A message from the 3 US Association Presidents:
During the Lenten season we have changed our ways to make additional room in our hearts for the Lord. That season is coming to an end as we enter Holy Week, encounter the mysteries of our faith during the Triduum, and celebrate the Risen Lord at Easter.
Due to the terrible COVID-19 illness that afflicts so many in our country and around the world, this Easter will not be like any other. We will not assemble in person in churches, most will not receive the Blessed Sacrament, and we will not exchange handshakes or hugs. We may feel alone and even forgotten, but in faith we know that we are neither alone nor forgotten by Christ. We may receive Him spiritually, and we will be sustained until this scourge is ended.
As a symbol of our unity and common vocation to glorify God and serve the poor and sick as our lords, we ask all members to light a single candle on Holy Saturday at sunset where you live. Place it where all can see and let us join together in a moment of prayer using the prayer below that Reverend Eric Hollas, OSB, Conventual Chaplain ad honorem of the Order, has prepared for us.
We wish you and your family and friends health, safety, and a joyous Easter. He is risen!
Loving Father,
We gather around this candle whose flame pierces the darkness and proclaims by our faith that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. We thank you for your Son, our Savior, and ask You to bless us and grant these petitions:
May this candle be our Easter candle in troubled times.
May Christ’s light warm the poor and heal the sick.
May Christ’s light caress the lonely and embrace the lost.
May Christ’s light reach into the corners of our hearts and dispel our darkest fears.
May we, by our charitable words and deeds, be Christ’s light to others and so light up the world.
And may we draw ever more closely to Jesus Christ, our light and our risen Lord.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
