ARTICLES

A letter from Most Rev. Francis X. DiLorenzo

My dear friends in Christ:

In the past two weeks we began a new season of Lent. Our Catholic tradition is to begin each Lent by asking God to forgive what we have been and to bless what we hope to become. We have been given this gift of time — these 40 days of Lent, as a new opportunity to seek and discover God’s loving will for each of us, taught by prayer, self-sacrifice, and repentance.

I take this opportunity to join you in prayer, fasting and almsgiving. I also want to commend you for the many ways you are serving God and his Church in your parish communities and schools. Over the past 2 and a half years I have visited 87 parishes across the Diocese. I plan to complete the parish visits within this next year. During my visits I have been impressed with the quality of the spiritual programs provided through the dedication and leadership of the priests, deacons, and lay faithful. The results of the parish surveys provide the evidence of the positive impact being made in people’s lives. I encourage you to continue, and even look for new ways to improve your excellent parish ministries.

As you have recently read in a previous issue of The Catholic Virginian, the audited diocesan financial statements also give evidence that even though the current economy is challenging, the Diocese, along with our parishes and our schools, are able to sustain themselves, in part because of your goodness and generosity.

By the time you read this letter, your donations to provide aid to the people of Haiti will have reached their destination. Your immeasurable kindness and profound generosity will certainly have a positive impact on people who have been devastated by this recent disaster. There are no words to adequately express their thanks.

Throughout your Lenten journey, may God in his wisdom give you the grace to be faithful to the Gospel.

With my gratitude and every best wish, I remain,

Sincerely yours in Our Lord,

Most Rev. Francis X. DiLorenzo
Bishop of Richmond

March 2010

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