My Dear Fellow Pilgrims,
I write to you on St. Joseph's Day, and am looking forward to our Great Mass this evening, when we will celebrate our beloved Patron.
We are approaching the final stretch of Lent, with less than two weeks until Holy Week. Let us continue to pray for each other to be truly sanctified by means of our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. One of my resolutions was to kneel before the Blessed Sacrament each day to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. What a joy it has been for me to spend these five minutes in the Chapel in the middle of each day -- such a beautiful little break from the usual stresses of life. Don't miss all the upcoming Lenten means of sanctification detailed in this email, especially our Parish Mission with Fr. Jay Mello next week.
Upcoming Events:
We hope many non-practicing Catholics "come home for Easter." How beautiful it is to receive the sacraments every week or even every day! Why have so many Catholics abandoned the Church and the Sacraments? One major factor is the so-called "Sexual Revolution." The Church insists that real love is so much more than sex, and that sex itself is sacred. Our secular culture, however, insists that sex is nothing more than recreation. Consider this analogy: If Daddy gives his children all the candy they want whenever they want it, while Mamma makes them wait for dinner, which parent will they go to when hungry? Just so, popular culture tells us that we can have all the sex we want whenever we want it, while Holy Mother Church tells us that we have to wait for marriage. Most Catholics, of course, follow popular culture rather than the Church in matters of sexuality. The social damages from this so-called "sexual revolution" are devastating, but we largely ignore the problem. Lent is a time to face our problems, and solve them, with God's help.
I write to you on St. Joseph's Day, and am looking forward to our Great Mass this evening, when we will celebrate our beloved Patron.
We are approaching the final stretch of Lent, with less than two weeks until Holy Week. Let us continue to pray for each other to be truly sanctified by means of our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. One of my resolutions was to kneel before the Blessed Sacrament each day to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. What a joy it has been for me to spend these five minutes in the Chapel in the middle of each day -- such a beautiful little break from the usual stresses of life. Don't miss all the upcoming Lenten means of sanctification detailed in this email, especially our Parish Mission with Fr. Jay Mello next week.
Upcoming Events:
We hope many non-practicing Catholics "come home for Easter." How beautiful it is to receive the sacraments every week or even every day! Why have so many Catholics abandoned the Church and the Sacraments? One major factor is the so-called "Sexual Revolution." The Church insists that real love is so much more than sex, and that sex itself is sacred. Our secular culture, however, insists that sex is nothing more than recreation. Consider this analogy: If Daddy gives his children all the candy they want whenever they want it, while Mamma makes them wait for dinner, which parent will they go to when hungry? Just so, popular culture tells us that we can have all the sex we want whenever we want it, while Holy Mother Church tells us that we have to wait for marriage. Most Catholics, of course, follow popular culture rather than the Church in matters of sexuality. The social damages from this so-called "sexual revolution" are devastating, but we largely ignore the problem. Lent is a time to face our problems, and solve them, with God's help.
I want to recommend a little book by one of my favorite Catholic commentators, Mary Eberstadt. It is entitled Adam and Eve After the Pill and should be available in our bookstore soon. She looks at the social facts straight on, and counsels a way back from the edge of the abyss. It's bracing and jolly good Lenten reading. You can watch a 2-minute trailer on the book below.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Joseph Illo
Copies of Adam and Eve after the Pill may be obtained here.
Book Trailer: Adam & Even after the Pill
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Joseph Illo
Copies of Adam and Eve after the Pill may be obtained here.
Book Trailer: Adam & Even after the Pill
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