Bless the Lord, my soul; and do not forget all his gifts, who pardons all your sins, and heals all your ills. (Psalm 103:2-3)
April 8, 2025
Hello Everyone –
The Jubilee Year of Hope continues to unfold around us, and the days of Lent are quickening to the Paschal Triduum.
How have you taken advantage of the opportunities to grow in healing grace, considering the avenues of encounter with our loving God open before you? Have you seriously considered utilizing the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a means of preparing yourself for the coming feast of Easter?
While desiring that all the faithful experience “a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus,” Pope Francis writes:
“The sacrament of Penance assures us that God wipes away our sins. It is not only a magnificent spiritual gift, but also a decisive, essential, and fundamental step on our journey of faith. There, we allow the Lord to erase our sins, to heal our hearts, to raise us up, to embrace us, and to reveal to us his tender and compassionate countenance. There is no better way to know God than to let him reconcile us to himself and savor his forgiveness. Let us not neglect Confession, but rediscover the beauty of this sacrament of healing and joy, the beauty of God’s forgiveness of our sins!”
It is difficult to ignore such a tremendous opportunity that is readily available on a weekly, if not daily basis, in parishes across the 10 counties of the Archdiocese. Please do not avoid or ignore or sidestep our merciful God who will not be outdone in generosity. Images of the story of the Prodigal Son hopefully flood our minds when we reflect on the ways God desires to encounter us, forgive us and heal us.
For those of you who will read this column either before or on Wednesday, April 9, I encourage you to also take advantage of the 12 Hours of Reconciliation which will occur in eleven parishes throughout the archdiocese. (Please see this link for locations.)
In addition to the 12 Hours of Reconciliation, I encourage everyone who is able to use April 9 as a time of Reparation and Fasting. If possible, please spend the day in fasting and acts of reparation in recognition of how we have failed – individually and as a society – to be signs of hope for others. I invite you through these acts of sacrifice and prayer to remember all those who suffer exclusion, indifference, poverty, hunger, the ravages of war, racism and hatred.
Perhaps we are unable to undo the damage that has been done but we must not grow tired in our attempts to repair the many broken relationships that have resulted with others —within ourselves — and with our God.
May our hearts with a communal voice ring out:
O my God, I am sorry and repent with all my heart
for all the wrong I have done and for the good I have failed to do,
because by sinning I have offended you,
who are all good and worthy to be loved above all things.
I firmly resolve with the help of your grace,
to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid the occasions of sin.
Through the merits of the Passion of our Savior Jesus Christ,
Lord, have mercy. Amen.
As I do for you, please pray for me,
Most Reverend Jeffrey S. Grob
Archbishop of Milwaukee
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