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March 21, 2025Join St. Joseph's ParishBilingual Lenten Penance Service!Tuesday, April 15, 2025at 6:00pm in the Church.Several priests will be available to hear individual confessions in English and Spanish.Lent is a wonderful time to celebrate the reconciling love and the healing graces our Lord offers us. Like all religious experiences, it takes preparation.Before celebrating the Sacrament of Penance, one should prepare themselves with an examination of conscience. An examination of conscience is a "prayerful self-reflection on our words and deeds in the light of the Gospel to determine how we may have sinned against God" (— Glossary, The Catechism of the Catholic Church.)The Structure of the ServicePublic PrayerUsually, a communal penance service includes a Scripture reading and brief exhortation by the priest. This is followed by an examination of conscience, and then the entire community prays the Act of Contrition together. Sometimes, a single, general penance is assigned to everyone participating; at other times the assignment of a penance is done during the individual confession.Individual Confession and ReconciliationAfter the communal part of the ceremony, those present will individually confess their sins to the priest and receive absolution and a penance if it has not been assigned in the communal setting. The Act of Contrition is not repeated privately, because it has been part of the communal section of the service. The words of absolution are said by the priest individually over the penitent or a collective penance is given.
During the entire service, we will have the opportunity to unite our lives with Jesus in Adoration.