ST. FRANCIS — The 2011 Lenten “Season of Mercy” is underway with four planned regional reconciliation services where Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki will preside and preach.
Randy Nohl, coordinator of the Archdiocesan John Paul II Center, said that because last year’s Season of Mercy was so successful – 7,000 people attended the regional services – the services have returned. Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki invites Catholics of southeastern Wisconsin to participate again this year.
“Whether it has been years or weeks since your last confession, you can be assured of discovering Christ’s forgiveness, peace and love through the sacrament,” he said in his 2011 Lenten letter.
Katy Kaminski, a UW-Whitewater junior, said that as she’s matured into the 21-year-old young adult she is, she feels more drawn to the sacrament that she now receives on her own every three to four months, an increase from two times a year she went to confession with her classmates at St. John the Evangelist in Greenfield.
“My perception has definitely changed over the years,” Kaminski said in an e-mail to your Catholic Herald. “I used to absolutely dread going to reconciliation. The only reason I went as a child was because my school was going. I still sometimes dread going, but I know that God has already forgiven me for what I have done. His grace is so amazing!”
She encourages fellow college students and others to make time for reconciliation to renew their relationship with God. “I love the peace I feel after going to reconciliation,” she said. “I would really encourage anyone that has not gone in a long time to think about going back. The overwhelming sense of peace afterwards is so worth it!”
Reconciliation services begin at 7 p.m. at the following sites:
Tuesday, March 22, Blessed Trinity Parish, 327 Giddings Ave., Sheboygan Falls
Tuesday, March 29, Holy Apostles Parish, 16000 W. National Ave., New Berlin
Tuesday, April 5, Basilica of St. Josaphat, 2333 S. 6th St., Milwaukee; English and Spanish bilingual service
Tuesday, April 12, St. Lucy Parish, 3101 Drexel Ave., Racine.
For more information on the Season of Mercy, visit http://tinyurl.com/6kej5so, call (414) 758-2216 or e-mail nohlr@archmil.org.
