Abp. Aymond to Young Church: Recommit yourself to being peacemakers this Lent

Dear Young Church, My Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

I hope that you are enjoying the Carnival season, and that it will be a safe one for all of us. Hopefully, we will be safe from the pandemic as well as from any kind of threatening activity.

We live in a time when people are not respecting one another, and, as we know, murder, racism and violence have increased. We are reminded that as the Young Church, we are to be people of peace, and it is important that you show that sense of peace and reconciliation at school, at home and in your neighborhood community. Let us recommit ourselves to that goal.

Let us also remember that as soon as Carnival is over, we have Ash Wednesday (this year, on March 2). It is important that we go to church and receive the ashes as a sign that each and every one of us is a sinner. But, at the same time, we are loved by our God and forgiven.

The ashes on Ash Wednesday are taken from the palms from the year before, from Palm Sunday. We place them on our forehead to say, “I am a sinner. I am loved and forgiven, and I want to change those things in my life that have led me to go away from what God asks me to do and to be.”

During Lent, as you know, we do some kind of penance, either by giving up something or doing something extra. Whatever it is that we choose to do, it should relate directly to that which we are trying to change within our hearts.

Sometimes we look at our actions and say, “I need to change that action. I need to talk less. I need to say less about other people. I need to be kinder to my friends and my family.” But the real question is, what is it in my heart that needs to be changed in order for me to be a kinder and more loving person while I search for more room in my heart for God and others?

I pray that this Lenten season will be a time of blessing for you. Let us together journey through Lent so that we can experience that change of heart that the Lord is calling us to.

Wishing you God’s blessings as the Young Church, I am a brother in Christ,

Most Rev. Gregory M. Aymond
Archbishop of New Orleans