The Archbishop's 2021 Lenten Message

The Church celebrates the Holy Season of Lent to prepare ourselves for the Easter Mystery. The structure of this holy season with its particular liturgical celebrations, such as Ash Wednesday, the Scrutinies for those seeking entrance to the Church through baptism at Easter, Palm Sunday and the Holy Week liturgies are meaningful and familiar. Though Lent may continue in a predictable pattern, circumstances in the world change from year to year. Each Lent, though familiar, is unique because we are experiencing life differently this year than the preceding one.

Last year we were in our first pandemic lockdown for Lent and Easter. For many, the loss of our Lenten liturgies and the powerful Easter celebration was particularly hard. We do not know at the present time how our Lent and Easter will unfold this year. There are contingency plans for different scenarios but much remains uncertain. What is certain, however, is our traditional Lenten preparations of prayer, fasting and charity, which serve as a preparation for Easter in this holy season of repentance and a means of renewed commitment to the Good News of Jesus Christ.

This year, Lent will be different than our usual experience. I encourage each and everyone of us to rely on our traditional practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving with renewed vigour this Lent. You may consider offering the fruits of these practices in ways that support those struggling in the pandemic, especially those who are most vulnerable due to age, health, lack or resources or other reasons. No matter our particular circumstance, we can pray with and for those in need and in our fasting and charity, perhaps we can find ways to use the fruits of those practices to lend a material hand to those who need it.

Pope Francis in his encyclical Fratelli tutti, writes: “life, for all its confrontations, is the art of encounter. I have frequently called for the growth of a culture of encounter capable of transcending our differences and divisions” (n.215). I had a meeting with Carl Nicholson, the head of the Catholic Centre for Immigration. Carl shared with me the history of CCI’s origins in Ottawa and the foundational support from the Filles de la Sagesse and the Soeurs de la Charité without whom CCI would not exist. Today, CCI in its three locations, welcomes and supports refugees and other newcomers to Canada, helping them settle in our beautiful city. CCI supports newcomers through, to mention a few examples:

• mentorship programs
• assistance getting accreditation with professional bodies
• help finding housing and work
• aid in accessing health care
• finding the spiritual support they need.

CCI is an example of the Christian practice of welcoming the stranger and caring for those in need, creating those places of encounter between people of which Pope Francis so often speaks. It is beyond the scope of this Lenten message to catalogue all the ways CCI helps those in need: I encourage you to see for yourself by visiting their website. Carl shared with me that many of the hundreds of volunteers come from our Catholic parishes and this is a powerful witness. When it is possible, you might consider helping where you can, to welcome and assist newcomers to our city.

The liturgical season of Lent is fast approaching. On February 17, the Church will begin the holy season with Ash Wednesday. For many of the faithful, this is a sacred day when a visit to the church is desired to celebrate Mass and receive the ashes. We hope that by this date, the lockdown will be lifted and we will be able to regain the freedom to return to our churches in greater numbers, always respecting the restrictions and precautions to ensure health security for all. This year, the imposition of ashes can only be done by sprinkling ashes on the top of the head (not on the forehead). This is a form permitted by the Roman ritual. I invite the priests to consult the Ash Wednesday liturgical directive sent by email from the Chancery on January 28th for all the details.

If access to our churches will be limited to 10 people, we will have to invite people to attend mass virtually, if possible. The imposition of ashes, although significant, is not meant to be of outmost importance. I would like more emphasis to be placed on the importance of conversion through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. So let us be prepared for all possibilities. The number of cases of infection seems to be decreasing in our region, but the increasing number of infections with the variant virus could quickly reverse the trend. Let's be careful!