March 27, 2024
My Dear Friends in Christ,
On many occasions, Pope Francis has said “we are not living in an era of change but a change of era”. What we are experiencing is not merely an age of change but a change of age. Many of the norms and customs, the habits and ways of doing things to which we are accustomed both in the Church and in society are shifting, some for good and some for ill. Looking around us, we see many of these changes in our world and in the Church and we can sense how true this is. Things seem to be changing rapidly and perhaps sometimes radically.
With change comes a series of challenges. Change can often be a cause for fear or uncertainty. Over this past year, the faithful, our local Church here in the City of Baltimore and indeed throughout the whole of the Archdiocese have been no stranger to such changes and to the fears and uncertainties that come with it.
We watched collectively this week in devastation over the change in the Baltimore skyline with the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and the trauma that followed for families impacted, the fear of economic losses, both personally and across the region, and the challenge of a major link in our transportation suddenly gone. In each of our lives, we encounter change almost daily in our jobs, our homes and relationships with loved ones. For the local Church itself, as we come to the last stages of the Seek the City to Come process and continue with the work of healing and finality sought through Chapter 11 Reorganization, we see that things have changed and will change. Each parish and each family has its own set of challenges and changes that you have to face.
In the face of all this, it can be easy to grow weary and give into fear but this week, we are given reason for hope. Indeed, many things have changed and will change but one thing remains the same: the saving love of God revealed in Christ Jesus crucified and risen. On Holy Thursday, we will be reminded of Christ’s gift of himself in the Eucharist and his call to love one another as he loves us, this does not change. On Good Friday, we will see the depth of Christ’s love for us and his obedience to the will of the Father, this does not change. On Holy Saturday we will experience once again that quiet and stillness of a world that seeks and waits for the Lord, this does not change. And most of all in the great Vigil of Easter and the joy of Easter morning we will once again encounter Jesus, Risen from the dead, victorious over the power of sin and death, this does not change.
Whatever you have experienced this year, whatever may be happening in your heart, wherever you find yourself, turn to the Lord and find in Him and in His love the one thing that never changes. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Jesus Christ is our light and our hope, Jesus Christ, Crucified and Buried is Risen!
Faithfully in Christ,
Most Reverend William E. Lori
Archbishop of Baltimore
A Message from Archbishop Lori: Holy Week and Easter (youtube.com)