By Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
During the 40-day religious observation of Lenten period for the Catholic faithful, Pope Francis in his Lenten message has highlighted prayer and conversion as key obligations which need to be observed keenly during this period.
“Prayer is so important in Lent,” Pope Francis stated in his Lenten message released Monday, February 24, and continued, “Even more than a duty, prayer is an expression of our need to respond to God’s love which always precedes and sustains us.”
“Christians pray in the knowledge that, although unworthy, we are still loved. Prayer can take any number of different forms, but what truly matters in God’s eyes is that it penetrates deep within us and chips away at our hardness of heart, in order to convert us ever more fully to God and to His will,” the Pontiff noted.
Lent which is a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving for the Catholic faithful is a period prior to the celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection. Pope Francis reminds Catholics that, “The more fully we are engaged with his (God’s) word, the more we will experience the mercy he freely gives us. May we not let this time of grace pass in vain, in the foolish illusion that we can control the times and means of our conversion to him.”
Explaining the basis of conversion in his 2020 Lenten message, Pope Francis says, “Christian joy flows from listening to, and accepting, the Good News of the death and resurrection of Jesus.” This he added, “Sums up the mystery of a love “so real, so true, so concrete, that it invites us to a relationship of openness and fruitful dialogue.”
“Whoever believes this message rejects the lie that our life is ours to do with as we will. Rather, life is born of the love of God our Father, from his desire to grant us life in abundance (and) if we listen instead to the tempting voice of the ‘father of lies’, we risk sinking into the abyss of absurdity, and experiencing hell here on earth, as all too many tragic events in the personal and collective human experience sadly bear witness,” he stated.
He quotes Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit (Christ is alive) where he reminded the Catholic faithful of continuous conversion and to embrace God’s mercy which frees us of guilt.
“Keep your eyes fixed on the outstretched arms of Christ crucified, let yourself be saved over and over again. And when you go to confess your sins, believe firmly in his mercy which frees you of your guilt. Contemplate his blood poured out with such great love, and let yourself be cleansed by it. In this way, you can be reborn ever anew.”
Pope encourages a life of sharing and discourages a self-centered life saying, “Putting the paschal mystery at the centre of our lives means feeling compassion towards the wounds of the crucified Christ present in the many innocent victims of wars, in attacks on life, from that of the unborn to that of the elderly, and various forms of violence. They are likewise present in environmental disasters, the unequal distribution of the earth’s goods, human trafficking in all its forms, and the unbridled thirst for profit, which is a form of idolatry.”
“There is a need to appeal to men and women of good will to share, by almsgiving, their goods with those most in need, as a means of personally participating in the building of a better world,” he noted and added, “Charitable giving makes us more human, whereas hoarding risks making us less human, imprisoned by our own selfishness.”
The Lenten period began on Ash Wednesday, February 26 and will run for 40 days before the Catholics celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 12.
The Pope concludes his Lenten Message, “I ask Mary Most Holy to pray that our Lenten celebration will open our hearts to hear God’s call to be reconciled to himself, to fix our gaze on the paschal mystery, and to be converted to an open and sincere dialogue with him.”