I wish to express my thanksgiving to our priests who spent the entire day on March 6 hearing confessions.

March 6 reminded me of the days of Reconciliation that we used to have at the high school level when for two days the priests from neighbouring parishes would come to our schools to hear the confessions of our students.

I am now retired so I can only hope that these days of Reconciliation are still being held in schools. During every Advent and Lenten period, the priests would devote two days in our high school in order to hear students’ and teachers’ confessions.

For many students it was their first confession after many years of absence from the sacrament or simply the first time they had received the sacrament. I remember them as two of the most “grace-filled” days within our school.

It was clearly visible to me how the students benefitted from having had the opportunity to talk to a priest whether it was for the purpose of confession or simply for advice and a listening ear.

I also really appreciated that the day of Reconciliation at our parish was accompanied by the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.

I do hope that our archdiocese will continue this practise during these special times of renewal during our Church year. We can only imagine the outpouring of grace upon all of us because of the dedication of our priests to the faithful.