Here is the fourteenth pastoral letter of the Archbishop of Montreal, Most Reverend Christian Lépine.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It’s been a year, and we continue to wrestle with the COVID-19 pandemic. We have grown weary, at times felt exhausted. We have lost someone dear to us and were unable to be present physically. We have coped with sickness without comforting visits from loved ones. We have experienced bouts of loneliness. We do not know what the future holds. We feel weak and helpless, but Jesus is here.

Nothing can come between us and the love of Jesus. We are ‘‘convinced that neither death, nor life, … nor things present, nor things to come, … nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord’’ (Romans 8:38-39). The grace of Jesus Christ Crucified and Risen is so powerful it penetrates the darkness and loneliness enveloping us, to comfort and guide us, to calm us and to strengthen our soul.

Jesus’ love for us empowers us to love others: family members, friends, members of our parish and of society. By the grace of Jesus, we are able to grow in humility and generosity, in patience and in our willingness to forgive.

In this battle against the pandemic, science and vaccines have joined forces with protective health measures and physical distancing, but we also have prayer and the support of family, society and the Church. May Jesus Christ fill your hearts with his Presence, his Love and his Peace!

I bless you with my whole heart, in the name ✠ of the Father, ✠ and of the Son ✠ and of the Holy Spirit.

Happy Easter!
 

† Christian Lépine
   Archbishop of Montreal