Dear Brothers and Sisters:  

When we look back at the year 2020, I believe we would all say that it was indeed a strange and difficult year for many, if not all, of us. We turned the calendar on January 1st to a new year and many of us hoped that the dark days of 2020 would be in the rearview mirror.

As I write this just a few days into 2021, it seems that all we did was turn a calendar page and many of our old problems followed us into this year. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have tightened its grip on our country. Yes, the vaccine is beginning to rollout, but cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to spiral up. Many of our brothers and sisters are still struggling economically and are dealing with unemployment and possible evictions. Racial and social injustices seem to be part of our everyday life. The political divide that exists in our country did not disappear after the November elections, but seems to have grown even worse. The theme for the world-wide Redemptorists over the past few years has been: WITNESSES OF THE REDEEMER: IN SOLIDARITY FOR MISSION TO A WOUNDED WORLD. When our General Chapter approved this theme in 2016, I doubt if anyone would have been able to say how wounded our world would be in 2021.

The first part of the above theme is one that we need to focus on as well: WITNESSES OF THE REDEEMER. It may be easy to focus on how wounded our world is in the present moment, but we must never lose sight of who walks with us during these troubling days. All of us, Redemptorists, Partners in Mission, family members, friends, and those we minister to are followers of Christ the Redeemer, we are disciples of Jesus Christ. In another month we will begin our Lenten journey when we will reflect on Christ’s journey through his Passion and Death to his Resurrection. Never feel you walk alone during this time – we are IN SOLIDARITY with one another. We are called to be disciples together who bring the Light of Christ into a darkened world. Do not lose your faith, do not abandon your hope, cling to the love our God has for each one of us.

Sometimes it may seem easy to just throw our hands in the air and say how terrible things are. That is not the way witnesses of the Redeemer are called to act. We are called to roll up our sleeves and live as loving, caring disciples. It is easy to say: Woe is me. It is our faith that calls us to say: Blessed are we.

The day after the tragic events in our nation’s capital this month, our Redemptorist confrere, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R.  issued a statement. As we each continue to be witnesses of the Redeemer, I leave you with a section of his statement.

“If we wish to claim it, Catholics have a legacy that is crucial to the healing of the nation. Our faith includes a commitment to mutual respect, dialogue, and the principles on which our democracy is based. We must come together as one nation under God, who loves and bestows dignity on all. The person with whom you may vehemently disagree is also a beloved child of God. For two millennia, our community has tried to live the teachings of Jesus. We are at our best when we put others first, with the common good as our guiding star.” (Statement of Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, on violence in U.S. Capitol.  January 7, 2021)

In the Spirit of the Redeemer,

Paul J. Borowski, C.Ss.R.