Lenten Pastoral Letter 2026

Lent has begun, and we are reminded once again by those solemn words of Ash Wednesday: ‘Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’ Such words are particularly heavy for us in Hong Kong, who have just witnessed the tragedy of the Tai Po fire. The flames burned away those things we thought were unchangeable, and jolted us awake from our past assumptions of safety. What was left were ashes, reminding us that all the things we depend on and hold dear can one day be wiped away in an instant. The whole city is exhausted by the tragedy – some lost their family, some their homes, and even more lost their faith in the future. A silent question now dwells in the hearts of many:

In times such as these, why should I hold on to faith and hope?

Journeying from the ashes to Christ’s miracle of Passover

The spirit of Lent does not mean that we should be kept chained by the ashes. The ashes are there to reveal to us our over-confidence, and force us to face our own weaknesses and limitations. The scriptures never deny the fact that ‘we are dust’, but the Christian faith proclaims an even deeper truth: the dust and ashes are not our ultimate destination. The essence of Lent is not in the ashes themselves, but in them guiding us in entering Christ’s miracle of Passover – that is, his passion, death, and resurrection. In Christ, death is deprived of its finality. From Genesis, we see that dust is the starting point of creation; and in the gospels, the grave is overturned. Thus, Lent not only confirms our mortality, but it also goes beyond that, and invites us to walk with Christ, through the cross, and reaching the resurrection that is awaiting us on the other side. We are called to suffer as Christ did, that our past selves may welcome death, and our new life may begin together with him, who is resurrected on Easter.

Fasting, praying, and almsgiving: ways of transforming and practising our spiritual life

In church tradition, the three main observances of Lent are: praying, fasting, and almsgiving. These are not uncoordinated acts, but a deliberate practice that renews our relationship with God and others, bringing our whole lives into the transformation of Christ’s Passover.

Prayer deepens our relationship with God: Prayer is not escapism. It is the honest presentation of our own fears, doubts, grief, and powerlessness before God. Even if we are in a loss of words, the Holy Spirit remains with us, and intercedes with sighs too deep for words. (Romans 8:26)

Fasting and abstinence, welcoming Christ as our king while our old self is crucified with him: Fasting is not the categorical denial of the flesh, but rather the learning process where we reject our slavery to fear, anger, and desires. As such, it is a practice of ‘dying with Christ’, allowing him to become the centre of our lives.

Almsgiving as a witness to resurrection: Almsgiving is not a moral obligation, but a response to our Lord, who loved us first when we are still weak and deprived. After the trauma of tragedy, if we choose to remain sympathetic to others, rejecting our own indifference, and putting into action our care for others, then we are surely bearing witness to our resurrected Lord.

We do not observe Lent alone, for Lent is a pilgrimage for the whole church

Lent is never meant to be a solitary and lonesome time when Christians take up penitential practices by themselves. It is a time when the whole church embark on a pilgrimage towards resurrection. We keep company of each other as we share in our Lenten practices of repentance, bearing the cross of Christ as we journey towards the new resurrected life that we share in him. In the aftermath of the Tai Po fire, and in the accumulated exhaustion of our city of Hong Kong, may this Lent be a time when we rediscover three lessons of old:

May this Lent unshackle us from the ashes! By the miracle of Christ’s Passover, may hope be rekindled from the burnt ashes, as we journey towards life and resurrection.

++Andrew Chan       +Timothy Kwok       +Matthias Der