My dear parishioners of St. Rosalie,

 
Peace be with you!  As we light the second candle on the Advent Wreath, we are reminded that we await the birth of the Prince of Peace.
      We read in Luke’s Gospel that Jesus’ mission is “To give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
      Jesus’ greatest desire is to bring us peace so that we may be at one with Him. He gave us the great sacrament of Peace, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to forgive our sins and to bestow sanctifying grace upon us.
      These days as we think of gifts for our loved ones and friends, let’s think about a great gift for ourselves and a great gift for Jesus, those being one and the same: our Advent confession.
      I admit sometimes I find confession difficult confessing to another priest especially when the devil is working overtime tempting one not to go or to make a bad confession.
      Every time I resist the temptations of the devil, go to confession and am completely honest with the priest, I bask in the Lord’s Love and feel like I could fly. That’s what keeps me going back to confession.
      If in the past you had a bad experience in the sacrament and have stopped going, consider this as an invitation from Jesus to let go of the past and to let God’s Love, Mercy, and Sanctifying Grace take root in your heart once again.
St. John Bosco was in the soul business.  His desire was to help the young people entrusted to his care as well as all those he encountered to save their souls – to be holy and happy – to be saints.  To this end he constantly recommended worthy reception of Jesus in Holy Communion and frequent, sincere confessions.  As members of this Salesian Parish, let us heed his advice and follow Don Bosco in the ways of holiness.
      Our parishes will be offering several opportunities to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In addition to our regular confession times on Saturdays from 3:15-3:45 p.m. at St. Rosalie and 3:45-4:30 p.m. at St. John Bosco, we will have three special Advent Penance Services.
      On Monday, December 16^th, 6:30 p.m., at St. Rosalie, there will be a special Advent Penance Service for High School and College Aged Youth.
Then on Tuesday, December 17^th, 6:30 p.m., a regular parish Advent Penance Service at St. Rosalie and on Thursday, December 19^th, 6:30 p.m. another regular parish Advent Service at St. John Bosco.
      At all three penance services confessions will be heard in English, Vietnamese, French, Spanish and Creole.
      If these times, don’t work for you, please call the parish office to set up an appointment with a priest of your choice.
 
God bless you!
 
Fr. Mark