Dear Pilgrims of Hope,<\/p>\n\n
As we enter this Lenten season, I invite you to Turn Debt into Hope<\/em> by taking part in the 2025 Share Lent Campaign<\/strong> of Development and Peace \u2013 Caritas Canada. This annual campaign begins on Ash Wednesday (March 5)<\/strong> and concludes with a special collection on the Fifth Sunday of Lent (April 5\u20136)<\/strong>. I stand with the faithful serving on the diocesan council of Development and Peace \u2013 Caritas Canada, as well as my brother bishop, Most Rev. William T. McGrattan,<\/strong> President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, in encouraging your engagement.<\/p>\n\n I am particularly grateful for the synodal spirit that characterizes our collaboration with Development and Peace. Over the years, both in our diocese and across Canada, we have built a relationship of trust and a way of walking together that bears great fruit. You can help raise awareness by ordering campaign materials and sharing them in your parish and community: Order Form \u2013 Share Lent 2025 | Development and Peace<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n This year\u2019s theme is deeply connected to the Jubilee, a year of grace<\/strong>. In Scripture, the forgiveness of debts is one of the key practices of the Jubilee (Leviticus 25:10). Jesus himself began his public ministry by proclaiming \u201ca year of the Lord\u2019s favour\u201d<\/em> (Luke 4:19). In the Our Father<\/strong>, Jesus intertwines the forgiveness of debts with the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 6:12).<\/p>\n\n Both during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 and now, Pope Francis has called upon global leaders to cancel unjust debts that trap countless brothers and sisters in poverty<\/strong>. And we, too, must ask ourselves: What have we received that was not a gift to us?<\/em> Could it be that part of our nation\u2019s prosperity comes at the cost of an ecological debt<\/strong> owed to countries of the Global South? This Lent is an opportunity to reflect on these realities and to take meaningful action\u2014personally and collectively\u2014to restore justice and bring hope to those who suffer.<\/p>\n\n I am grateful to Development and Peace \u2013 Caritas Canada for providing us with such a concrete way to practise mercy. I encourage each of you to give generously, according to the goodness of your heart.<\/p>\n\n May Jesus Christ<\/strong> be for us the Way, the Truth, and the Life<\/strong>. May Mary, standing at the foot of the Cross<\/strong>, inspire us in solidarity. May God bless you abundantly<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n\n