Diocese of Toledo, Ohio

Browsing From the Pastor

Receiving & Extending a Gift that Continues to Give

   During this time of the year, many of us think about gifts that we can give to persons about whom we care. An on-going gift that all of us can offer to others is that of the best version of ourselves. We’ve been created and redeemed to live in peace and harmony with one another in each of the settings in which we find ourselves, namely in our families, where we work or go to school, in our parish and in the community. When we work, starting with ourselves, to make this happen, we are doing our part to make the settings in which we live and interact with others more Christlike and caring.

   It is challenging to live in that peace and harmony for which we’ve been redeemed. At times, through our own selfishness and lovelessness, we hurt ourselves, others, the environment and the Lord.

   The Lord offers to all persons the gift of His forgiveness for all of our sins. We make this gift our own in a unique way by celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This  coming Thursday, December 15th, St. Mary Parish, Mansfield, is planning to host the annual Mansfield Area Tri-Parish Advent Communal Penance Service at 5:00 p.m. A number of priests plan to be present to help with the celebration of this Sacrament. For those who cannot come to this service, other communal penance services in our area are listed in the bulletin.

   As one of our spiritual resolutions during this new Church Year, I hope that we will want to celebrate this Sacrament on a regular frequent basis, for example, perhaps monthly. Why might we celebrate this Sacrament frequently? Because our struggle against lovelessness and selfishness is on-going. Even as we develop good habits or patterns of behavior that promote peace and harmony, sad to say, we can develop attitudes and behavior patterns that hurt our relationships. Even as we develop good habits over a period of time, we don’t overcome loveless habits overnight.

   A distinctive feature about the Sacrament of Reconciliation is that in addition to receiving the forgiveness of all of the sins of our past, we are offered the strength to more effectively offer the Lord’s redeeming love to others as with His help, we work to overcome specific forms of lovelessness within ourselves. One of the benefits of receiving this Sacrament on a regular frequent basis is that we can see progress in our efforts to overcome, with the Lord’s help, specific forms of selfishness. Also, more and more, we will want to become more proactive in reaching out to others with acts of kindness and charity.

   Thus, in our willingness to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation on a regular frequent basis, we can grow in the ability to offer to others the gift of our best selves in an on-going way. By doing this, we will be inviting persons with whom we live and interact to want to become the best version of themselves in the Lord.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Nelson Beaver – Pastor

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