My Dear Sisters and Brothers: As we proceed into the holy season of Lent, I want to encourage you to experience a deeper conversion to the Lord’s love. Our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, has declared this a Year of the Eucharist. In speaking on this subject, the Pope repeats over and over again the fact that the Eucharist shows us how very concrete God’s love is for us. We do not search for salvation. God searches us out, redeems us in Christ Jesus, and prepares us for the path to heaven by feeding us through the Eucharist and the other Sacraments, especially Penance.

While we are contemplating the very real love which Jesus has for us in the Eucharist, we want to respond in an equally loving and concrete manner. Thus in this Year of the Eucharist, we need to enter into our Lenten observance with greater care than ever.

As you know, Lenten practices usually fall within three categories: prayer, penance and deeds of charity. Let us look at each of these practices in the light of our Year of the Eucharist.

In prayer, we seek not so much to talk to God, but to listen to Him. Through God’s grace, we are drawn to slow down and let God shed light on our lives. In prayer, we have the perfect opportunity to thank God for His many kindnesses to us in Jesus Christ. God’s greatest gift to us is His Son, Jesus. And this same Jesus is not a distant figure, nor someone from the past. He abides with us, walks with us, and strengthens us ­– all in the Eucharist. It is my hope that each of us will take even greater care this Lent to find time to pray to Jesus quietly in the Blessed Sacrament. What a beautiful Lenten practice it would be to dwell a bit with the same Lord who never leaves our side. Our prayers can help us comprehend this tremendous love and transform our celebrations of Mass more and more into greater acts of praise to God.

Penance means that we deprive ourselves of something in order to free ourselves to understand God’s love more carefully. Even the slightest daily mortification is a reminder to ourselves that we are not the center of the universe. God is! When we take up our individual Lenten penances, we will discover that finding God is so much easier. We are more attuned to His presence, to His providence, and to His Lordship, especially in the greatest prayer of all, the Holy Eucharist. In this context, I must emphasize the great link between the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist. The same Jesus who feeds us in the Eucharist forgives us in the confessional. Our Holy Father urges us time and time again in this Year of the Eucharist to re-acquire the sense of wonderment about God’s love for us in these two Sacraments.

If we believe that in the Eucharist, Jesus is really present and that He loves us perfectly, we soon come to realize that we are not alone. Jesus offers this great love to everyone, as a lesson for us. Lent is a perfect time for us to highlight a true altruism, a love of neighbor not based on our whims and feelings, but rooted in the abiding love of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

As we progress through our Year of the Eucharist, I remind you again of what I asked you when we began our special Year last October. I ask you to pray for a deeper love for the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, especially by a more fervent celebration of Mass and by more frequent adoration of the Eucharist outside of Mass. I remind you how important it is to pray for vocations to our diocesan priesthood. Please encourage your sons to become holy priests. Finally, I urge everyone to understand the role of Mary. She has been given to us as our Mother by Jesus Christ. She helps us to understand Him. She supports us as we respond to His love.

Please pray for me as well that I may be a good and holy Bishop and join you in the great celebration of Easter to come! Be assured of my prayers everyday for you that together we might bring Jesus in the Eucharist to everyone.