From the Desk of Father Nathan

A Message from Father Nathan

My dearest people who are all close to my heart

Lots of love, blessings, and prayers to you all.

Confess your sins at least once a year…

The second precept of the Church commission that guides each one of us states

“you shall confess your sins at least once a year:

Confession Times for Lent

As we are in the wonderful season of Lent we will have confession a variety of times for confession.

Morning Confession

Wednesday, March 29 & Thursday, March 30 for morning confessions, immediately after 8:00 a.m. Mass until 10:30 am.

Afternoon Confession

Friday, March 31, immediately after the 4:00 p.m. stations of the cross until 6:00 p.m.

I gave you options for your convenience to come for confession please come. It’s a time of GRACE AND HEALING – as we prepare ourselves to be worthy for the pascal festivities. THERE WILL NOT BE CONFESSION DURING HOLY WEEK.

Understanding the catechism of confession

Hence, let us prepare ourselves. Now, let us learn a little catechism on confession.

What Sin Does? Sin causes three-fold damage in relationships. With god, With others, and with Ourselves. Most people easily see that sin can damage the relationship between God and us. This is why we all need to seek forgiveness of sins in some way. But this isn’t the only damage done.

St. Paul tells us, in several of his letters, we are all united to God in one body of Christ – the Church. One example of this teaching:

“We, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another”.- Romans 12:5.

So when we sin, we can damage others. As Paul says in his long teaching on the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians:

“If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it: if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy”. 1 Cor 12:26.

Thus, we not only damage the relationship with God but also with other members of the Church. The Catechism teaches: 1440

“Sin is before all else an offense against God, a rupture of communion with Him. At the same time, it damages communion with the Church. For this reason, conversion entails both God’s forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church”.

The third damage caused is to ourselves. We are created for goodness and holiness. When we sin, in a sense, we become less of who we were created to be. This damage needs to be repaired. This healing only happens when sin is forgiven.

Who Forgives sin

Now the question is who Forgives Sin? The answer is so simple. Only God ALONE has the authority to forgive sins. Yet, this authority is mediated through others. The Jews questioned why Christ was forgiving sins because they did not realize He was God. We must not forget that Jesus was also a man.

He passes on this authority to forgive sins to His apostles. After the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples who were gathered in the upper room, scared out of their minds and confused. Christ comes and breathes the Holy Spirit on them and then commissions them to forgive sins. This is only the second time God breathes on humans. The first is when He breathes life into Adam. Breath is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained”.

The apostles are sent as the Father has sent Jesus – with the authority to forgive sins. But how could they know which sins to forgive and which to retain if they were not confessed? This is why the book of James says this:

“confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

In the context of this verse, a person is told to “summon the presbyters of the church” (James 5:14). Presbyter is the Greek word for priest. Therefore, based on the Biblical evidence, we see forgiveness of sins is explicitly tied to confession to a priest, who has the authority to forgive sins, which is given by Christ. Christ thus heals the relationship through the priest, and we are reconciled to both God and His Church in doing this we are healed.

Please continue to pray for me. I continue to hold you in my prayers.

God bless you all.

With lots of love and blessing.

Ever wanting to be faithful to your service.

—Fr. Sahayanathan Nathan