My dear brothers and
sisters in Christ:
We are drawing closer to the glorious celebration of Our Lord’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday. The days pass quickly, and if Lent has not been the prayerful experience we had hoped for because of the many demands placed upon us, let us now take advantage of these remaining days to make time for Jesus. The second reading from the second letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians proclaimed last Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Lent in Year C, is intended for us as well: “We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
This Wednesday, April 2, is the Day of Penance and Mercy when our parishes provide extended periods of time to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, confession, celebrating that God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, has “given us the ministry of reconciliation” (Second Reading, Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C). I pray we take advantage of this privileged opportunity to receive the forgiveness of the Lord through the ministry of the priesthood. If you are unable to do so, I encourage you to check your parish bulletin or website for additional confession times. Again, this past Sunday we listened to the Parable of the Prodigal Son and the father who welcomed home his son who had gone astray. Every time that we enter the confessional, we are embraced by Jesus who says to every person: “But now we celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found” (Holy Gospel, Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C).
I also take this opportunity to encourage you to attend Holy Week ceremonies in your parish, especially participating in the Sacred Triduum on Holy Thursday, commemorating the institution of the Most Holy Eucharist and the Sacred Priesthood; Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion, recalling the great sacrificial death of Christ upon the cross that all might be redeemed in Him; and the Solemn Easter Vigil at which our brothers and sisters enrolled in the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) will be fully incorporated into the Church.
On Tuesday of Holy Week, April 15 at 6 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, the Solemn Chrism Mass will be celebrated, and parishioners throughout our Diocese are most cordially invited and encouraged to attend. At this Mass, our priests renew their priestly promises, resolving “to be more united with the Lord Jesus and more closely conformed to Him” as “faithful stewards of the mysteries of God in the Holy Eucharist and the other liturgical rites,” pledging “to discharge faithfully the sacred office of teaching, following Christ the Head and Shepherd …” (Solemn Chrism Mass).
At this same Mass, the Sacred Oil of the Sick and the Sacred Oil of Catechumens are blessed, and the Holy Chrism is consecrated by the Diocesan Bishop. The Oil of the Sick, used in the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, is blessed to be to become “a safeguard for body, soul and spirit,” asking God to accompany and to heal our sick sisters and brothers “from all pain, all infirmity, and all sickness” (ibid.)
The Oil of Catechumens is blessed to “grant courage to the catechumens who will be anointed with it” in preparation for their Baptism” and to help them “understand more deeply the Gospel of Christ” as they “undertake with a generous heart the labors of the Christian life” (ibid.)
The Holy Chrism is consecrated to become “a sacred sign of perfect salvation and life for those to be made new in the spiritual waters of Baptism” and “sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit” at Confirmation. Those ordained to the priesthood and episcopacy are anointed with this Chrism for service in humility to God’s people in imitation of the Eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ, from whose “holy name it has received the name of Chrism” (ibid.)
These oils, blessed within the Eucharistic Sacrifice, underline the ministerial nature of the priesthood, a call to serve, a call to imitate the Master – to don the apron as He did when He washed the feet of His first priests and told them to do likewise. During this Mass, I unite with our priests in thanking God for our deacons, religious and laity who offer us their support and assistance in so many areas of diocesan life and ministry.
I pray that Holy Week truly will be a special week, a privileged week to deepen our personal relationships with the Lord. Once again, if Lent has passed thus far with our hopes for increased prayer, penance and charitable works not being realized as we had hoped, Holy Week and the days leading up to this solemn moment provide an excellent opportunity to recapture the meaning of this holy season.
As we prepare for the glorious feast of Christ’s Resurrection, let us contemplate His greeting to His disciples on that first Easter Sunday: “Peace be with you.” How much this peace is needed, as divisions among peoples have fractured our country, the world and even caused disquiet within the church. Violence, inhumane actions of one person against another, the loss of lives because of war and terrorist acts are so very contrary to the peace intended by Christ for God’s people redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. But to receive the peace of Christ one needs to be united with Him. From this union, we become Pauline, that is, in the words of St. Paul: “… the life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me” (Galatians 2:20). We become instruments of peace, beginning in our own homes and then reaching out into the community through union with the Lord. “So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us … (Second Reading, Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C).
On Easter, we renew our baptismal promises and recommit our lives to the Lord. May this renewal rise from deep within our hearts, united to the will and the intellect, and be given with joy, a joy that brings peace! When we make these promises, let us be conscious that we have committed ourselves not to a moment, a day, or a year but to a life lived in the Risen Christ and according to His commands. “We must be converted ever anew, turning with our whole life towards the Lord. And ever anew we must withdraw our hearts from the force of gravity, which pulls them down, and inwardly we must raise them high: in truth and love. At this hour, let us thank the Lord, because through the power of His Word and of the holy Sacraments, He points us in the right direction and draws our heart upwards” (Benedict XVI, Easter Vigil, St. Peter’s Basilica, March 22, 2008).
Listen, dear brothers and sisters, to these words of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, which remain forever strong even in his illness, and which, I pray, will be inscribed in our hearts on Easter Sunday:
“On this day we proclaim that he, the Lord of our life, is “the resurrection and the life” of the world (cf. Jn 11:25). Today is Easter, the Pasch, a word that means ‘passage,’ for in Jesus the decisive passage of humanity has been made: the passage from death to life, from sin to grace, from fear to confidence, from desolation to communion. In him, the Lord of time and history, I would like to say to everyone, with heartfelt joy, Happy Easter!
“May this Easter be for each of you, dear brothers and sisters, and in particular for the sick and the poor, the elderly and those experiencing moments of trial and weariness, a passage from affliction to consolation. We are not alone: Jesus, the Living One, is with us, forever. Let the Church and the world rejoice, for today our hopes no longer come up against the wall of death, for the Lord has built us a bridge to life. Yes, brothers and sisters, at Easter the destiny of the world was changed, and on this day, which also coincides with the most probable date of Christ’s resurrection, we can rejoice to celebrate, by pure grace, the most important and beautiful day of history” (Urbi et Orbi Message of Pope Francis 2023).
To all whom I am called to serve, I wish you a continued, prayerful Lenten Season and a joyous Easter and a blessed Easter Season, especially those among us who suffer the weight of personal crosses. May you invite the Lord to lighten your burden. May we all hear and experience Christ’s Easter greeting, “Peace be with you!”
Assuring you of my prayers throughout this holy season and asking a memento in your good prayers, I remain, invoking the intercession of Our Mother Mary and Saint John Fisher, our Diocesan Patron,
Devotedly yours in Christ,
The Most Reverend
Salvatore R. Matano
Bishop of Rochester
