My dear brothers
and sisters in Christ:
We have now entered into the penitential season of Lent. On Ash Wednesday, the prayer over the offerings at Mass beautifully, yet quite earnestly, presents the theme of these 40 days:
As we solemnly offer
the annual sacrifice for the beginning of Lent,
we entreat you, O Lord,
that, through works of penance and charity,
we may turn away from harmful pleasures
and, cleansed from our sins, may become worthy
to celebrate devoutly the Passion of your Son.
Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.”
Prayer, penance and charitable works continue to form the cornerstone of every Lenten observance.
In meditating on the place of penance in our lives, especially during the holy season of Lent, I realize that it requires a donation of self that often is difficult and, at times, quite challenging. With this understanding, I thought of you, the good people of our Diocese, and all our sisters and brothers. For many, the penitential season of Lent lasts more than 40 days. I think of our young people navigating their way through life amid so many challenges and negative influences of addiction, the devastating consequences of the improper use of social media, and the all too frequent outbursts of violence in our streets and neighborhoods. Yet, thankfully, many young people accept the challenge to follow Jesus.
On the evenings of February 3, 4 and 5, I had the honor to celebrate the Hands of Christ Award ceremonies to recognize the young-adult high school seniors who have lived and continue to live our Catholic faith and extend this faith through charitable works of service in many different areas, such as in parishes, health-care facilities, schools and other outreach programs. They have transformed the practice of penance into joy.
In reflecting upon penance — which is actually imitating the self-sacrifice of Jesus, His complete offering of Himself for us and for our salvation as professed in the Nicene Creed — I think of parents who have so generously welcomed their sons and daughters into the world. Knowing the many challenges that exist in raising children, parents have said yes to life, yes to bringing their children to Jesus, yes to providing them positive examples of virtuous living. If penance is self-sacrifice, parents regularly, almost daily, make sacrifices on behalf of their daughters and sons. Do parents sometimes meet resistance, yes; do they give up, no. Most make every effort to support their children, even in the most difficult and painful situations. In defining the word “loyal,” Webster’s Dictionary reads: “faithful to a private person to whom fidelity is due” (Webster’s New Collegiate 150 Anniversary Edition, © 1981, p. 677). A loving parent, like the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son, extends open arms to the child led astray by arrogance, pride and a false sense of independence or a deceptive notion of happiness; but when all else fails, the son, the daughter, returns home (Luke 15:11-32). If penance rests upon prayer, how many hours does a parent spend in prayer for a troubled son or daughter? How many have begged Mary’s help while wearing thin her beads invoking our Mother Mary’s care for the parent’s suffering child at any age?
My thoughts also turn to the sick, those in hospitals, health-care facilities and the homebound, who despite the penance of enduring disabilities and maladies cling to the faith and long for pastoral visits bringing them Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. With hands bearing the signs of suffering, they still cling to their rosary beads as they continue to pray for their families. And, yes, many in their suffering have prayed for me and how much I have relied upon their prayers and continue to welcome them. The sick, the physically challenged, have transformed the penance of sickness into an embrace of the suffering Christ upon the cross, as do their loved ones and those who care for them, making sacrifices, built upon the love of Jesus, which is never a burden.
How can we forget the penance of persecution endured by our sisters and brothers who suffer terrible inhumane attacks because of their faith in Jesus Christ? During 2024, 365 million Christians faced “high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith,” and among our persecuted brothers and sisters, almost 5,000 Christians were martyred (see Open Doors’ “World Watch List 2024 Overview”). Penance is the heartache of having to flee one’s homeland — a place of roots, memories and one’s heritage — because of wars, economic hardships, tyrannical governments creating violence and unjust attacks. It is the penance of leaving all one knows to seek a new home and, again, facing the hardships of a broken immigration system in need of a just and lasting resolution.
Penance, if it is the result of loyalty, commitment, self-sacrifice, enduring charity and discipleship, is far more than 40 days without chocolate or even fasting now that dieting has become so fashionable, yet not always achieved through discipline but other methods that promise quick results. The poor fast daily through hunger, abandonment and homelessness. How much they need our charitable sacrifices on their behalf, lifting from their shoulders an enduring penance, simply that they may be able to survive beyond 40 days! And many do thank God for this help; in the midst of their misery, they find hope because “Dilexit nos!” “He loved us!” (Encyclical Letter of Pope Francis, October 24, 2024).
Penance is visible in the lives of the incarcerated. But even behind barbed wires, the prisoner can find Jesus. Here I am not speaking about ignoring the consequences of one’s actions, but rather that while serving one’s sentence behind prison walls one can still pray and turn to Jesus, changing hopelessness into hope; Jesus never abandons us, and no walls can keep Him from entering our hearts if we turn our hearts over to Him.
Penance is a part of our lives comprising the sacrifices we make daily to persevere in our chosen vocations; how we respond either benefits us or buries us in despair. Penance is not a momentary good feeling, a contest of temporary endurance, an outmoded practice or a passive alternative to avoid delving deep into our hearts to see if we have allowed Jesus in, because “Dilexit nos!” “He loved us!” It is not what, but Who gives penance its true meaning, namely Jesus Christ, especially in our reception of Holy Communion at every Holy Mass and in our humble petition for forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, confession.
These are the pillars of the Christian life, the foundation for all Lenten practices, which transform all penance into the joy of eternal life. At first, the very word penance sounds so negative, even harsh, so foreboding as if it were a penalty. Quite to the contrary, penance is one of the deepest expressions of love. On Golgotha, Christ endured the greatest penance, the ultimate sacrifice, which, in reality, became the greatest love story in the history of humanity. On Calvary, Jesus lived His words to the Heavenly Father: “Father, if it is your will, take this chalice from me; yet not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).
On April 2, we again will celebrate a Day of Penance and Mercy in the Diocese of Rochester, with the Sacrament of Reconciliation available in all our parishes at varying times throughout the day. This opportunity is a true way of living the Lenten call to conversion. Many of our parishes also provide additional times for confession throughout the Lenten observance.
In a time when our faith can be so deeply wounded, the gentle voice of the Good Shepherd is echoed in this healing sacrament and we are reminded of the Savior’s words: “Know that I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20).
In closing, let us recall and take to heart the words of our Holy Father, Pope Francis:
“Lenten penance is a commitment, sustained by grace, to overcoming our lack of faith and our resistance to following Jesus on the way of the cross. This is precisely what Peter and the other disciples needed to do. To deepen our knowledge of the Master, to fully understand and embrace the mystery of his salvation, accomplished in total self-giving inspired by love, we must allow ourselves to be taken aside by him and to detach ourselves from mediocrity and vanity. We need to set out on the journey, an uphill path that, like a mountain trek, requires effort, sacrifice and concentration” (Lenten Message 2023).
Renewing my deep gratitude for your faith and assuring you that your intentions are brought to the altar, while invoking the intercession of Our Mother Mary, Mother of Mercy, and St. John Fisher, our Diocesan Patron, I remain, with a sincere request for your prayers,
Devotedly yours in Christ,
The Most Reverend
Salvatore R. Matano
Bishop of Rochester
