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I'm New Here
Welcome!
FAQs
Welcome Weekends/Donut Sundays
Request More Information
Join our Parish
Become Catholic
Who Are We?
Our Mission & Patron
Parish History
Domestic Church
Meet the Team
Parish Staff
Pastoral Council
Finance Council
Careers
Sacraments
Baptism
Eucharist
Reconciliation
Confirmation
Anointing of the Sick
Marriage
Holy Orders
Ministries
Adult Formation
Small Groups
RCIA: Adult Sacraments
Eucharistic Revival
Lenten Resources & Media
Catholic Social Teaching
Children's Ministry
Faith Formation
Busy Bees
Family Class
St. Bruno Parish School
Youth Ministry
Faith Formation
Confirmation Prep
Get Connected
Human Concerns
Ministries
Music & Liturgy
Ministries
Administration
Ministries
Stewardship
Belong Believe Become
Ministries
Events
Calendar
Schedule an Event
Messages
Blog
Bulletins
Catholic Faith Resources
Latest News
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St. Paul Mass on TV
St. Paul Mass on YouTube
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Giving
Love One Another Capital Campaign 2023
Gospel Meditation
I'm New Here
January
21
,
2024
We start telling lies around the age of three, the experts tell us. It’s understandable. Lying is a god-like power. Whatever I want, I need only
say
it, and the world rearranges itself accordingly. It’s amazing at first. But soon reality snaps back and I’m faced with a dilemma. If I remain committed to my lie I start to fracture into pieces. My words and reality drift apart, and I find myself lost in a lonely world of further falsehoods and fear of being found out.
How marvelous, then, that Jesus begins his ministry by proclaiming:
“Repent!”
We tend to think it means “stop doing bad things” but it doesn’t. It literally means “go beyond the mind you have.” Think in a new way. It’s painful to admit, but some portion of my mind is addicted to lie-telling, usually to protect my ego or make life easier. To repent means to admit this tendency, to say, “I’m done lying,” and to move beyond my split mind into a complete commitment to the truth. Perhaps that’s why at Mass we together proclaim, “I have sinned in my
thoughts
, and in my
words…
” Repentance and truth-telling work together.
Those who know the twelve-step process of addiction recovery know this process well. The fourth step requires radical truth-telling: listing our moral defects. This isn’t being scrupulous. Rather it is freedom from falsehood, and entrance into the real world. This week, I invite you to join me in this practice. Get your phone or piece of paper. Answer the question: what are your true moral defects? Write them down. Remember, the Lord knows them already and loves you. We have a sacrament where this truth-telling is celebrated: Confession. Perhaps it is finally time to go beyond our childish lies.
— Father John Muir
©LPi