By Hannah Brockhaus
In his message for Lent, Pope Francis emphasized the importance of living one’s life as a constant journey of conversion, choosing to walk in peace and hope aside one’s fellow humans.
“May the hope that does not disappoint, the central message of the jubilee, be the focus of our Lenten journey toward the victory of Easter,” the pope said in the message, released Feb. 25.
He also quoted Saint Paul’s exclamation in the first letter to the Corinthians: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
Though Pope Francis is in Gemelli Hospital to receive treatment for multiple respiratory infections, his Lenten message is dated Feb. 6, well ahead of his hospitalization Feb. 14.
The season of Lent will begin on Ash Wednesday, March 5.
In his message, the pontiff wrote that this Lent is an opportunity to consider three areas where one may be in greater need of conversion: journeying with others, being synodal and having hope.
“A first call to conversion,” he said, “comes from the realization that all of us are pilgrims in this life; each of us is invited to stop and ask how our lives reflect this fact. Am I really on a journey, or am I standing still, not moving, either immobilized by fear and hopelessness or reluctant to move out of my comfort zone? Am I seeking ways to leave behind the occasions of sin and situations that degrade my dignity?”
On the virtue of hope, Pope Francis quoted the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which calls hope the “sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.”
“Thanks to God’s love in Jesus Christ, we are sustained in the hope that does not disappoint,” the pope said, adding that hope “moves the Church to pray for ‘everyone to be saved’ (1 Tm 2:4) and to look forward to her being united with Christ, her bridegroom, in the glory of heaven.”
He recalled a prayer of Saint Teresa of Ávila, to “hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one.”
Pope Francis also encouraged Catholics to be more synodal by journeying with others while avoiding self-absorption, exclusion, oppressing and excluding others, or being envious and hypocritical.
He said the call to hope and trust in God and in eternal life is also an important aspect of Lenten conversion. Some questions to ponder include: “Am I convinced that the Lord forgives my sins? Or do I act as if I can save myself? Do I long for salvation and call upon God’s help to attain it? Do I concretely experience the hope that enables me to interpret the events of history and inspires in me a commitment to justice and fraternity, to care for our common home and in such a way that no one feels excluded?”
“This Lent, God is asking us to examine whether in our lives, in our families, in the places where we work and spend our time, we are capable of walking together with others, listening to them, resisting the temptation to become self-absorbed and to think only of our own needs,” he said.
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