Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, Bishop of Providence, celebrated a Solemn Mass to mark the closing of the Diocese of Providence’s 150th anniversary year on Sunday, June 26th at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Providence. Listen to his outstanding homily here.
WASHINGTON - In response to the Supreme Court of the United States issuing its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Pro-Life Activities issued the following statement:
“This is a historic day in the life of our country, one that stirs our thoughts, emotions and prayers. For nearly fifty years, America has enforced an unjust law that has permitted some to decide whether others can live or die; this policy has resulted in the deaths of tens of millions of preborn children, generations that were denied the right to even be born.
“America was founded on the truth that all men and women are created equal, with God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This truth was grievously denied by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized and normalized the taking of innocent human life. We thank God today that the Court has now overturned this decision. We pray that our elected officials will now enact laws and policies that promote and protect the most vulnerable among us.
“Our first thoughts are with the little ones whose lives have been taken since 1973. We mourn their loss, and we entrust their souls to God, who loved them from before all ages and who will love them for all eternity. Our hearts are also with every woman and man who has suffered grievously from abortion; we pray for their healing, and we pledge our continued compassion and support. As a Church, we need to serve those who face difficult pregnancies and surround them with love.
“Today’s decision is also the fruit of the prayers, sacrifices, and advocacy of countless ordinary Americans from every walk of life. Over these long years, millions of our fellow citizens have worked together peacefully to educate and persuade their neighbors about the injustice of abortion, to offer care and counseling to women, and to work for alternatives to abortion, including adoption, foster care, and public policies that truly support families. We share their joy today and we are grateful to them. Their work for the cause of life reflects all that is good in our democracy, and the pro-life movement deserves to be numbered among the great movements for social change and civil rights in our nation’s history.
“Now is the time to begin the work of building a post-Roe America. It is a time for healing wounds and repairing social divisions; it is a time for reasoned reflection and civil dialogue, and for coming together to build a society and economy that supports marriages and families, and where every woman has the support and resources she needs to bring her child into this world in love.
“As religious leaders, we pledge ourselves to continue our service to God’s great plan of love for the human person, and to work with our fellow citizens to fulfill America’s promise to guarantee the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all people.”
June 24, 2022
Statement of Bishop Thomas J. Tobin
on the US Supreme Court Ruling
on Roe v. Wade
I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live. (Dt 30:19)
The Catholic Church has been clear and consistent in teaching that abortion is a grave moral evil. The Second Vatican Council decreed that abortion is an “unspeakable crime.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church insists that “human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception...Direct abortion is gravely contrary to the moral law.” In recent years, all of the popes have spoken clearly in condemning abortion. Pope Francis has said, simply and powerfully, “Abortion is murder.”
For this reason, I am very pleased that the Supreme Court has now effectively overturned Roe v. Wade that for decades has directed abortion legislation in this country. The decision is proper for both moral and legal reasons. In recognizing this decision, however, it is abundantly clear that the work on behalf of human life is not over; it has now just moved to a new arena and has assumed new urgency.
I take this opportunity to recognize the many members of our Church and the community who have been courageously and steadfastly committed to the cause of human life. Your commitment has not been in vain; your commitment has made a significant difference and you can be certain that God is pleased with your efforts.
While rightly insisting that abortion is evil, the Catholic Church also recognizes the particular needs that many women encounter when they are pregnant. For several years already, the Diocese of Providence has responded to this need with important programs such as St. Gabriel’s Call which provides personal and material assistance to pregnant women, new moms, and their infant children; and also the Cabrini Fund which offers financial scholarships to assist parents with child care expenses. These programs have supported women and children, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, for many years.
In light of ongoing needs of women and their children, I have directed our diocesan staff to increase the support we can offer to women and children through these already existent diocesan programs, and to be alert to other and new ways of providing assistance to women, children and families in the days to come.
The Supreme Court decision means that individual states will now have the responsibility of addressing abortion in their own jurisdictions. Sadly, Rhode Island has adopted one of the most liberal abortion laws in the nation, a disgraceful law that permits abortion even until the moment of birth. Some consider this to be “settled law,” but a law that permits the termination of children, including viable infants, should not be settled at all. I plead with political leaders in Rhode Island to do the right thing – to revisit our abortion laws in a way that safeguards the sanctity of human life and eliminates the enormous harm caused by abortion – to unborn infants, vulnerable women, the minority community, and to the dignity and quality of life in our state.
