Your Question: How many times a year are you supposed to go to confession?

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a gift Christ has given to us to receive His healing grace in our lives. You partake of this sacrament as often as you need it or desire it. The Church requires that we all go to the sacrament to confess serious sin (mortal sin) once per year. Oftentimes people go during Advent or Lent. Additionally, we are to go before we receive Communion whenever we have committed sin of grave matter with full knowledge of its seriousness, and deliberate consent (commonly called “mortal sin.”)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says the following about frequency of reception:

1457 According to the Church's command, "after having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year."56 Anyone who is aware of having committed a mortal sin must not receive Holy Communion, even if he experiences deep contrition, without having first received sacramental absolution, unless he has a grave reason for receiving Communion and there is no possibility of going to confession.57 Children must go to the sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion for the first time.58

1458 Without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church.59 Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this sacrament the gift of the Father's mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as he is merciful:60

So, the Church encourages us to go more frequently because of the sacrament's healing power and strength that it gives us to live as Christians in the world. Receiving this sacrament is a beautiful experience that is incredibly freeing and healing. Through it, we know we are forgiven and can let go of our faults. It is an encounter with Christ that converts us more to His heart, and reconciles us with both God and our community.

The scheduled time at our parish for the Sacrament of Reconciliation is Saturdays from 3:30 to 4:30 at Holy Rosary Church, 2011 N. Oakland Ave. You can also call the parish office, 414-271-6577, to schedule a time to receive the sacrament if you can’t make it on Saturdays. The Reconciliation Room (or Confessional) is located in the north side of the small chapel that is located behind the altar. Our Reconciliation Room allows for anonymous or face-to-face confession, and there are guide cards in the room that list the responses and prayers you’ll say when you receive the sacrament. Of course, if you are unsure of what to do, you can simply ask the priest to lead you through the process, which he is happy to do.

For more detailed information the Sacrament, see the following link:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a4.htm

Your Question: What do the letters on either side of the cross at St. Hedwig's mean?

The letters on the horizontal bar of the cross at St. Hedwig’s are Greek letters that are often used in Eastern Christian icons and writings. On the left side are the letters ICXC. This is what we call a Christogram—a collection of letters that are an abbreviation for the name Jesus Christ. So, ICXC simply means, “Jesus Christ.”

The letters themselves come from the Greek name for Jesus Christ, Isous Christos: ΙΗΣΟΥΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ. This is written in our alphabet in this way: IHCOYC XPICTOC. We take the first and last letters of these words to make the Christogram, ICXC.

On the right side of the cross is the word NIKA. This means “conquer” or “victorious” in Greek. This reminds us of Christ’s victory over sin and death brought through his Cross and Resurrection.

So, together ICXC NIKA means, “Jesus Christ Conquers,” or “Jesus Christ Victorious.”

There is one more set of letters above Jesus on the cross at St. Hedwig: INRI. This is commonly seen on our crucifixes in the West, and is a abbreviation for “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” as it is written in Latin: "Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm." This is the inscription that Pontius Pilate had placed above Jesus on the cross in John 19:19-22.

Your Question: Why do we hear so little about Catholic Social Teaching...(not specific to THW but generally as Catholics)?

Yes, we often hear that Catholic Social Teaching is the best kept secret in the Catholic Church. (I, however, think the best kept secret is that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and that Opus dei is a secret society with murderous monks…. Oh, wait. That’s not true? The Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction you say? Well, nevermind.) Yes, Catholic Social Teaching just may be the best kept secret of the Catholic Church!

I’m not really sure why we don’t hear about it more, but here are a few thoughts and resources to help us get the word out. Catholic Social Teaching is a wealth of reflections and documents about how we are to concretely live out the call of the Gospel in our world. It may just be that the documents are seen as too time-consuming to go through and read (which is not necessarily true!). So, the reason we don’t hear about Catholic Social Teaching is the same reason why the talk around the water cooler at work generally doesn’t include things such as, “Hey! Did you guys read the Pope’s encyclical this weekend? Can you believe what he said about agape? That was deep.”

