Dear Faith Filled Friends of the Sunday Mass,

Lent and Easter are two very important seasons during our liturgical year. They combined for a long journey through Lent the life, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. They remind us in many ways that God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son, and if we believe we will have the gift of eternal life.

The Seasons of Lent and Easter give us the opportunity to pause and remember Jesus’ great love for us, that includes the Cross and the Empty Tomb. I pray that this year our Lenten and Easter journey will help us move beyond the starkness and cold of winter, the struggles and difficulties of life – to the colors and warmth of spring and early summer that remind us of the joy and hopefulness of a faith filled life.

My prayer for all of you is that you will have a blessed and graced filled Lent, one that will helped you to come closer to God through reflection, sacrifice and prayer; a Lent that will help you to be honest with yourself and God; a Lent that will help you to encounter God’s mercy, forgiveness, healing and most importantly God’s love.

I also pray that the long journey of Lent from Ash Wednesday to the Cross on Good Friday will give way to us standing in front of the empty tomb on Easter Sunday not in fear but in the joy and celebration of the gift of life. And because of God’s great love we will with joy and hope be able to continue our journey with the song of Alleluia alive in our hearts!

We here at The Sunday Mass want you to know that you will not make the journey through winter and Lent into spring and the Easter Season alone. You will not be alone because God is always with you and so are we. Every week we come to you via the internet, and the television, celebrating the great mystery of our faith, the Eucharist and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. On March 1st we will begin our journey through Lent with our celebration of the First Sunday of Lent and then on April 12th when we will celebrate the gift of the Easter Eucharist. In Lent, we will focus on the mercy and forgiveness of God and during the Easter Season we enliven the song of hope within us. Jesus lives! And our lives will never be the same.

Please know that you will remain in our thoughts and prayers throughout the Lenten and Easter Seasons this year. We will pray that the mercy of God and the hope of new life and the unrelenting love of God will enliven your life and the lives of those you love. If the struggles of life are weighing on you, we will hold you in the healing presence of the Crucified and Risen Christ.

Please share with us your needs, the people you want to remember, and your hopefulness, on the form provided on this letter. Is there a situation, a person, a struggle, a hope, a prayer of thanksfulness you want us to remember in a special way? Please allow us to pray with you throughout Lent and Easter Season. As always whatever prayers and needs you send us will be placed next to the altar each week as we gather to celebrate The Sunday Mass. We will lift-up you and your prayers to our loving and merciful God, confident that the power of prayer allows the light of hope to shine on.

Pope Francis tells us that, "Prayer brings you to hope, and when things become dark, with more prayer there will be more hope."

Have a blessed and holy Lent and Easter and know you are in my prayers every day.

Peace in Christ’s Passion,

Fr. Paul R. Fagan, C.P.
The Pastor of The Sunday Mass