All Day. All Parishes. All Priests

Wednesday of this week, March 6th, is the Day of Confessions in the Archdiocese of Edmonton. This is a wonderful opportunity to receive the gift of peace and freedom that come from the knowledge of forgiveness given in the Sacrament of Penance.

To encounter Jesus is to encounter mercy. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI spoke of the encounter with Jesus as the foundation of the Christian life. In the past week, I have had many reporters ask me my assessment of the legacy Benedict has left to the Church. In my view, it is the simple yet extraordinarily important message that stands at the centre of his corpus of astounding teaching: Christianity springs from an encounter with Jesus, a meeting that changes everything in our lives (cf. Deus Caritas Est, 1). Such a transformation is hardly surprising, because to meet Jesus is to encounter the Son of God incarnate. And God is love. When we encounter that love, we who are sinners experience it as mercy.

Spread the word! The Archdiocese has done its best to publicize this initiative, but there may be some who have not heard. In case you missed it, check out the story that appeared Saturday on the Religion Page of the Edmonton Journal.

Welcome to the mercy of God.