Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Happy second week of Lent.  Well, Fr. Prabhu is in India now, though as of this writing he is still in transit.  What a journey!  Hopefully he arrives safely and has a couple days to rest up before all of his visiting.

Check out Fr. Timothy Gallagher and the Discernment of Spirits

            This past weekend I mentioned discernment of spirits in my homily.  I want to recommend a current excellent teacher on the discernment of spirits.  His name is Fr. Timothy Gallagher.  His book The Discernment of Spirits is a great way to grow in recognizing God’s presence in your life and also the ways that the evil spirits work. He has a website where you can find out lots more: frtimothygallagher.org  You also can find his teachings on his podcast Discerning Hearts.  I am confident you will find his teachings impactful and helpful in your daily life.  An excellent way to spend some time this Lent.

The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation

            One important prayer that we all need every Lent is the Sacrament of Confession.  This year the words of absolution are changing slightly. This is the prayer that the priest prayers in the person of Jesus, which removes all your sins (after a good confession on the part of the penitent, of course).  Starting Divine Mercy Sunday all priests are supposed to use the new words of absolution.  All priests are able to use the new words already, starting this past Ash Wednesday.

            We will be talking more about this in the coming weeks.  Today I just wanted to draw your attention to this change.

            The old words (which can still be used): God the Father of mercies through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins.  Through the ministry of the Church, may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

            The new words (with the changes in bold): God the Father of mercies through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and poured out the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins. Through the ministry of the Church, may God grant you pardon and peace and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

            May God bless us this Lent

––Fr. Jon