I wish to emphasize that those who support and promote abortion are not our enemies. They too are children of God and our brothers and sisters. We wish only what is good and holy and helpful for them, and we pray that they will sincerely examine their conscience, and will recognize the great dignity and value of all human life, including that of unborn children.
Indeed, the commitment on behalf of human life does not require only a change of laws, but also a change of hearts. This is, ultimately, a spiritual battle. The Catholic Church in the Diocese of Providence will continue to preach and teach about the inalienable dignity of human life, from the time of conception until the moment of natural death, and we will pray fervently for the change of hearts that enables all people, especially our leaders, to recognize the beauty and the value of human life and how contrary abortion is to God’s will and his eternal design for the well-being of the human family.
Someday, future generations of Americans will look back in disbelief and shame on our time and wonder how such a “civilized society” could allow, and even celebrate the widespread and zealous killing of its own children. They will wonder how we could have strayed so far from the natural law, from widely accepted moral principles, and even from common-sense human decency. When that day comes, I want those future generations to look back and say that the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Providence did the right thing – that we were truly wise and courageous in speaking out against abortion and in defending human life. And personally, I want to be counted among those who spoke out boldly and persistently on this critical issue, the most important moral issue of our time.
+Thomas J. Tobin
Bishop of Providence
We congratulate and offer our prayerful best wishes to OLM Senior Servers, David Lynch and Mae Legare. They have graduated high school and have served faithfully at God’s Holy Altar as OLM Altar Servers since the 4th Grade. God Bless them both!
Dave Lynch and Mae Legare pose with Fr. Healey after serving their Final Mass at OLM.
We offer our prayers and congratulations to our newly Confirmed Adults who recieved the Sacrament of Confirmation at the Vigil Mass of Pentecost. May the gifts of the Holy Spirit guide them always!
Call or Email today! For more information click here!
We offer our prayers and congratulations to
the OLM First Communion Class
Charles Crawford Blanchard
Andrew Kevin Block
Vincent Thomas Braun
Benjamin Robert Calabro
Samuel Robert Calabro
Caroline Juliet Casey
Mark Robert Fleury
Maiori Francesca Giardino
Nala Rachelle Glaude
Andrew Joseph Hayes
Louis William Johnston
Genevieve Helena-Dell Joseph
Declan Paul Lynch
Jacob Michael Maligaya
Maxwell James Martin
Luke Donato McGowan
Graham Stuart McVicker
Susanne Ellen Mita
Kathryn Taylor Porricelli
Milan Solomon Provencal
Mary Elizabeth Rielly
Ella Catherine Vetovis
Avery Rose Andrade
Jace Patrick Brady
Harper Ann Caverly
Eleonora Valentina Chiara
Brysen Matteo DiSano
Phoenix Evelyn Dubell
Nora Elizabeth Ferguson
Nora Marie Gilbert
Charlotte Colette Hollis
Aria Simone Houle
Ryan Matthew Ingham
Caden Matthew Joubert
Olivia Rose Kanelos
Xander Jeffrey Ladd
Ciorsdan NicGowan Leitch
Ethan Walter Long
Piper Judith Long
Declan Michael Lowe
Shane Wesley Marcks
Charles David Maurice
Ela Jade McClanaghan
Caroline Marie McLaughlin
Kieran Dennis McMahon
Mason Joseph Mignanelli
Grace Marie O'Connor
Olivia Marie O'Gorman
Vivian Marie O'Gorman
Sydney Anne O'Neill
Rose Autumn Prosek
Benjamin Paul Rieger
Ean Charles Ruth
Julian Touzard Saied
Avery Orchowski Scott
Matthew Laurence Silva
Alexander William Silveira
Hadley Jane Sousa
Michael Joseph Tasca
Vivian Bailey Toce
Javier Ignacio Villamar
Luke Connell Walsh
Laina Catherine Welsh
The weekly 5:00 PM Sunday Night Mass will end on Sunday, May 22, 2022. There will be no 5:00 PM Sunday night Mass on Sunday, May 29, 2022 (Memorial Day Weekend). The 5:00 PM Sunday Night Mass resumes on Sunday, October 2, 2022. Please plan your schedule accordingly.
May 7, 2020
Dear Friends in Christ,
Pro-abortion advocates are organizing demonstrations around the country to disrupt Mass in Catholic churches this Mother's Day weekend, so we may be visited by agitators who may seek to interrupt the sacred liturgy. If that should happen while you are at Mass, please remain calm, peaceful, and recollected, and do not confront the protesters. Our ushers will contact the East Greenwich Police Department for assistance if necessary.
