Lenten Mission (2025)

We were blessed and honored to have Fr. Patrick Ohl from the Guelph Chaplaincy come and lead us in our Lenten Mission (March 18-20).  Fr. Patrick guided us well in praying with and reflecting on Christian hope during the Jubilee year.  Through 3 days he showed us how Christian hope grounds and inspires Catholic life.  There is a tendency in our culture to slide either between a blind optimism – that life will inherently get better, no matter what we do or think – or nihilism, where nothing matters and all we need to do is look after ourselves.  The Church teaches us that hope is actually courage – the courage to love the world even when all signs point to the contrary. This orientation to life is not foolish wishful thinking, but a gift of the Holy Spirit that comes through a desire to follow Christ.  Through the example of St. Joseph and the cautionary tale of Lazarus and the rich man, Fr. Patrick showed us how hope is the virtue for our pilgrimage to beatitude, and how it compels us to encounter the stranger and poor as fellow pilgrims made in the image and likeness of God.  Thank you, Fr. Patrick, and may we live the remainder of this Jubilee year as courageous pilgrims of hope.