The new archbishop of Los
Angeles, in his first written message to Catholics since taking over
stewardship of the nation's largest diocese, urged Catholics to go to
confession during Lent.
"I encourage you to make a good confession before Easter, even if it has
been a long time," said Archbishop Jose H. Gomez in a Lenten message
released March 8, the day before Ash Wednesday.
"In the early church, they called confession the 'second conversion in
tears.' St. Peter wept in sorrow after denying Jesus, and in his mercy
Christ spoke to him the tender words of his pardon and peace. In the
sacrament, we too can hear these words of compassion for our sins,"
Archbishop Gomez said.
The archbishop, who succeeded Cardinal Roger M. Mahony March 1, said the
parable of the prodigal son was "one of my favorite Scriptures. ... I
love this story for its drama and emotion, and because it rings true."
Archbishop Gomez added, "It is God who rejoices in the parable: 'My son
was dead and is alive again.' When he gives his son a new robe, it
signifies the white garment we are clothed with in baptism. When he
orders a feast of thanksgiving, it signifies the Eucharist. My sisters
and brothers, the pilgrimage of the prodigal son is the story of our
lives!
"This Lent, let us seek to deepen our awareness of our baptismal identity."
Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. bishops'
conference, urged Catholics to return to the confessional in a St.
Patrick's Day message.
"My fervent prayer for the Catholics of the Archdiocese of New York is
that they will hear in the next weeks the beautiful, profound words of
absolution pronounced in the confessional," Archbishop Dolan said March
17.
"We have to be frank, though. Those words are not heard as often as they
should be in the church in New York," he added. "We can't imagine
Catholic life without the words of consecration -- This is my body! This
is my blood! Likewise Catholic life cannot be lived properly without
the sacrament of penance. We need the forgiveness of our sins. We need
the grace of this sacrament to grow in virtue."
Archbishop Dolan related that one priest told him that "after six months
in his new parish, he announced to the people that he was asking the
bishop for a transfer. 'You don't need me. I've sat in the confessional
for half a year, and nobody has come. You must all be saints. I want to
serve sinners.'"
"I exhort the entire Archdiocese of New York: Experience the joy of
forgiveness!" Archbishop Dolan said. "Experience liberation from sin!
Keep those confessionals busy! Keep your priests busy about the great
work of dispensing the Lord's mercy! Keep the sacrament of penance at
the heart of Catholic life!"
"Lent is perhaps the only religious season yet to find a secular
parallel," said Bishop Paul D. Sirba of Duluth, Minn., in a Lenten
message published in the March issue of The Northern Cross, the diocesan
newspaper. "Why? Why don't we see stores trying to sell little bottles
of ashes or come up with slogans and jingles based on 'Remember man that
you are dust and unto dust you shall return'?"
"In truth, it is a little more difficult to package our mortality,
repentance, conversion and penance for our sins in the context of a
celebratory consumer season," Bishop Sirba said. "Yet on Ash Wednesday,
even though it is not a holy day of obligation, more Catholics return to
church to receive those ashes on the forehead than perhaps on any other
day except Christmas and Easter. Refreshing, isn't it?"
Lent, he added, "speaks to a truth about God in relation to man that we
can spend a lifetime trying to understand -- that God loves us even in
our sinfulness."
"To fully appreciate God's mercy, we are invited to contemplate our
sinfulness and do something about it. 'Repent and believe the good
news!'" the bishop said. "If we regard sin as a scratch, then redemption
is just a Band-Aid. But if it is a mortal wound, then redemption is the
ultimate unexpected rescue."
Bishop Sirba said, "Every Catholic of the age of reason should take
advantage of the sacrament of penance this Lent. It is the sacrament of
God's mercy."
During a lunch-hour Mass on Ash Wednesday, March 9, at the Cathedral of
SS. Peter and Paul in Providence, R.I., Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of
Providence, told his congregation made up largely of Catholic school
students that, while they have become experts in the use of modern
technology -- using iPods, Facebook, the Internet and email -- they
should not let these forms of communication take over their lives and
create an addiction.
"Lent is an important time of communication, of renewed communication,
with God," Bishop Tobin said, urging those gathered to spend time in
silent prayer or to perform works of charity. "It would give us time to
get closer to God," he added.