Christ Our Light Catholic Church - Loudonville, NY

 From Deacon Dick

Reflecting on religious art is a beautiful way to look deeper at what is around you. Give a listen to Deacon Dick's homily from Sunday, November 22, 2020.  Read on for Deacon Dick's bulletin message from Sunday...

Advent 2020

The Path to Healing - Paved with Mercy

We begin this Advent Season in need of deep healing … within our world, our nation, our church, and our families, even within ourselves.  We wait to celebrate the outpouring of the Word made flesh in the person of Jesus … who is savior, healer, reconciler, and the face of mercy itself.  With the grace of God, we seek to be healed in body, mind, and spirit and that healing leads us down the path of mercy.

It has been said that healing is a restoration of a lost beauty, a lost integrity, a lost harmony, a lost radiance.  Healing can only be accomplished by love, and love depends upon adoration and commitment:  adoration as simply loving attentiveness to God, and commitment as the willingness to obey the focus of our deepest attention.

The word “mercy” is derived from the Latin Misericordia which means compassion from the heart, the core of our being.  Simply stated, Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy.  As we deeply experience Jesus, we experience mercy itself. 

To help us travel our Advent path to healing through mercy, Pope Francis, relying on Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25, urges the Christian people to reflect on the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy in order to reawaken our consciences amid the evils of our time.

Corporal Works of Mercy                          Spiritual Works of Mercy
--Feed the hungry                                      --Counsel the doubtful
--Give drink to the thirsty                          --Instruct the ignorant
--Clothe the naked                                     --Admonish sinners
--Welcome the stranger                              --Comfort the afflicted
--Heal the sick                                           --Forgive offences
--Visit the imprisoned                                --Bear patiently with all who do us ill
--Bury the dead                                          --Pray for the living and the dead

So, let us begin our Advent journey toward healing through mercy, keeping in mind the words of Pope St. John XXIII as he opened the Second Vatican Council in 1962:  “Now the Bride of Christ wishes to use the medicine of mercy rather than taking up arms of severity.”  And let the Bride of Christ … God’s People … say: AMEN!         

Unable to join us at Church - our Saturday 4 PM Mass is live streamed, on YouTube.com. Go to YouTube and search Christ Our Light Church Loudonville 

Attending Mass? Check out our Re-Opening Church tab for details on how to prepare for Mass.  So we might provide a safe environment for all, we are required to track Mass attendees for use of potential contact tracing in the event there is a confirmed case within our parish community.  For your convenience, Registering for Mass just got a whole lot easier.  Just click on the Register For Mass button.  Choose your Mass, complete the form, and submit it.  It's that simple!  The option to call in to register is still available, but it's a great help to the office staff if registration is done online.  Deadline for Registering online or by phone is Friday at 3 PM.  Forgot to register in time?  We welcome walk-ins but you may risk being turned away if we are at capacity.