April 12, 2026 A. D.
Saturday, April 11 THOMAS SUNDAY
4:00 PM Helene Sirak- Stephen & Gloria Udiski
Distribution of Artos
Sunday, April 12 THOMAS SUNDAY
8:30 AM Divine Liturgy, Distribution of Artos
God’s Blessings & Good Health for All Parishioners
Saturday, April 18 SUNDAY OF THE OINTMENT BEARERS
4:00 PM God’s Blessings & Good Health for All Parishioners
Sunday, April 19 SUNDAY OF THE OINTMENT BEARERS
8:30 AM Michael Hubiak- Louise Hubiak
CONFESSION: “We can talk about a confession crisis, but the larger issue is that people just don’t believe in sin anymore,” said journalist Russell Shaw, former communications director for the U.S. bishops and author of numerous books, including “Why We Need Confession.” This points to a related fact — many Catholics no longer affirm many ancient teachings of the church, he said. This is especially true when details in the Catholic catechism clash with the doctrines of the sexual revolution. When thinking about “grave” or “mortal” sins, many Catholics have decided this language simply does not apply to their own mistakes and struggles. “The idea is that you don’t need to go to confession unless you’ve done something really, really bad,” said Shaw. “People say, ‘I’m a good person. I haven’t done anything bad, or I haven’t done anything I think is really bad — so I don’t have anything to confess.’ And many Catholics question whether the church should play any role in mediating this sin, repentance and forgiveness process.” Father Moses agreed that “our culture is working hard to get rid of the concept of sin. … But sin is sin because it’s bad for us and lots of people are hurting. That’s reality.” While stressing that “I’ve only been a priest for four years and I’m not an authority on anything,” he said he does believe priests now have a decision to make when preaching and teaching about confession. “We have to ask, ‘Do we believe that the gospel is good news? Do we believe that what we are teaching is true and that the sacraments are real?’ … If we do, then confession is an essential part of our faith.” From: canonlawmadeeasy.com/2023/04/06/is-confession-still-an-easter-duty-repost/
Can a truly Orthodox view and practice of confession be restored? Yes, if we have the courage to deal with the problem at its roots and not with mere externals.
The starting point of this restoration is in preaching and teaching. To some extent all Christian preaching and teaching is a call to repentance, to the metanoia, the change of mind, the reevaluation of all values in the light of Christ. There is no need to preach constantly on “sin,” to judge and to condemn. It is when a man is challenged with the real “contents” of the Gospel, with its Divine depth and wisdom, beauty and all embracing meaning, that he becomes “capable of repentance,” for the true repentance is precisely the discovery by the man of the abyss that separates him from God and from His real offer to man. It is when the man sees the bridal chamber adorned that he realizes that he has no garment for entering it. Too much of our preaching is in the form of abstract imperatives: the Church prescribes to do this and that; but commanding is not preaching. Preaching implies the desire to convey to people the positive, the Divine meaning, for it is only this meaning that makes “prescriptions” significant, life-giving, saving. Christian teaching should also include a deep and constructive criticism of the secularistic philosophy of life, an evaluation of the culture in which we live. Christians must always fight idols – and there are plenty of them today: “success,” “materialism,” “security,” “money-centerdness,” etc. For here again, only within such broad and truly Christian judgment of this world the notion of sin recovers its true meaning, as deviation of love and interest, as worshipping values and norms that are not truly “valuable.” This implies, of course, that the priest himself is free of this identification with the world, puts eternal Truth and not the “practical considerations,” in the very center of his ministry. Confession, then, must be replaced in the perspective of the sacrament of penance [and Holy Communion]. And each sacrament implies at least three equally essential elements: preparation, liturgical order, and fulfillment. If the whole life of the Church, but especially preaching and teaching are, as we have seen, preparation for repentance in a broad sense, there is room and need for special preparation. The Church has set apart special periods of repentance: Lent, Advent, other fasts. Here the liturgy itself becomes a “school of repentance” (cf. for example the inexhaustible riches of the Lenten Triodion), and it is the proper time to center preaching on the sacrament of penance itself. The order of Gospel readings, the Psalter, the hymns and prayers supply us with abundant material, the purpose of preaching being to “apply” all this to men, to their life, to their actual situation. The goal is to provoke in them the penitential mood, to make them examine their life not only in terms of isolated sins and transgressions, but in their deepest motivations. Where is the real treasure of their hearts? What guides them in their life…A man who questions the deep motivations of his life, who has understood, be it just once, that life in its totality can and must be referred to Christ, is on his way to repentance, which is always a conversion, a change of mind, a renewed vision, a decision to return to God (cf. my pamphlet on Great Lent). The preparation must, of necessity, include an explanation of confession, – its order, prayers, meaning.
6. The liturgical order of confession consists of A) prayers before confession, B) exhortation to penitents, C) confession proper, and D) Absolution,[and E) reception of Holy Communion which completes the confession.]
The Altar candles for April are requested by Michaelene Ostrum IMO father Michael Sirak.
The Sanctuary Light for this week is requested by Rebecca Molecavage IMO her mother Frances Bencho.
WOMEN’S SOCIETY: The monthly meeting of the Women’s Society will be held on Tuesday, April 14th at 6 PM in the church hall. All current members are urged to attend and new members are needed and always welcome.
SVIACHENNE: IT’S NEXT WEEK! The Family Sviachenne will be on Sunday, April 19, 2026 12:15PM. It is a Covered Dish Sviachenne between Transfiguration of Our Lord Church & Ss. Peter & Paul Church! We have hams donated. We will put out a list for other items and attendees. There is no charge for the Sviachenne Dinner and it will be held at Transfiguration of Our Lord Church basement. Please see sign-up sheet at back of church. HELP IS NEEDED ESPECIALLY FOR CLEAN UP. Thank you to everyone who signed up!
WALKING PILGRIMAGE: Save the date Saturday, June 13. Seven mile trek from St. Mary’s Church, Mocanaqua to St. Nicholas Church, Glen Lyon.
FLEA MARKET: Transfiguration of Our Lord Church will be having a Flea Market on Saturday, April 11 from 9am to 2pm and Saturday, April 18 from 9am to 2pm (1/2 Price Sale). Bag Day is Sunday, April 19 from noon to 2PM.
Prayer for Family
Heavenly Father, please shine Your light upon our families. Give us strength to overcome the attacks of the evil one in all of the difficulties that we are dealing with now and protect us against any and all problems we may encounter in the future. O Lord, please bring us together as we are meant to be. May the love that binds us grow stronger as we fulfill the destiny you have laid out for us. Grant my family repentance from sins we have committed. May we also forgive one another Lord, as it is sometimes difficult to do. Bless us O Lord, In your name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit I pray, Amen.
SS Peter & Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church 