Presiding Bishop

A 2026 Message of Hope for Lent from the PCC

My dear friends in Christ and Faith,

This coming Wednesday, the Priests and Deacons all over the world, including myself with place ashes on the foreheads of the faithful. We will say, “remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return”. 

Never have those words been more meaningful for me. This Lent arrives for me in a season of personal sorrow. My little sister Nancy, who was a “holy firecracker” left this world on her birthday, Dec. 3rd., less than 3 months ago. Losing someone I love has left an empty space that no prayer, no ritual, and no words can immediately fill. Grief has a way of slowing the world down, of making even familiar paths feel unfamiliar. And yet, it is precisely here—in the quiet, in the ache, in the unanswered questions—that Lent speaks its deepest truth. 

Lent is not a journey reserved for the strong. It is a path for the brokenhearted, the weary, the searching. For those of us in the PCC (Progressive Catholic Church) it’s a gentle reminder that God does some of His most transformative work in the wilderness. When we feel stripped of certainty, when we feel the weight of absence, God is not far away; most often, He is closer than we dare to believe. This is a long and winding journey for many of us, and I am beyond grateful to be on it with you. But, just for today, and do this one day at a time for these days of lent. Try to live through one day only, try to be happy, try to open you mind, heart and your soul. Most of all, try to be unafraid and search for the beautiful, the lovely, and grace of God that can be standing right in front of us.

In these forty days, Christ invites us not to pretend we are unhurt, but to bring our hurt to God. God walked the road of suffering not to remove ours, but to walk it with us. The cross is not a symbol of defeat—it is the promise that love is stronger than death, and that every Good Friday carries within it the seed of Easter morning.

If you, too, are carrying grief, confusion, brokenness or loneliness this Lent, know that you are not alone. Let this season be a time not of forced cheerfulness, but of honest surrender. Let it be a time to rest in God’s presence, even if all you can offer God is your tears. He receives them tenderly. And though resurrection may feel far away, it is coming. Not always quickly, not always in the way we expect, but always with the quiet certainty of dawn breaking after the longest night. 

Paul tells the Roman over 2000 years ago, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by renewing your own minds.

May this Lent be for all of us a journey toward healing, toward hope, and toward the God who never stops drawing life out of loss. May you find someone on this journey this year, to hold your hand, to offer comfort and support, to be with you as together we search for love, faith and

HOPE.

May God love your all, President Bishop of the PCC, Rt. Rev. Joseph Lee Ciccone, Jr.