The Light Is On For You

For several years now, the Archdiocese of Washington, during Lent, has conducted the above-named effort of re-acquainting Catholics with the Sacrament of Confession.  On Wednesdays during Lent, each and every parish will have their confessionals open from 6:30pm - 8:00pm.  To my knowledge, this is the first year that the Diocese of Arlington is joining the effort.

If anyone has been away from the Sacrament for a while and feels a bit awkward about it, the priest will be happy to assist you.  Please come and receive Our Lord's forgiveness and sacramental grace.  You won't regret it.

Is That A Carbon Footprint On Your Forehead??

There appears to be a renewed attempt to substitute adherence to environmentalism for authentic Lenten practices.  As noted last week, Blessed Sacrament in Chevy Chase has pulled the "lenten carbon fast" out of the mothballs and is foisting it on their unsuspecting parishioners (causing the death of many trees with all that paper used, I might add).

We now see from Catholic News Services that the so-called "Catholic Coalition On Climate Change" wants us to do things like "give up disposable paper products such as napkins and paper towels"  We should be grateful that they didn't include toilet paper in that litany.  Of course the incandescent light bulb has to go; that seems to be a common one.  Why?  Well, as their Dan Misleh says, "Lent is the perfect time to examine our lifestyles," he added. Even giving up a food item like chocolate or ice cream "reminds us that we do need to live more within our means, more in touch with people who don't have any of these things."  That's not why we sacrifice things.  We do so to remind ourselves that these things are fleeting and that we must prepare ourselves for eternal life.  Oh, by the way - they plan to send "Catholic Climate Ambassadors" to brainwash "educate" us on their enlightened thinking.


CARBON FOOTPRINT ALERT!

 Now I have a question.  With all this talk of "reducing carbon footprints", what do these earth-worshippers think of the Ash Wednesday liturgical practice of burning palm leaves and applying them to the foreheads of penitants?  I can imagine that some are in a tizzy that those palm leaves weren't put in a compost pile, but instead were burned (polluting the air and corroding the ozone layer, to boot) and that this is done world-wide.  Will we soon hear from them clarion calls to reject even more tradition, one that again recalls to us our mortality, to worship Gaia and Mother Earth?

Forget all this environmentalism.  Let this Lent for you be a true time of repentance and renewal.  One of the most useful things to come out of the Archdiocese of Washington in recent years has been Cardinal Wuerl's "The Light Is On For You" program.  It is an effort to get Catholics to resort to the Sacrament of Confession; and it appears to be working.  Prior to that, when I went to Confession, I could just walk straight from the church doors into a confessional.  Now I have to wait in lines of 8-10 people.  I'm not complaining!  This is a good, healthy sign that people are taking their spiritual welfare seriously.  So go to Confession - regularly.  Get to daily Mass.

I'd also suggest prayer at the abortion centers, to ask God's mercy on our nation and to perhaps reach out to troubled women.  Today was the start of the 40 Days for Life, a campaign of prayer and outreach that is now international in scope.  To learn more of this program and to find a location near you, visit that website and click on the locations tab.  Right off the bat I can tell you that there are campaigns in Silver Spring, Germantown, College Park, Northwest DC, Fairfax, Severna Park.

The Light Is On For You

For the past several years, Archbishop Wuerl has instituted a program called "The Light Is On For You".  It is a most commendable effort to encourage more frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.  I link to it above as there are useful guides to the sacrament, particularly the examination of conscience that must be done to receive the sacrament most profitably.  One "across the diocese" implementation is that all parishes will be hearing confessions on Wednesday evenings from 6:30pm - 8:00pm.  Additional confession schedules can be located under the "locate a parish" section.

Before the inception of this program, when I went to confession I could just walk right into a confessional without waiting.  Nowadays, there are lines of people waiting to confess.  Believe me, I'm not complaining.  This is quite nice to see, as people are starting to take their lives - both here and eternal - seriously.