Moreover, our parish and school campus may be targeted for vandalism directed against our buildings or statues, so we have alerted the EGPD to help us protect our property.
These threats are the poisonous fruit of an ideology of hatred for Life that has deeply wounded our country for two generations. Our response to that hatred must always bear witness to the mercy of Christ, who teaches us to love our enemies, to pray for our persecutors, and to do unto others as we would have others do to us.
May God grant wisdom and courage to the Justices of the United States Supreme Court. They now face one of the most important judicial decisions in the history of our country, a nation built on the self-evident truth that all men are endowed by their Creator with the unalienable right to Life.
Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us!
Fr. Bernard A. Healey
Pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Church
May 3, 2022
I will have no comments on the Supreme Court and the pending abortion legislation until a decision of the Court on this matter is final. In the meantime, I urge everyone to reflect upon this very important issue, that involves one of our core beliefs in the dignity of human life, with humility, peace, and prayer.
Most Rev. Thomas J. Tobin, D. D.
Bishop of Providence
Louis William Johnston poses with Fr. Mahoney and Fr. Healey after his Baptism at the Easter Vigil. Louis is a student at OLM School!
Louis poses clothed in his Baptismal garment at the font!
Fr. Healey congratulates Marc Marandola on his St. Timothy Award.
On Sunday, March 13, 2022, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence, presented OLM Parishioner, Marc A. Marandola, Jr, the St. Timothy Award at a Youth Ministry and Scouting Mass at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. Marc attended OLM School and is now a Senior at LaSalle Academy. He is the son of Marc and Joyce Marandola.
The St. Timothy Award is a national award given annually to outstanding high school juniors, seniors, or under age 20 who work zealously to improve their own parish ministry programs, high school ministry teams, or youth ministry within the Diocese of Providence. Nominees must be Catholic and exemplify the qualities of moral integrity, prayer, good works, and Christian leadership. This award sponsored by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry is the highest honor any diocese may bestow on a youth. A maximum of 12 parish level awards and one award per Catholic high school are awarded each year in this diocese.
A Pastoral Letter on the Season of Lent
Bishop Thomas J. Tobin
Bishop of Providence
March 2, 2022
Ash Wednesday
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart with fasting, and weeping and mourning. (Joel 2:12)
We recognize that every year the Season of Lent holds the promise of many graces and blessings for the People of God. I am convinced, however, that the observance of Lent this year is as critical as it has ever been. There are many reasons for us to “fast, weep and mourn,” many reasons that call us to “return to the Lord with our whole heart.”
The Season of Lent this year takes place in a profoundly troubled world. We are pained as we witness the brutal war in Ukraine. The global pandemic has resulted in the loss of many lives, disrupted our normal routines, divided communities, and led to personal anxiety and depression. Our political system is broken, hopelessly deadlocked in predictable partisan bickering. Our nation continues its relentless assault on innocent, unborn children in the “abominable crime” of abortion. Violent crime is on the rise in many of our cities, often targeting innocent bystanders, including children. Traditional moral values related to marriage and family, human sexuality and biology, are being challenged and discarded every day. The Church is shaken and saddened by new accusations of past incidents of sexual abuse of minors. And people everywhere are on edge, ready to picket and protest, fight and sue at every offense, real or perceived.
In surveying this depressing litany of societal and communal woes, I cannot help but think that God must be very disappointed and angry with us, his children.
At the same time, we shouldn’t forget that the real moral challenge, the ultimate struggle for grace and peace, takes place in our own hearts and souls. Thus while we despair of the bleak landscape that engulfs us, we also need to look within; we need a brutally honest recognition of our own temptations, faults and sins. The neglect of God; the anger, arrogance, apathy, selfishness, dishonesty, impurity, addictions, and judgmental racist attitudes we find in the darkest recesses of our soul are gravely sinful. If left unchecked they grow like weeds and destroy the life within us. “My offenses, truly I know them; my sin is before me always,” we confess with the Psalmist. (Ps 51:5)
Yes, I am convinced that the observance of Lent this year is as critical as it has ever been. As a people and as individuals we need to be purified, restored, and renewed by the cleansing power of God’s grace!