Catholic Social Teaching should be a natural fruit of our Christian lives. Here are some straightforward resources to introduce yourself and others to Catholic Social Teaching.

For information on what it is and the foundational documents:
Catholic Social Teaching site of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis: http://www.osjspm.org/cst/index.html

and

The Busy Christian’s Guide to Catholic Social Teaching: http://salt.claretianpubs.org/cstline/tline.html

Information from the Center of Concern: http://www.coc.org/

Just Faith groups at Three Holy Women:
Just Faith is a group of parishioners that meet weekly and discuss living out Catholic Social Teaching in the world. The group runs for a year, and includes both education and concrete practice of living and spreading the core values of Catholic Social Teaching. For more information, contact Bob Schuelke, Director of Human Concerns at Three Holy Women at 414-271-6577, or bschuelke@threeholywomen.org.

Your Question: Why at some churches does the priest do the "washing of the hands" and others do not? Is this not a standard part of Mass?

The “washing of the hands” is indeed a significant rite in the Mass and may not be omitted. It is meant to express the priest’s need for purification from sin.

Why do some priests omit it? Well, I can’t speak for the priests. You may want to approach the particular priest and ask for his thoughts about it. If you do so, please do so out of charity, remembering that our Liturgy has undergone many changes, and often people are misinformed about it. Enter into dialogue out of love and the desire to understand one another. The priest may, for example, be acting out of a misunderstanding about this element of the Mass. Apparently one notion connected to this issue that circulated in the past is that there is no need for this rite, because it originally had a purely practical purpose—to truly clean the dirty hands of a priest in a much dustier and dirtier time! This is, however, an oversimplification. While many of our rites have practical origins that form their practice, this is not the sole reason for this particular rite. From early one, there is evidence that the rite was connected to the purification from sin, and not simply to the need to scrub-a-dub before the Eucharistic meal.

While I am not trying to say that personal adaptations of our Liturgy are not a big deal, you can, however, be assured that omission of the washing of the hands wouldn’t make a Mass invalid…you are still receiving the Eucharist (just in case you are concerned about that).

As I am not an expert on Liturgy, I refer you to Fr. McNamara professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum, via the link below. His thoughtful response may help you more than I can! God bless you!

http://www.ewtn.com/library/Liturgy/zlitur22.htm

Your Question: Can you explain the church calendar year? What is "ordinary time"?

The Church calendar year, or Liturgical Calendar, outlines the rhythm of our Catholic life. The Church year runs from the first Sunday of Advent (at the beginning of December) to the Feast of Christ the King (end of November). We celebrate six main periods of time throughout the year: Advent, Christmastime, Ordinary Time, Lent, Triduum, and Easter (and then back to ordinary time). We recognize Advent, Christmas, Lent, Triduum, and Easter as seasons of time during which we focus on specific aspects of the life of Christ. The seasons of Advent and Lent are periods of expectation for the Savior—for His birth during Advent, and for His Passion and Resurrection during Lent. Christmas and Easter are times of celebrating Christ’s coming into the world, in His birth at Christmas, and in His resurrection at Easter.

The Church calendar is also comprised of days devoted to specific saints or events in salvation history, such as the Solemnity of All Saints on November 1, or the feast of St. Patrick, which we will celebrate March 17. There are also special days in the Church calendar called Holy Days of Obligation, days other than Sundays when Catholics are obliged to go to Mass because they are days in which we celebrate people or events that are particularly important for us. These days are like the anniversaries and birthdays that we celebrate in our own families—we are all called together so the whole family enjoys the presence of everyone else as we remember something important.

The six Holy Days of Obligation are as follows: December 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception; December 25, the solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ; January 1, the solemnity of Mary Mother of God; Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter, the solemnity of the Ascension; August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; November 1, the solemnity of All Saints.

