All Clergy and Pastoral Assistants, Diocese of Charlottetown
Dear Friends,
Once again, we approach the season of Lent with the hope that we will have a successful Share Lent Campaign. Lent is set aside by the Bishops of Canada as the main time to collect funds for the work of Development and Peace – Caritas Canada in the Global South. This Lent, Development and Peace is blessed to have a new Executive Director, Carl Hetu, the former Director of Pope Francis’ Middle East Campaign.
The theme of this year’s campaign, Share Love, Share Lent, is inspired by the messages of social fraternity conveyed by Pope Francis in his latest encyclical, Fratelli Tutti. The Share Lent collection is an opportunity to honour the Pope’s message as a global community and to find inspiration from the parable of the Good Samaritan, which is at the centre of his encyclical.
Pope Francis hopes that “every person lives with dignity and has sufficient opportunities for his or her integral development.” That is what so many great D&P partners are doing in their work to eradicate poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America. They are peacemakers, humanitarian and community workers who bring hope and comfort to the people, protectors of the earth our common home, and human rights defenders. They work with millions of the most vulnerable people, impoverished through no fault of their own. The marginalized are victims of economic, political and social structures that create refugees because of wars, land grabbing, mining, polluted water, lack of shelter, hunger, unemployment, unfair trade, additional COVID problems, lack of vaccines, and floods and typhoons due to Climate change. The COVID-19 has plunged many more people into poverty.
Again this year, most of our educational materials are on line. We will be sending weekly Bulletin announcements that remind people of the importance of Lent as a time when we share our love and resources with the people in the Global South through Development and Peace-Caritas Canada.
Handouts this Lent include the Mini-Magazine, if health regulations enable us to hand them out in the churches. 2. A poster for each church. Please post it and keep it before the people during Lent.
Other materials including the Stations of the Cross, reflections, family materials and prayers of the faithful can be downloaded at devp.org – Share Lent Materials, 2022.
There are collection envelopes for Solidarity Sunday in the regular box. Please make sure that the Share Lent collection is taken up separately from the regular collection, because some people do not use envelopes and donate loose bills and change.
Please remind the people:
– To make the work of Development and Peace- Caritas Canada a priority during Lent and to give generously to the collection. People are also invited to go on line and become Share Year Round donors. Between March 1 and Pentecost their donations through Share Year Round will be doubled.
– To go on line at www.devp.org and sign the petition on mining.
Many Thanks and Blessings as we give our best during Lent to protect our Common Home and support the people who live in poverty in the Global South, and have a very light carbon footprint.
— Mary Boyd
