February 17, 2021

Archbishop Miller’s Letter on Share Lent 2021

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

During this Lenten Season, the Lord calls on us as his disciples to devote ourselves more intentionally to prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

In response to Pope Francis’s urgent appeal in his recent encyclical Fratelli Tutti, this year Caritas Canada, the joint organization of Development and Peace and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, is calling us to be brothers and sisters to all, regardless of their physical proximity to us.

Despite the tragic effects of COVID-19 here in Canada, the pandemic has caused even greater havoc in the poorest and most vulnerable societies, particularly among our already needy brothers and sisters in the Global South of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Throughout the world we are one human family, and we must recover together from the present crisis.

Sunday, March 21, is Solidarity Sunday in the Archdiocese of Vancouver. On this day we take up our annual Share Lent collection that supports the humanitarian needs of the Global South. I encourage you to be as generous as possible to this year’s campaign: “Share your Love this Lent.” Remember the Lord’s words to each of us: “So long as you did it to the least of these, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40).

Since we will likely be unable to have the usual in-person collection this year due to COVID-19, a range of opportunities to show your solidarity with the people of the Global South can be found at https://rcav.org/share-lent/. I urge you to respond wholeheartedly to this pressing appeal.

With gratitude for your support of our brothers and sisters in need of your solidarity, and with my prayers for your families during this holy season, I remain

Sincerely yours in Christ,

+ J. Michael Miller, CSB
Archbishop of Vancouver