Another component of the church calendar is the cycle of readings. As Latin rite Catholics, we follow the same set of readings as all other Latin rite Catholics in the world (Latin rite simply means that we follow the same traditions concerning the celebrations of Mass and the sacraments. You’d definitely know if you were at a Catholic Church that was a different rite, because you wouldn’t be familiar with what to do!). So, if I went to Spain today, the readings would be the same as they are at the daily Mass at Three Holy Women Catholic Parish in Milwaukee. Each day of the year has an established set of readings. The weekday readings are set in a two year cycle, either year I (odd numbered years) or II (even numbered years), and the readings for Sundays go on a three year cycle, either A, B, or C. If you went to Mass every day for three years, you’d hear pretty much the whole Bible proclaimed!

What is “ordinary time”? Ordinary time is called “ordered time,” and is the time of year where we continue to meditate on the life and miracles of Jesus in light of the Resurrection. It is the largest church season of the year, and numbers 33 or 34 weeks. As a message of hope and growth, the color of vestments (the garments the priest wears) and the altar cloths are usually green. So, we can think of Ordinary time as a time of continued growth and new life in our Christian lives. The readings relate to us events from the life and teaching of Jesus, rather than meditating on a specific aspect of Christ’s life. We live our “ordinary time” in the Resurrected Lord, continuing to grow in His love and light.


For a list of saints days in the Catholic Church, go to:
http://www.catholic.org/saints/f_day/mar.php

For the daily readings of the Church, go to:
http://www.usccb.org/nab/

Your Question: What is Confirmation? What does it mean in terms of our religion?

The Sacrament of Confirmation is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. Along with Baptism and Eucharist, it is one of the three sacraments of initiation. Its purpose is to “seal” one’s initiation into the Church. In the early church, the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and first Eucharist were all given at the same time, by the bishop. As the Church grew, however, there arose the need for priests to baptize the faithful. In the western Latin churches (which is where the Latin rite we follow comes from), Confirmation was then still done by the bishop, but at an older age. Thus, a Christian’s initiation would be “sealed” and completed when one was older, and the connection between the bishop and initiation into the Church was maintained. Even now, the bishop is the one who gives the sacrament of Confirmation, though parish priests can receive what is called “faculties” to administer the sacrament, which often happens.

Confirmation is likened to the sending of the Holy Spirit on the disciples at Pentecost. It is at Confirmation that we are further strengthened in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to go forth and do the work of the Apostles. We are sent forth to make disciples of all nations, and are strengthened in our task of proclaiming the gospel to others in deed and word. Since the core mission of the Church is indeed to make disciples of all nations, Confirmation plays a very important role in our religion. Through this sacrament, we are prepared by the Holy Spirit to go out and bring the gospel to every person in the world in our words and deeds.

For more on the Sacrament of Confirmation see the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p2s2c1a2.htm

Your Question: How do you meet a good Catholic man?

The best Catholic man around is, of course, Jesus. Most potential mates pale in comparison with Him….

But perhaps you mean other men as well. Something I think is helpful for Catholic men and women alike, is to get involved in activities that interest you and pertain to your faith. If your faith is important to you, get involved in different church groups. There are many different faith sharing groups, young adult groups, speaker series, etc. in our parish, as well as in the Archdiocese. Above all, I’d pray for guidance in your search. The Lord’s will be done, ask that He show you your vocation in life—whether married or single, religious or otherwise. If you are certain that your vocation is marriage, ask God to lead you to your mate. You can also ask our Blessed Mother for her prayers as well!

You’ll be in my prayers! I hope that you are shown your vocation in life, and how to live it out. God bless!

Your Question: Since Sundays aren't part of Lent, does that mean that you don't have to keep to your Lenten sacrifice? Or is that a common myth?

