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February 23, 2023Abu Dhabi.
Today we begin the journey of holy lent that leads us to the joy of Easter. These days must profoundly mark our Christian life. Lent is given to us for our spiritual renewal.
The decisive word of every Lenten journey is ‘conversion’. Let us remember the meaning of this expression that we find so many times in the Gospel: to convert means, above all, to look no longer at ourselves but to look at Jesus, learning from him a new way of living. Conversion indicates the need for a spiritual change, interrupting from the paths that take us away from the Lord, that makes us remain closed within ourselves, and return to the way of life and the Gospel.
The path of Lent asks us to question ourselves profoundly, to let ourselves be changed in the depths of our hearts, and to change our way of thinking and acting.
Now we will also experience the ritual of imposition of ashes: in this gesture, we express our awareness to be sinners and in need of God's forgiveness. We express our desire for conversion and to believe in the Gospel. Lent is the time to review our relationship with God, ourselves, and others.
In his message for Lent, Pope Francis invites us to Lenten penance from the perspective of the synodal journey that the whole Church has been experiencing in recent years. What does it mean, first, to live the Lenten penance?
Here are the Pope's words: “Lenten penance is a commitment, sustained by grace, to overcome our lack of faith and our resistance to following Jesus on the way of the cross. …To deepen our knowledge of the Master, to fully understand and embrace the mystery of his salvation, accomplished in total self-giving inspired by love, we must allow ourselves to be taken aside by him and to detach ourselves from mediocrity and vanity. We need to set out on the journey, an uphill path that, like a mountain trek, requires effort, sacrifice, and concentration”.
The Gospel reminds us of three typical gestures of the Lenten journey: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. But in the Gospel, Jesus also teaches us the right spirit to carry out these gestures. We don't make these gestures to show off, to make others appreciate us. We must carry out these gestures in simplicity and with a humble heart. In this way, they help us to take important steps. The invitation to fast calls us to a sober life that looks to what is essential. I invite you to make some renounces to feel the hunger and thirst for God in our hearts. Only God responds to the deep desires that dwell in our hearts.
Prayer teaches us to deepen our personal and community relationship with the Lord. I invite you to pray faithfully in this season of Lent. Pray alone and also together as a family. Find a moment each day to pray. I ask you to be faithful to the Holy Mass on Sundays and whenever possible, I also invite you to participate during the week. It is beautiful to join the community in the church for the Mass.
Jesus also invites us to almsgiving. It is an invitation to charity, to share what we can with those in need. We are not made to remain closed in on ourselves. We exist to be loved and to love. During this time of Lent, I invite you to make some gestures of love toward someone who needs your help. These gestures that the time of lent invites us to make will help us to arrive ready for Easter to celebrate Jesus' victory over evil and death.
Finally, we welcome Pope Francis' invitation to make the Lenten journey a synodal journey. Being a synodal Church means being a people of God walking together, never alone. Therefore, I invite you in this time of Lent to participate more intensely in the Church's life through the proposed initiatives: moments of prayer and retreat.
To be truly a synodal Church, we can commit ourselves to invite to the Church those friends and acquaintances who no longer come to the Church, inviting them to participate in some spiritual meetings.
Let's go towards Easter together, not alone. Let's rediscover that together. We are the people of God who follow Jesus on the way to the cross to participate in the joy of the resurrection.
We entrust our journey to the Mother of God, who follows Jesus to Calvary. May Holy Mary support us on our Lenten journey to participate fully in the joy of Easter.