The Season of Lent gives us all the tools we need to do better, in our world and our lives. The pillars of Lent – prayer, fasting and charitable works – help us to confront temptation, repent of our sins, be reconciled to God, and begin again. But the spiritual resources of Lent are effective only if we use them well. It is for that reason that I call the Church in the Diocese of Providence to embrace the season of Lent like never before. It is so important! “Do not receive the grace of God in vain,” St. Paul exhorts us. (2 Cor 6:1)
I urge our pastors to lead the faithful in a serious and full observance of Lent. Dear fathers, do your best to reach out to your people, welcome them home, provide them with all of the resources the Church gives us to celebrate the Season of Lent worthily. The devout celebration of Holy Mass, a fearless proclamation of the Word of God, traditional devotions such as the Stations of the Cross, visitation and care for the sick, and increased opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation will help you and your people to have a good and profitable Lent.
And I urge the faithful to the Diocese of Providence to enter the Season of Lent with real determination. Attend Holy Mass each Sunday, and during the week, if possible. Read the Word of God. Pray often in church, in school and at home. Take seriously the call of the Church to fast and abstain, not just from food, but from other unhealthy attachments as well. Go to Confession. Support the charitable work of the Church, and engage in good deeds of charity, kindness and forgiveness.
Brothers and sisters, I believe that if we engage the Season of Lent in a serious way, the darkness of the world, the decadence of society, and the anxiety of our souls will give way to the goodness and light of Christ. In the 40 days to come, let us walk with Christ through his suffering and death and then rise to the new life, the peaceful and hopeful life, of Easter Day!
With a promise of my prayers during this holy season, and a request for your prayers for me, I remain,
Sincerely yours,
Thomas J. Tobin
Bishop of Providence
Caritas launches Ukraine fund drive, warning of a 'colossal humanitarian catastrophe'
By Christine Rousselle
Catholic News Agency
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 24, 2022 / 09:45 am
Caritas Internationalis launched an emergency appeal to provide relief to Ukraine after Russia invaded the country on Thursday, Feb. 24.
"We cannot ignore the tragic humanitarian implications of this war," said Caritas Internationalis Secretary General Aloysius John in a statement released Thursday. “It is the duty of the international community to protect the Ukrainian people and ensure their access to life-saving assistance."
Caritas Internationalis called for full humanitarian aid to all those impacted, as well as freedom of movement for those looking to leave areas of conflict.
The appeal, which will benefit Caritas Ukraine, will provide food, drinking water, safe accommodation, and hygiene kits to those who were impacted by the conflict. Additionally, the money raised will assist with safe transportation for those who are looking to reach their loved ones in safe areas.
“The events which began early this morning will inevitably lead to a colossal humanitarian catastrophe,” Tetiana Stawnychy, the president of Caritas Ukraine, said in a statement announcing the appeal.
“It is impossible to believe that in the 21st century in the center of Europe people have to wake up at 5 a.m. from explosions and the sound of air-raid sirens,” she added. “We need your support to have a chance to respond to the humanitarian crisis and assist the people affected by war.”
Since 2014, Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in a conflict that has killed more than 14,000 and displaced over 1.5 million people. On Thursday, Russia began a full-scale invasion and fired missiles into the country.
Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of more than 160 Catholic aid organizations who work at the grassroots level around the world, explained that the ongoing conflict, compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, has made the situation on the ground especially delicate. According to Caritas Ukraine, nearly 3 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance even prior to Thursday’s attack.
Since the summer, when the situation on the border between Ukraine and Russia appeared to be escalating, Caritas scaled up its operations in Ukraine. In addition to training staff and volunteers to assist with various humanitarian efforts, they also established temporary centers to assist people who were displaced by the conflict.
Stawnychy said that the number of those in need is “increasing exponentially” with the conflict.
Donations to the appeal can be made on the Caritas Internationalis website.
Catholic Relief Services Partners with Caritas
Your help is needed in Ukraine where there are already more than 2.9 million people in need of assistance. There is a great risk of additional suffering both within Ukraine and for those who may flee to neighboring countries for safety. CRS and our partners are preparing, and we need immediate support to meet both ongoing needs, as well as those related to families forced to flee their homes as the situation intensifies.
CRS and Caritas partners on the ground are preparing across Ukraine and in bordering countries, ready to provide safe shelter, hot meals, hygiene supplies, fuel to keep warm, transport to safe areas, counseling support, and more.
The situation there is rapidly unfolding, and we could not do this work without your help. When you donate, you provide immediate assistance for your Ukrainian sisters and brothers affected by this crisis.
Your prayers and support will make so much difference. Please give a vital gift today!
Tags:
MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
FOR LENT 2022
“Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest,
if we do not give up. So then, while we have the opportunity,
let us do good to all” (Gal 6:9-10)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Lent is a favorable time for personal and community renewal, as it leads us to the paschal mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For our Lenten journey in 2022, we will do well to reflect on Saint Paul’s exhortation to the Galatians: “Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest if we do not give up. So then, while we have the opportunity (kairós), let us do good to all” (Gal 6:9-10).
