THE NEED TO CARRY OUT THE PENANCE GIVEN TO US BY THE CONFESSOR

Generosity in our Reparation

Our sins, even after they have been forgiven, deserve a temporal punishment which has to be undergone in this life, or after death in Purgatory, which is where those souls go who die in a state of grace, but without having made full satisfaction for their sins.

Moreover, after its reconciliation with God, there are still left in the soul the remains of sin; a weakness of the will to abide in good. There will remain also a certain facility for making wrong judgments: a certain disorder in the sensual appetite ... They are the weakened scars of actual sin and the disordered tendencies left in man by original sin, which are brought to a head by our personal sins. It is not enough to remove the arrow from the body, says St John Chrysostom; we also have to heal the wound caused by the arrow. It is the same with the soul; after we have received forgiveness for our sins, we have to heal the wound that remains through penance. Even after absolution, John Paul teaches, there remains in the Christian a dark area, due to the wound of sin, to the imperfection of love in repentance, to the weakening of the spiritual faculties. It is an area in which there still operates an infectious source of sin which must always be fought with mortification and penance. This is the meaning of the humble but sincere act of satisfaction.

The Liturgical Committee

ST.GREGOIRE CEMETERY PLOTS

The wardens at St-Grégoire are in the process of developing a policy on the maintenance of grave sites. Apparently, there are numerous families that have discontinued the payment of the maintenance fees for family sites. Grave site maintenance is not often something we think about, but it is important to remember that many families in this Parish have a long history in the Buckingham area and many of our descendants are buried in the local graveyard. We have been advised that a large number of gravesites, where maintenance fees have not been paid, have been identified as belonging to English-speaking families and thus associated with our Parish.

Once the new policy is developed and approved, it will be translated and published in our bulletin. The two Parishes have agreed to work together to ensure that all English-speaking families, who for whatever reason have not paid maintenance fees, are contacted and updated on the new policy and the status of their site(s). Any correspondence will be in English to better explain the situation.

Finally, a point of clarification: there has been some concern expressed that perhaps part of this new policy would result in St. Grégoire Wardens reclaiming plots for resale, plots where maintenance fees have not been paid, or where family members cannot be located. We have been assured that this is not part of the new strategy.

The policy will be transmitted to us in April for follow up action.

DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE

Donations made by churches across Canada on this one day, Solidarity Sunday, allow Development and Peace to support more than 200 partners in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Ten percent of the Share Lent collection goes to help people living in emergency situations. Because of the special needs in Darfur, where people are suffering from the effects of 20 years of civil war, Development and Peace has made Sudan a priority country for special assistance until 2011. Joining forces with Caritas Internationalis, Development and Peace will focus on the needs of women and children living in internal refugee camps in Sudan. Thank you for your generous contributions. Your gifts to Development and Peace today, given in love, will grow wisely in the hands of our partners. In solidarity, we can help peace and justice grow, and ease hunger in the world. For those who wish to hand in their donation at Easter or a later date, may do so until the end of April.