My dear brothers and sisters in Christ – March 2025
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
In this sacred season of Lent, we recall and relive the 40 days that Jesus ventured into the desert to pray and fast. He faced trials, temptations and solitude, but he emerged victoriously, glorifying the Father by carrying out his ministry to the world.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
In this sacred season of Lent, we recall and relive the 40 days that Jesus ventured into the desert to pray and fast. He faced trials, temptations and solitude, but he emerged victoriously, glorifying the Father by carrying out his ministry to the world.
St. Thomas Aquinas described the contemplation of our Lord as the ultimate end, or telos, of humanity. While we are not yet in the presence of the Beatific Vision, where we hope to look at our loving God face to face, we can still order our lives around growing in knowledge, love and service of our Creator. It is impossible for us to focus on this purpose when we allow worldly temptations, distractions and concerns to cloud our hearts and minds.
And so we each must ask ourselves: What is distracting me from having a deeper relationship with God?
Our journey into the wilderness with Christ can help us remove these barriers and recommit ourselves to prayer, fasting and almsgiving — the three pillars of this holy season.
There is no simpler route to the presence of Jesus than to imitate Christ. As he exhorted his apostles, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6). His way is marked with sacrifice, discomfort and even pain. But even amid these challenges, we take comfort in knowing that he is at our side. He does not wish to separate us from himself, and there is literally nothing that can separate us from the love of God. Nothing.
We read in the words of St. Paul, “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance” (2 Tm 4:7-8). Each of us is called, as we learn in the New Testament, to race to Jesus with the same urgency as the apostles.
We have a roadmap for the next five years. This year is to spread the Good News of Christ around the state to all who are willing to listen. The Lenten season is a starting point for us in the Palmetto State.
May you be spiritually renewed, refreshed and rededicated to sharing the Good News of Christ Jesus this Lenten season. Remember, we are not called to bear these crosses on our own. We focus on the finish line and help where we can with those who are running alongside us on the faithful way, the Via Fidelis, to the loving arms of Christ and his mother,
In Christ’s love,
Most Rev. Jacques Fabre-Jeune, CS
Bishop of Charleston