Христос воскрес! Воїстину воскрес! 

Christ is Risen!  Indeed, He is Risen!

“Remember us, O Lord.”

April 27, 2025

Dear Friends in Christ:

“Become a Beacon of Hope … let your light shine before others”

If you drive just a half hour north of All Saints Ukrainian Catholic Church in North Battleford on Highway 4, you come across a lighthouse on the shore of Jackfish Lake in the town of Cochin.  It’s the only lighthouse in Saskatchewan.  It’s a beacon for boaters in the summer and snowmobilers in the winter.  It’s a beautiful and strange sight on the Prairies.  It’s a great place to make an unofficial Jubilee pilgrimage this year.

In the Papal Bull that Pope Francis wrote in May 2024 called “Hope Does Not Disappoint/Spes Non Confundit” to inaugurate the Jubilee Year, he reflects on the theme of hope.  He says that hope is the desire and expectation of good things, despite our not knowing what the future brings.  God will only give us good things, because God is love.  St. Paul tells the Romans: “Hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

During this Jubilee Year, we are invited to reflect on and celebrate hope, but more importantly, we are called to become a Beacon of Hope, shining like the only lighthouse in Saskatchewan.

In a powerful part of the Pope’s letter, he says that we have a job, a task during the Jubilee.  We are called to share hope with those who have no hope.  He speaks of a number of groups of people that we can share hope with: prisoners, the sick and/or disabled, the young, migrants, the elderly, and the poor.  On an evening in January 2025, I gathered with the Altar Servers and Children of Mary from Saints Peter and Paul Church in Saskatoon, and the young people reflected on sharing hope with others: how each group of people mentioned by Pope Francis experience hopelessness and what we can do to share hope with them.  Their answers about sharing hope were simple and powerful, practical and inspiring.

We all can become a Beacon of Hope by participating in the 2025 Annual Eparchial Appeal.  Your donation to the Appeal will do so much for people in the Eparchy of Saskatoon to bring them hope through various ministries.  Your donation to the Appeal assists the Eparchy in the following ways:

• education and catechesis for adults and young people,
• safeguarding minors and vulnerable adults in our parishes and Eparchial ministries,
• helping people feel connected through effective communication strategies,
• formation of men becoming deacons and priests,
• building bridges and healing wounds through the work of the Eparchial Pastoral Council implementing the learnings from the Synod on Synodality
• providing effective administration at the service of clergy and parishes.

Please consider making a generous gift to the 2025 Annual Eparchial Appeal.  Let us let the light of hope shine for all those in need as we work together to bring about God’s kingdom in our Eparchy.

Yours in Christ,

Most Rev. Michael Smolinski, C.Ss.R., Eparch of Saskatoon