1. Sowing and reaping
In these words, the Apostle evokes the image of sowing and reaping, so dear to Jesus (cf. Mt 13). Saint Paul speaks to us of a kairós: an opportune time for sowing goodness in view of a future harvest. What is this “opportune time” for us? Lent is certainly such an opportune time, but so is our entire existence, of which Lent is in some way an image. [1] All too often in our lives, greed, pride and the desire to possess, accumulate and consume have the upper hand, as we see from the story of the foolish man in the Gospel parable, who thought his life was safe and secure because of the abundant grain and goods he had stored in his barns (cf. Lk 12:16-21). Lent invites us to conversion, to a change in mindset, so that life’s truth and beauty may be found not so much in possessing as in giving, not so much in accumulating as in sowing and sharing goodness.
The first to sow is God himself, who with great generosity “continues to sow abundant seeds of goodness in our human family” (Fratelli Tutti, 54). During Lent, we are called to respond to God’s gift by accepting his word, which is “living and active” (Heb 4:12). Regular listening to the word of God makes us open and docile to his working (cf. Jas 1:21) and bears fruit in our lives. This brings us great joy, yet even more, it summons us to become God’s co-workers (cf. 1 Cor 3:9). By making good use of the present time (cf. Eph 5:16), we too can sow seeds of goodness. This call to sow goodness should not be seen as a burden but a grace, whereby the Creator wishes us to be actively united with his own bountiful goodness.
What about the harvest? Do we not sow seeds in order to reap a harvest? Of course! Saint Paul points to the close relationship between sowing and reaping when he says: “Anyone who sows sparsely will reap sparsely as well, and anyone who sows generously will reap generously as well” (2 Cor 9:6). But what kind of harvest are we talking about? A first fruit of the goodness we sow appears in ourselves and our daily lives, even in our little acts of kindness. In God, no act of love, no matter how small, and no “generous effort” will ever be lost (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 279). Just as we recognize a tree by its fruits (cf. Mt 7:16, 20), so a life full of good deeds radiates light (cf. Mt 5:14-16) and carries the fragrance of Christ to the world (cf. 2 Cor 2:15). Serving God in freedom from sin brings forth fruits of sanctification for the salvation of all (cf. Rom 6:22).
In truth, we see only a small portion of the fruits of what we sow, since, according to the Gospel proverb, “one sows, while another reaps” (Jn 4:37). When we sow for the benefit of others, we share in God’s own benevolent love: “it is truly noble to place our hope in the hidden power of the seeds of goodness we sow, and thus to initiate processes whose fruits will be reaped by others” (Fratelli Tutti, 196). Sowing goodness for the benefit of others frees us from narrow self-interest, infuses our actions with gratuitousness, and makes us part of the magnificent horizon of God’s benevolent plan.
The word of God broadens and elevates our vision: it tells us that the real harvest is eschatological, the harvest of the last, undying day. The mature fruit of our lives and actions is “fruit for eternal life” (Jn 4:36), our “treasure in heaven” (Lk 12:33; 18:22). Jesus himself uses the image of the seed that dies in the ground in order to bear fruit as a symbol of the mystery of his death and resurrection (cf. Jn 12:24); while Saint Paul uses the same image to speak of the resurrection of our bodies: “What is sown is perishable, but what is raised is imperishable; what is sown is contemptible but what is raised is glorious; what is sown is weak, but what is raised is powerful; what is sown is a natural body, and what is raised is a spiritual body” (1 Cor 15:42-44). The hope of resurrection is the great light that the risen Christ brings to the world, for “if our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are of all people the most pitiable. In fact, however, Christ has been raised from the dead, as the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor 15:19-20). Those who are intimately united to him in love “by dying a death like his” (Rom 6:5) will also be united to his resurrection for eternal life (cf. Jn 5:29). “Then the upright will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Mt 13:43).
