I have been reading and praying on the message of Pope Francis for Lent 2018. Last week I shared some thoughts on his message in this column. Today I want to continue and conclude these thoughts and reflections.
What are we to do? The Holy Father asks whether we see within ourselves and all about us signs that love is growing cold in our communities. These signs would include selfishness and spiritual sloth, sterile pessimism, the temptation to self-absorption, constant warring among ourselves, and a worldly mentality that makes us concerned only for appearances, and thus lessens our missionary zeal. He remarks that the Church, our Mother and Teacher, along with the often bitter medicine of the truth, offers us during the Lenten season the soothing remedy of prayer, almsgiving, and fasting.
The Holy Father encourages us to spend more time in prayer during Lent. By doing so, we enable our hearts to root out our secret lies and forms of self-deception, and then to find the consolation that God offers. God does this because He is our Father and he wants us to live well.
Almsgiving sets us free from greed and helps us to regard our neighbor as a brother or sister. What we possess is never ours alone. The Holy Father would like to see almsgiving become a genuine style of life for each of us. He would like to see us, as Christians, follow the example of the Apostles and see in the sharing of our possessions a tangible witness of the communion that is ours in the Church! For this reason, Pope Francis echoes Saint Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians to take up a collection for the community as something from which they themselves would benefit (cf. 2 Cor. 8:10). This is all the more fitting during Lent when so many groups take up collections to assist. Yet the Holy Father also hopes that, even in our daily encounters with those who beg for our assistance, we would see such requests as coming from God himself. When we give alms, we share in God’s providential care for each of children. If through me God helps someone today, will be not tomorrow provide for my own needs? For no one is more generous than God.
Fasting weakens our tendency toward violence. Fasting disarms us and becomes an important opportunity for growth. On the one hand, it allows us to experience what the destitute and starving have to endure. On the other hand, it expresses our spiritual hunger and thirst for life in God. Fasting wakes us up. It makes us more attentive to God and our neighbor. It revives our desire to obey God, who alone is capable of satisfying our hunger.
The Holy Father would also like to extend his invitation beyond the bounds of the Catholic Church, and to reach all men and women of good will who are open to hearing God’s voice. Perhaps they are disturbed by the spread of iniquity throughout the world. Perhaps they are concerned about the chill that paralyzes hearts and actions. Perhaps they see a weakening in our sense of being members of the one human family. Pope Francis hopes that we all could raise our plea to God in fasting and in offering whatever we can to our brothers and sisters in need!
The Fire of Easter
Pope Francis urges the members of the Church to take up the Lenten journey with enthusiasm, sustained by almsgiving, fasting, and prayer. He reminds us that if, at times, the flame of charity seems to die in our own hearts, we should know that this is never the case in the heart of God! God constantly gives us a chance to begin loving anew.
One such moment of grace will be, again this year, the “24 Hours with the Lord” initiative, which invites the entire Church community to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the context of Eucharistic adoration. In 2018, inspired by the words of Psalm 130:4, “With you is forgiveness,” this will take place from Friday, March 9 to Saturday, March 10. In each diocese, at least one church will remain open for twenty-four consecutive hours, offering an opportunity for both Eucharistic adoration and sacramental confession.
The Holy Father concludes with the reminder that during the Easter Vigil, we will celebrate once more the lighting of the Easter candle, Drawn from the “new fire,” this light will slowly overcome the darkness and illuminate the assembly gathered for the sacred liturgy. We will hear the stirring words, “May the light of Christ rising in glory dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds.” This will enable us to relive the experience of the disciples on the way to Emmaus. Pope Francis hopes that by our listening to God’s word and drawing nourishment from the table of the Eucharist, our hearts may be ever more ardent in faith, hope, and love.