Pastor's Letter for the December 6, 2020 Bulletin

Not surprisingly we have a number of things different this year.  Among them is that we are not able to have our usual Advent Penance Service, with several visiting priests available for the event.  So, in its place Fr. Bob and I are offering 3 ways to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation in preparation for Christmas. 

First of all, we are expanding the usual times that we have Confessions.  We will plan to be available in the confessional from 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays at St. Benedict and 11:30 a.m. on Sundays at Sts. Peter & Paul in Lore City.  We will do so for these next three weekends before Christmas. 

Secondly, I will be available for Confessions on Tuesday evening, December 15th and December 22nd at St. Benedict from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Finally, please note that we can be available by appointment at a time that would be more convenient for you.  Simply call our parish office and we can plan for a time to meet by appointment.  Sometimes that arrangement works best, too, because there wouldn’t necessarily be other people in line afterwards and so the confession could go at a less time-conscious pace.

We have had an encouraging number of additional people asking about RCIA and joining the Church.  We also usually begin the process each year in October. Because of the several additional people recently asking about joining in later, we will likely be starting a second group of “inquirers”.  If you know of someone who has expressed interest to you about either learning more about the Catholic faith or about joining the Church, please let me know and we could see about including them in this second group. 

Finally, over the past several years we have offered a variety of approaches to adult faith formation for those who have been Catholic for years but are looking to continue deepening their faith.  Something that has been developing recently is something in which my own parents have participated for over 30 years. In their parish in Steubenville almost all of the parishioners are part of a “men’s group” or a “women’s group.” These are faith sharing groups of about 5-8 members who meet either weekly or sometimes every other week.  They have been “walking with” each other in their experience as disciples of the Lord, sharing with each other about their prayer life, about applications to various situations in life and sometimes “praying over” or praying with each other during those faith sharing gatherings. 

Here at Christ Our Light, three groups like this – going by the name of “Discipleship Quads” – have developed. Two are groups of 4-6 women and the other is a group of 5 men.  We are looking at eventually expanding by establishing some additional new groups.  Please let me know if this sounds like something in which you might like to participate. 

May the Lord continue to bless us with joy and peace as disciples of Jesus and to help us to be always ready for the gift of eternal life in Heaven!