Dear Fred Smith,                                                                            February 1, 2023
With Ash Wednesday approaching on Wednesday, February 22nd, the Lenten season will soon be here. St Augustine of Hippo said, “It is not a simple matter of living through forty days; Lent is the epitome of our whole life.”  Lent is a time of repentance and penance. It is a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. A sort of spring cleaning of our lives. The distribution of ashes reminds us of our own mortality and calls us to repentance. During Lent we strive to turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel and the words of Jesus. St Teresa of Calcutta said “As Lent is the time for greater love, listen to Jesus … He knows your weakness. He wants only your love, wants only the chance to love you. 
Lent is a time to for us to repent and to ask God for forgiveness. Equally important, it is also a time to ask for God’s help to ensure that we do his will in the future. In other words, we ask God not only, “What can I do to make up for my sins?”, but also “What actions can I take in the future in an effort to do your good works?”  What new or better things should I be doing?
As I have noted in the past, St Francis of Assisi said: Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
Now something new. Most of us give up something for Lent. It may be cake, cookies, desserts, coffee, or some other thing which acts as your own personal penance. This Lenten season I want to ask each of you to do something additional each day of Lent. The last 2 years I have posted a new daily Lenten penance on Facebook: Monday -Saturday. (Sundays off) These are small things to do, or not do, and they change daily. One day it may be to say one decade of the rosary, another day it may be no fast food and another it may be no caffeine products. The point is that the act of penance is different each day. I am asking each of you to commit to go to the Opus Bono Facebook page each day and to complete the daily act of penance and post your thoughts as to how it is going.
Unfortunately, many of the priests whom we serve are required to suffer their penance every day of the year. They are cutoff from their church, from their parishes and from their brother priests. An OBS retreat offers a sense of community. As Father William wrote to me describing an OBS retreat;” …to be with other men struggling, hurting, questioning- who find themselves at the foot of the cross, or sometimes on the cross next to Jesus like the good thief- that’s so powerful to experience and a memory that lasts until the next retreat.”
The things we are trying to do here at Opus Bono are difficult but they are possible and are necessary. Trying to help priests when the Catholic Church is under daily attack by society can often seem impossible. With your help as our Partner in Mission however, we know that we can do what is necessary and possible and, with the help of God, we can achieve that which is impossible.
Fred, in thanksgiving for all the priests like Father William who have given so much in holy service to the Church and God’s people, would you please consider offering your most generous gift to help these priests? 

With prayers from Mary the Mother of Priests,

 John Smith – President
                                                Opus Bono Sacerdotii
P. S. xxxNAMExxx  your offering of $100 or your most generous gift, is needed to aid priests like Father William, who depend on your goodness and caring assistance.  Your generosity and prayers extend a heart of mercy, a light of hope and a voice of comfort during their darkest, most depressing hours.
P.P.S. - Opus Bono is not registered to solicit in CA, DC, IL, NC or ND. If you live in one of these states, we ask only for your prayers. Please do not consider this a solicitation for a donation. But please take the time to complete and return the prayer slip included with this letter. We still want to include your prayer intentions when the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered in Our Lady of Priests Chapel for our Partners in Mission!
In the account presented here, the priest’s name has been changed to protect his privacy.
Opus Bono Sacerdotii
“Work for the Good of the Priesthood”