24 Hours for Mercy

Tonight churches around the world are staying open for 24 Hours of Mercy. The Mercy emanates from the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession. Christ, through his Church, is inviting all Catholics who have not been in a confessional for a while to feel free to approach the Lord in the Sacrament of Mercy--Donfession. As Pope Francis wrote in his document, The Face of Mercy, Jesus is the Face of Mercy. Our God is indeed an awesome God. To make sure we do not hold back from embracing the love offered by God the Father, he sent Jesus, true God and true man, into this world to make us "children of God." If you cannot make it to confession tonighjt (or today depending on where you live on this planet), make a beeling for the nearest Catholic Church. Go on-line to find out their hours for confession. Or, if you think your personal state of soul needs greater attention, call the number for the priests' office or the rectory to make an appointment. To make a good confession, there are 5 steps to make it a good one: 1) make an examination of conscience--that is we recall how we have fallen short in keeping the Commandments,the teachings of the church, especially on morality. We look overour thoughts and behavior since our last confession. 2) We make a prayer of sorrow for our sins, that is, an act of contrition.where we admit our sins we found ourselves go aurselves together. Prayer books offer a variety of "penitential