2. “Let us not grow tired of doing good”
Christ’s resurrection enlivens earthly hopes with the “great hope” of eternal life, planting the seed of salvation in our present time (cf. BENEDICT XVI, Spe Salvi, 3; 7). Bitter disappointment at shattered dreams, deep concern for the challenges ahead and discouragement at the poverty of our resources, can make us tempted to seek refuge in self-centredness and indifference to the suffering of others. Indeed, even our best resources have their limitations: “Youths grow tired and weary, the young stumble and fall” (Is 40:30). Yet God “gives strength to the weary, he strengthens the powerless… Those who hope in the Lord will regain their strength, they will soar on wings like eagles; though they run they will not grow weary, though they walk they will never tire» (Is 40:29, 31). The Lenten season calls us to place our faith and hope in the Lord (cf. 1 Pet 1:21), since only if we fix our gaze on the risen Christ (cf. Heb 12:2) will we be able to respond to the Apostle’s appeal, “Let us never grow tired of doing good” (Gal 6:9).
Let us not grow tired of praying. Jesus taught us to “pray always without becoming weary” ( Lk 18:1). We need to pray because we need God. Thinking that we need nothing other than ourselves is a dangerous illusion. If the pandemic has heightened the awareness of our own personal and social fragility, may this Lent allow us to experience the consolation provided by faith in God, without whom we cannot stand firm (cf. Is 7:9). No one attains salvation alone, since we are all in the same boat, amid the storms of history; [2] and certainly no one reaches salvation without God, for only the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ triumphs over the dark waters of death. Faith does not spare us life’s burdens and tribulations, but it does allow us to face them in union with God in Christ, with the great hope that does not disappoint, whose pledge is the love that God has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 5:1-5).
Let us not grow tired of uprooting evil from our lives. May the corporal fasting to which Lent calls us fortify our spirit for the battle against sin. Let us not grow tired of asking for forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, knowing that God never tires of forgiving. [3] Let us not grow tired of fighting against concupiscence, that weakness which induces to selfishness and all evil, and finds in the course of history a variety of ways to lure men and women into sin (cf. Fratelli Tutti, 166). One of these is the addiction to digital media, which impoverishes human relationships. Lent is a propitious time to resist these temptations and to cultivate instead a more integral form of human communication ( ibid., 43) made up of “authentic encounters” ( ibid., 50), face-to-face and in person.
Let us not grow tired of doing good in active charity towards our neighbors. During this Lent, may we practice almsgiving by giving joyfully (cf. 2 Cor 9:7). God who “supplies seed to the sower and bread for food” (2 Cor 9:10) enables each of us not only to have food to eat, but also to be generous in doing good to others. While it is true that we have our entire life to sow goodness, let us take special advantage of this Lenten season to care for those close to us and to reach out to our brothers and sisters who lie wounded along the path of life (cf. Lk 10:25-37). Lent is a favorable time to seek out – and not to avoid – those in need; to reach out – and not to ignore – those who need a sympathetic ear and a good word; to visit – and not to abandon – those who are lonely. Let us put into practice our call to do good to all, and take time to love the poor and needy, those abandoned and rejected, those discriminated against and marginalized (cf. Fratelli Tutti, 193).
3. “If we do not give up, we shall reap our harvest in due time”
Each year during Lent we are reminded that “goodness, together with love, justice, and solidarity, is not achieved once and for all; they have to be realized each day” (ibid., 11). Let us ask God to give us the patient perseverance of the farmer (cf. Jas 5:7), and to persevere in doing good, one step at a time. If we fall, let us stretch out our hand to the Father, who always lifts us up. If we are lost, if we are misled by the enticements of the evil one, let us not hesitate to return to God, who “is generous in forgiving” (Is 55:7). In this season of conversion, sustained by God’s grace and by the communion of the Church, let us not grow tired of doing good. The soil is prepared by fasting, watered by prayer, and enriched by charity. Let us believe firmly that “if we do not give up, we shall reap our harvest in due time” and that, with the gift of perseverance, we shall obtain what was promised (cf. Heb 10:36), for our salvation and the salvation of others (cf. 1 Tim 4:16). By cultivating fraternal love towards everyone, we are united to Christ, who gave his life for our sake (cf. 2 Cor 5:14-15), and we are granted a foretaste of the joy of the kingdom of heaven when God will be “all in all” (1 Cor 15:28).
May the Virgin Mary, who bore the Saviour in her womb and “pondered all these things in her heart” (Lk 2:19), obtain for us the gift of patience. May she accompany us with her maternal presence, so that this season of conversion may bring forth fruits of eternal salvation.
Rome, Saint John Lateran, 11 November 2021, Memorial of Saint Martin, Bishop.
FRANCIS
[1] Cf. SAINTAUGUSTINE, Serm. 243, 9,8; 270, 3; En. in Ps. 110, 1.
[2] Cf. Extraordinary Moment of Prayer presided over by Pope Francis (27 March 2020).
[3] Cf. Angelus, 17 March 2013.
Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana