Lenten Pastoral Message 2026: From Fr Aloysius Ong

Lent is a sacred season that invites us to slow down and turn our hearts more fully toward God. In the midst of busy lives and constant noise, these forty days offer us a gentle call to pause, reflect, repent, and renew our relationship with the Lord. This season asks us to look honestly at our own hearts—where we need healing, where we may have grown distant, and where God is inviting us into deeper conversion. 

Lent also calls us to greater awareness of one another. It encourages us to notice those who may feel overlooked, burdened, or unseen, and to reflect on how we respond to inequality or suffering within our community. We are reminded during Lent that we belong to one Body of Christ. Each person has a place, a purpose, and a gift to offer. No act of kindness, prayer, or service is ever too small when it is offered with love. Together, we are called to build up the Body through compassion, humility, and care for one another. 

I invite you to live this season intentionally. Come participate in our 5 Week Lenten Reflection Video Series (15mins before every weekend mass or https://www.stbernadette.org.sg/mpob#preparation-of-the-heart), which offers an opportunity for prayerful listening and shared reflection as a parish community. 

I also encourage you to take part in the Lenten Penitential Service (19 March or https://www.stbernadette.org.sg/news-events/penitential-services) and to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where we encounter God’s mercy and forgiveness in a profound way. 

Throughout Lent, make space for silence, Scripture, and acts of mercy. These practices help prepare our hearts and minds so that we may more fully embrace the joy of Easter and continue our parish journey renewed in faith and unity. Let us walk this Lenten path together, trusting in God’s grace at work among us.

 Fr Aloysius Ong Parish Priest, Church of St Bernadette