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Reconciliation
Love is not concerned with whom you pray or where you slept the night you ran away from home love is concerned that the beating of your heart should kill no one. - Alice Walker - Of all the sacraments of the Church, few evoke as many fears or offer as much intimacy, as does the Sacrament of Reconciliation. For many of us, the dread of the dark box where we tell our secrets (and have, at times, felt judged) keeps us away from the grace of this fundamental Christian experience. Even knowing that the sacrament is different now—usually celebrated face to face, often times more compassionate and caring in its theology—we avoid it, trusting instead to the penitential rite of the Mass or to our general faith in God’s abiding mercy. And, indeed, given the loving God in whom we believe, why do we need this sacrament at all? Why can’t we just pray and be forgiven or trust in a general absolution at Mass? Isn’t the Sacrament of Reconciliation just an anachronism of a fear-based Church that we should leave behind? To answer these questions requires, first of all, exploring—perhaps in a new way—three other dimensions of our faith that explain (and, I think, help broaden) our understanding of the Sacrament of Reconciliation: the nature of sin, the nature of human beings as loved-sinners, and the reason and nature of all the sacraments. In looking into our own humanity, and our own call to reconciliation, we come to better understand not just this sacrament, but the whole experience to which we are called as children of God and sisters and brothers of Jesus. Read pdf of the entire essay below. Reconciliation Saturday, 3:30 - 4:30 pm or by appointment
Welcome to St. Joseph Parish
the Jesuit Parish in Seattle
Dear Companions & Friends, Peace of Christ!
Whenever the early Jesuits would enter a new town, they would look for the busiest corner, and there they would set up shop. Unlike older, monastic orders, they did not seek mountaintops or secluded alcoves to set themselves aside in prayer; rather, these followers of Ignatius sought crossroads, believing that here—amid the hustle and bustle of ordinary life, amid the glorious racket of God’s creatures—the surprising grace of God was most truly to be found.
St. Joseph Parish, in the spirit of those first Jesuits, likewise seeks to live at the crossroads: at those points where the hum and buzz of the world meets the quiet of the Spirit, where the awesome beauty of liturgical worship encounters the chaotic longings of the young, where the pain of war and poverty are met by the compassion and love of a diverse community. A communion of opposites, the living Church at St. Joseph seeks to engage the world in the dialogue of Christ, and to live faithfully the call of our brother Jesuit, Pope Francis, who asks us to “come out of ourselves in order to go to meet others, to go toward the outskirts of existence, to be the first to take a step toward our brothers and sisters, especially those who are the most distant, those who are forgotten, those who are most in need of understanding, comfort, and help.”
In our Mission Statement, “Ignited by the Eucharist to love and serve,” St. Joseph declares that we are women and men on fire through the presence of Christ in our midst, and committed to follow Christ in the active love and personal service of all of our sisters and brothers. Coming from various places and traditions, from a variety of social, economic, and political backgrounds, we have found our way to this crossroads, to this place of God’s Holy Spirit. Some come seeking greater depth in their life of prayer; some, greater understanding of the faith they profess; some desire a values-based education for their children; some, a place of beauty and respite in a difficult world; some seek to do justice with others; some do not yet know what they seek, but come from habit, or tradition, or an inchoate longing in their heart. Yet, all who come with hope, are touched by the grace of the One who loved us first.
Placed on the crossroads through its history and its people, St. Joseph Parish welcomes every pilgrim and passerby, every sinner and everyone longing for sanctity. Whether you come to us for a while or abide with us for a lifetime, whether you explore us on the web or stand with us at the table of Eucharist, we welcome you, and bless you, and open our door to you, for the greater glory of God.
Yours in the Lord,
John D. Whitney, S.J.
Pastor