This is a common question, and its answer depends upon how you chose to live out your Lent! Sundays are technically a part of Lent--Lent goes from Ash Wednesday to the Mass of the Lord's supper, Holy Thursday. It is true that if you count the number of days in Lent, there are more than 40--and by not counting Sundays, it gets us closer to 40. Nevertheless, they are still part of Lent (the number "40" a figurative reminder of Christ's desert sojournings, the 40 years the Hebrews spent in the desert, etc.). The reason behind the practice of not observing one's Lenten sacrifices on Sundays, however, is that one is putting more emphasis on celebrating the "mini-Easter" on Sunday. We can indeed "not keep" our Lenten sacrifice that day as we celebrate the Resurrection, which many people do. After all, He is indeed still risen! Whether or not one decides to keep one's Lenten sacrifice that day is a personal choice. Personal sacrifices during Lent are of one's own choosing, unlike the required fasting and abstinence from eating meat at certain times. The point of voluntarily giving up something during Lent is not to follow some kind of law, but to come closer to Christ, and unite oneself more closely to His heart. If you want to suspend your sacrifice on Sundays to celebrate the Resurrection, go ahead! If you think you should keep it to remain in Lent, then by all means do so. Either way, have a faith-filled Lent. May we all journey closer to Christ in union with one another.

Your Question: Who is permitted to preach a homily at Mass?

The preaching of a homily at Mass is reserved for ordained persons, such as the priest or deacon. Laypersons are permitted to preach in certain circumstances in a church, but it should not take the place of the homily at Mass. So, for example, if someone is giving a “witness talk” of some kind at Mass, which can be beneficial in certain circumstances, it should not be give in the place of a homily, but at some other time in the Mass.

For more information on this topic, see
http://www.jimmyakin.org/2004/05/lay_homilists.html

Your Question: How do we fast correctly during Lent?

The fasting and abstinence rules for Lent help us enter into a time of being open to God's work in our lives by helping us to be detached from the things we tend to cling to.

Fasting and abstinence rules are as follows:

All Catholics, 14 years of age and older, abstain from eating meat on all Fridays and Ash Wednesday. You may eat fish.

Those between the ages of 18 and 59 fast all day on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting generally means eating only one regular meal, and two small meals (not equaling a regular meal), with no snacking in between.

People with compromised health or with disability are not bound to follow these regulations.

Fasting "well" is to fast while remembering why we are doing it. Fasting can be an aid to prayer and a reminder to us of those who are hungry and do not have enough to eat. It can remind us of our dependence on God, from whom we receive all spiritual and material food. We should offer our fasting to God as a prayer for others--a sacrificial action made for others in the Body of Christ. Fasting should help us to change our behavior and turn more readily to God. It is a beautiful reminder of our heavenly Father’s care for us, and our complete dependence upon Him.

To read more about penitential practices during Lent, go here: http://www.usccb.org/dpp/penitential.htm on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website.

Your Question: What is centering prayer? Does Three Holy Women have a group?

First of all, I have to begin with the disclaimer that I am not an expert on this and you should probably consult your priest or other spiritual director for more information. From my short research, this is what I've found out. The term Centering Prayer can be used to refer to several different types of meditative prayer, so it is difficult to give a succinct explanation. Some centering prayer is derived from the traditional Christian practice of meditation on the Scriptures. Often, however, centering prayer refers to that of the centering prayer movement, started by folks such as Fr. Thomas Keating. Another source on centering prayer is Cistercian Basil Pennington. From what I've read, this centering prayer focuses on settling one's mind upon a sacred word, and repeating that word, so as to clear one's mind of busyness and center oneself upon God.

Like all kinds of prayer, its fruits and aim can differ according to the person doing it. One should be aware that sometimes centering prayer is taught as more of a Buddhist prayer, focusing on emptiness and attempting to come into communion with the nothingness of the divine through a specific technique. Christian prayer is not an opening oneself up to nothingness (or just any spirit that happens to be there), but rather to the one God, who is personal. Additionally, the Christian understanding of union with God is not something attained by some kind of technique, but is a rather a gift to be received from God.

As I mentioned, I am not an expert, and I would advise you to read more about it and talk to someone you trust--a priest or other spiritual director--for further information.

We do not have a group at Three Holy Women. Our neighbor, Saints Peter and Paul Parish does have a centering prayer group that meets every week. You could inquire there for more information.