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Apostles of Mercy — A Pastoral Letter to the Priests of the Diocese of Phoenix
January 25, 2013, The Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul
“The New Evangelization, therefore, also begins in the confessional, in the mysterious encounter between man’s endless plea … and the mercy of God.”1 In the midst of this Year of Faith and the renewed call to the New Evangelization, it is fitting to consider the experience of mercy that Christ offers in the sacrament of Reconciliation to us priests for our own sanctification and, through our ministry, to those whom we have the privilege to serve.
Bishop Olmsted truly knows what is important for Holy Church. May God bless him abundantly and his priests!With this letter, I invite you to consider with me our priestly calling to serve our people by hearing confessions. Let us reflect on three things: our role as an apostle of mercy, second, our experience as a penitent, and third, our experience as a confessor.