Pastoral Message for Lent 2026

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

As we enter this holy season of Lent, we are reminded that caring for the poor, whom Pope Leo XIV recently called ‘the powerless’, lies at the very heart of the Gospel. Pope Leo XIV, in his Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te: On Love for the Poor, calls us to rediscover Christ’s presence in the faces of the poor and suffering.

The Holy Father teaches that the poor (the powerless) are not only those we help, but those through whom Christ reveals Himself to us.

Our encounter with them must awaken us from indifference and move us to conversion — from words to deeds, from comfort to compassion. This is what it means to live Hope in Action.

Living Hope in Action, let us heed the invitation of Christ following the Gospel of Matthew 25:35–36: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Let our mission be focused on these words of Jesus. 

True hope is never passive. It becomes visible when love breaks down barriers, unites strangers, and transforms communities.

Across our Diocese of Penang, many of you already live this hope — through outreach, care for the elderly, feeding the hungry, visiting the lonely, and countless quiet acts of mercy.

This Lent, let us renew our commitment to walk with the poor (the powerless), to let their faith and courage evangelize us, and to make Christ’s light shine through concrete acts of love.

May our hope take flesh in action, and our actions bring hope to others.

With prayers and blessing,

Cardinal Sebastian Francis

Bishop of Penang