Lent 2025

Lent 2025 – Door of Mercy

Spes Non Confundit (Hope Does Not Disappoint) -Pope Francis

Pope Francis refers to those in prison when he writes, “During the Holy Year, we are called to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind. I think of prisoners who, deprived of their freedom, daily feel the harshness of detention and its restrictions, lack of affection, and, in more than a few cases, lack of respect for their persons. I propose that in this Jubilee Year, governments undertake initiatives aimed at restoring hope; forms of amnesty or pardon meant to help individuals regain confidence in themselves and society; and programs of reintegration in the community, including a concrete commitment to respect for the law.”

This Lent, the Family of Five Parishes will focus on this message from Pope Francis. He has designated a set of Holy Doors at the Rebibbia Prison on the outskirts of Rome as “a symbol of all the prisons dispersed throughout the world” to deliver a message of hope to prisoners.

Our Lenten Almsgiving theme, Door of Mercy, will center on prison ministries; supporting the Cathedral Prison Ministry, local re-entry programs here in our community, and take a more significant step toward a global prison ministry for La Sagrada Familia in the Dominican Republic (sister parish of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist).

We will also offer Rice Bowls for Catholic Relief Services, which serves millions of our most vulnerable sisters and brothers who face life-threatening levels of hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition. In the coming weeks, you will see and hear more presentations about how to financially assist these programs.

We are hosting three talks for adults (and older children at their parents’ discretion) on the topic as well as a book club. If you are interested in the book club, please contact Deacon Tom Hunt at thunt@ffpmke.org.

"Waiting Together" Book Groups - March 3, 10, 17

March 11 - Restorative Justice: “Healing Through Dialogue and Accountability”
Presenter: Judge Mary E. Triggiano. Director of Andrew Center for Restorative Justice & Clinical Professor of Law

March 19 - “Vengeance or Justice”
Presenter: Adam Procell, Founding Partner at Paradigm Shyft LLC

March 25 - “Living in a New Kind of Normal"
Presenter: Carol Kent, Founder of Speak Up Ministries and mother

Lenten Almsgiving

Our Lenten Almsgiving will focus on prison ministry, families of the incarcerated, and re-entry programs locally and worldwide. In this Jubilee Year 2025, “Pilgrims in Hope,” Pope Francis has designated a set of Holy Doors at Rome’s Rebibbia Prison. Pope Francis invites us to contemplate the belief of a Holy Door, a “Door of Mercy,” in which anyone who enters will experience the love of God who consoles, pardons, and instills hope.

Your financial contributions will help support the prison ministry at the Cathedral, local re-entry programs, and La Sagrada Familia prison ministry in the Dominican Republic. You can participate in one of the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy, where the Catholic Church embraces kindness and charity aimed at relieving the physical suffering of others, as in “Visiting the Imprisoned.” You will find envelopes at each parish’s entryway, or you can donate online; 100% of your financial gift will go to support these ministries.

If you’d like to support this almsgiving campaign, please write a check to Cathedral of St. John and write “Prison Ministry” in the memo line. Or donate online.