what is most important: our relationship with God. Furthermore, even on a social level, the comfort we take from distractions keep us from sympathizing with others, having charity towards people around us, and setting long term goals.

Fasting is an ancient Christian penance that prevents us from taking too much comfort in this world. Fasting prepares us for rough times and reminds us of the suffering that others go through. We can easily fool ourselves into thinking that we need more than we actually do when we get all the food we want. This is a real danger living in a country with a high standard of living. By giving up some food during the day, we are building our solidarity with those who have very little.

God bless,

Father Carter