FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
Dear St. Mary’s Parishioners:
You might recall that we are in the middle of the “Year of St. Joseph” which Pope Francis promulgated late last year. The Year of St. Joseph began December 8th, 2020 and will extend to December 8th of this year. In order to foster devotion to St. Joseph and to offer a way to grow spiritually, Bishop Jaime Soto has invited the faithful to participate in a pilgrimage to all the churches in the Diocese named after St. Joseph. You might know that the Diocese has a good number of parishes named “Sacred Heart”. But we also have 11 parishes named after St. Joseph! Over the next six months, faithful are invited to visit each of the 11 churches and pray at each one. One can see where the St. Joseph churches are located and learn more about the pilgrimage here: https://www.scd.org/stjoseph/journey
It is also good to know that a plenary indulgence has been granted for those who are disposed and have completed the prayer or spiritual practice associated with the indulgence. One can find out more about the plenary indulgence here: https://www.scd.org/stjoseph/indulgence What is an indulgence? Good question! An indulgence is a remission of temporal punishment, or consequences, due to sin. Sin has consequences that are eternal and temporal. Jesus has suffered the eternal consequences for our sins by dying on the cross. He paid the price for our eternal consequences. Jesus took on the punishment of our sins, even though he was completely without guilt. Still, sins have consequences. With indulgences, the Church says that “we know that you have wandered and we want to give you something to help you find your way home, to help you heal”. We can have our sins forgiven through the Sacrament of Confession, but even after being forgiven of our sins there is still some “spiritual rehabilitation” that needs to take place. Whatever rehab we don’t do in this life, we are given the chance, and the gift, to complete our rehab and final purification in Purgatory. In His mercy, God created Purgatory so that we could be fully prepared to enjoy the joys of Heaven.
Another way of understanding indulgences is by way of analogy. Fr. Mike Schmitt explains that if I tear my shoulder muscle, I can try to repair the injury through physical rehabilitation. But if the pain persists, and the shoulder does not get better, I need to go to a doctor to have him surgically repair the shoulder. The physician completes the surgery, but I still need to do rehab in order to completely heal. The doctor tells me: “Do these exercises and you will be healed.” An indulgence is like saying: “Do these exercises and they will strengthen your soul.” Typically, to fulfill an indulgence, one must do the following: pray for the pope, go to confession, Receive the Eucharist, say a prayer or prayers and/or make a pilgrimage and pray, fast and give alms. Remember that an indulgence is “extra-sacramental” which means that one benefits from the grace of the indulgence by already being a regularly practicing Catholic, in good standing and in the state of grace. By the way, on June 18th, Bob Dunning of “The Bishop’s Hour” on Catholic radio (AM 1620) and I talked about the Catholic understanding of indulgences. Even though you may have missed the episode on the radio, one can listen to it on Apple Podcasts. You will also find on the same episode, a discussion about Catholic pilgrimages that Bob and Fr. George Snyder had.
May you have most blessed week!
In Christ,
Fr. Berg
