Pope: Lent should be ‘a time of encounter’ with Christ through ‘works of mercy’
Today, Ash Wednesday, Leo XIV spoke about Lent, a time of “true conversion” on the path to Easter, which is “the supreme revelation of God's merciful love” to be “interiorly renewed”. In his catechesis on Lumen Gentium, he said that "differences are relativized” in the liturgy, while “the Love of Christ [. . .] broke down the wall of separation between people and social groups.”
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Today, Ash Wednesday, Leo XIV spoke at the general audience in St Peter's Square, mentioning in various languages the start of Lent in his greetings to the faithful.
In his address to German pilgrims, he urged the faithful to “Welcome with an open heart the graces” the Lord “wishes to give us in this time of Lent, so that they may bear abundant fruits of salvation for us and for our brothers and sisters.”
This was followed by greetings for Portuguese-speaking pilgrims. “On this day of fasting and prayer, we begin our journey,” Leo said. Thus, “May the Lord [. . .] lead us to true conversion.”
As usual, the pope also turned his thoughts to young people, the sick, and newlyweds. "At the beginning of Lent,” he said in Italian, “I urge you to live this liturgical season with an intense spirit of prayer, so as to arrive, interiorly renewed, at the celebration of the great mystery of Christ's Easter, the supreme revelation of God's merciful love.”
Addressing Polish pilgrims, he mentioned the 95th anniversary of the first apparition to Saint Faustina Kowalska. “May Lent be a time of encounter with Christ through the Sacrament of Penance and works of mercy," he said.
This afternoon, Pope Leo XIV will begin the Lenten journey towards Easter (which falls on Sunday, 5 April this year) with a procession from the Roman Church of Sant'Anselmo to the Basilica of Santa Sabina.
He will also preside Holy Mass, with the blessing and imposition of ashes, scheduled for 5:00 pm today.
At the start of today’s audience, Leo continued his series of catechises on The Documents of Vatican Council II, centring his reflection on the dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium, promulgated by Paul VI in 1964.
With it, the Church took care to explain its “origins”, choosing the term "mystery” from the Letters of Saint Paul. With it, the Apostle to the Gentiles sought “to indicate a reality that was previously hidden and is now revealed,” Leo said.
This “refers to God’s plan, which has a purpose: to unify all creatures thanks to the reconciliatory action of Jesus Christ, an action that was accomplished in his death on the cross,” the pope explained.
This is experienced in the assembly gathered for the liturgical celebration, where “differences are relativized, and what counts is being together because we are drawn by the Love of Christ, who broke down the wall of separation between people and social groups,” he said.
“The condition of humanity is one of fragmentation that human beings are unable to repair, even though the tendency towards unity dwells in their heart. The action of Jesus Christ enters into this condition through the power of the Holy Spirit, and overcomes the powers of division and the Divider himself”.
“Gathering together to celebrate, having believed in the proclamation of the Gospel, is experienced as an attraction exerted by the cross of Christ [. . .]. It is feeling called together by God”, a “convocation” that is not intended for a small group of people, but “is destined to become the experience of all human beings”.
In fact, Lumen gentium says that “the Church is in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race”. And the term sacrament indicates “that the Church is an expression of what God wants to accomplish,” that his “plan, the mystery.”
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