Second Sunday of Lent
April 2, 2025 Column Father De Celles
Stations of the Cross. An important form of prayer during Lent is the Stations of the Cross, which can be prayed at home, but is most beneficially prayed in a place where “Stations” are physically erected, as they are in our church, and along the perimeter of the woods behind our church.
Historically, this devotion goes back to the earliest days of the Church: tradition tells us that the Blessed Mother used to visit the places of her Son’s Passion every day. By the beginning of the 4th century the route from Pilate’s praetorium up the hill to Calvary was well worn and marked with the key stations of his suffering, and pilgrims came from all over the nascent Christian world to walk the “Via.” By at least the 5th century the devotion spread outside of the Holy Land, and it particularly expanded in popular piety through its promotion by St. Francis of Assisi in the 13th century.
Today, virtually every Catholic church has a version of the 14 Stations. And while the devotion may be fruitfully practiced throughout the year, it is particularly fitting to Lent. So please, consider praying the Stations, especially in the church, either by yourself or with your family, and/or joining other parishioners every Friday evening in Lent at 7pm.
Note that a plenary indulgence is gained by those who make them before Stations lawfully erected (e.g., in a church), while devoutly meditating upon the passion and death of the Lord, while moving from one station to the other (at least the leader must move during public Stations), and fulfilling the other usual requirements for a plenary indulgence.
The Sacrament of Penance: Catechism of the Catholic Church” (continued from last week)
“THE ACTS OF THE PENITENT. 1450 “Penance requires . . . the sinner to endure all things willingly, be contrite of heart, confess with the lips, and practice complete humility and fruitful satisfaction.”
Contrition. 1451 Among the penitent’s acts contrition occupies first place. Contrition is “sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again.”
1452 When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called “perfect” (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible.
1453 The contrition called “imperfect” (or “attrition”) is also a gift of God, a prompting of the Holy Spirit. It is born of the consideration of sin’s ugliness or the fear of eternal damnation and the other penalties threatening the sinner (contrition of fear). Such a stirring of conscience can initiate an interior process which, under the prompting of grace, will be brought to completion by sacramental absolution. By itself however, imperfect contrition cannot obtain the forgiveness of grave sins, but it disposes one to obtain forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance.
1454 The reception of this sacrament ought to be prepared for by an examination of conscience made in the light of the Word of God.…
The Confession of Sins. 1455 The confession…of sins, even from a simply human point of view, frees us and facilitates our reconciliation with others. Through such an admission man looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible.
1456 Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance: “All mortal sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession ….”
1457 According to the Church’s command, “after having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year.” Anyone who is aware of having committed a mortal sin must not receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first received sacramental absolution, unless he has a grave reason for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to confession. Children must go to the sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion for the first time.
1458 Without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church. Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit…
Satisfaction. 1459 Many sins wrong our neighbor. One must do what is possible in order to repair the harm (e.g., return stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone slandered…). Simple justice requires as much. But sin also injures…the sinner himself, as well as his relationships with God and neighbor. Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused. Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must “make satisfaction for” or “expiate” his sins. This satisfaction is also called “penance.”
1460 The penance …must correspond as far as possible with the gravity and nature of the sins committed. It can consist of prayer, an offering, works of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial, sacrifices, and above all the patient acceptance of the cross we must bear…
Trans Surgery. Did you see this story last week, here report by Foxnews.com (excerpt):
“So-called “gender-affirming surgery” could lead to potentially dangerous mental health effects, a new study has found. Transgender individuals face ‘heightened psychological distress,’ including depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation, ‘partly due to stigma and lack of gender affirmation,’ as stated in the study, which was published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine….
“The study focused on 107,583 patients 18 and over with gender dysphoria, some who underwent surgery and others who did not.
“They determined rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and substance-use disorders were ‘significantly higher’ among those who underwent surgery, assessed two years later.
“Males with surgery had depression rates of 25% compared to males without surgery (11.5%). Anxiety rates among that group were 12.8% compared to 2.6%.…[A]mong females…those with surgery had 22.9% depression rates compared to 14.6% in the non-surgical group…”
CYO Basketball. Congratulations to our 8th Grade CYO Boys’ basketball team for outstanding with a win against St Ambrose, 36-25, in the CYO Division Championship game last Sunday. I’m very proud of y’all,as I am of the kids playing on 4th Grade Boys and Girls teams and 7th Grade Girls team—all 43 kids, as well all their coaches. Thanks and God bless you!
Angelus Tabernacle. I’m happy to announce that after several years of petition our Bishops, Angelus Academy has received permission to reserve the Blessed Sacrament in their school chapel, and began doing so last Friday after the school Mass. The parish donated the tabernacle. Thanks to Jim and Michael Hildebrand and Luis Tapia for making it ready for use. And thanks to Bishop Burbidge for his permission.
Oremus pro invicem. Fr. De Celles