From the Archbishop

A friend of mine began discerning priesthood soon after his First Communion. From the age of eight, he dreamed of the day when he could be a priest and celebrate Mass. This was not me. I did not consider a vocation to the priesthood until the end of my junior year in high school. I had been asked by the pastor of my parish if I had ever thought about being a priest. My response? A resounding “no.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, A long-treasured value of our Church, dating back to its earliest days, has been the care for those who are most vulnerable. As Catholics we are called to love one another and accompany one another in moments of blessing and in moments of challenge. When facing any difficulty, we quickly discover our dependency, not only upon God, but upon each other in the exercise of charity and concern for our neighbor.

Each year during the season of Lent, the Church affords us the opportunity to rekindle our relationship with God, both as individuals and as a community of faith. These 40 days are a time set aside to pray more, to embrace a spirit of self-denial and sacrifice, and to work . . .

We live in a culture which increasingly focuses on individuality and the immediacy of the here and now. Rarely do we elevate our gaze to the transcendent. Modern voices proclaim the self-identifying and self-determining individual as important above all else, rather than reserving that distinction for God.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, In his October 2004 apostolic letter Mane Nobiscum Domine, Pope St. John Paul II wrote: “[B]y our mutual love and, in particular, by our concern for those in need we will be recognized as true followers of Christ (cf. Jn. 13:35; Mt. 25:31-46) . . .