VATICAN CITY — Lent is a time for deeper dialogue with God
through prayer, for renewed gratitude for God's mercy and for increased
compassion for people whose lives are under attack, Pope Francis said.
Also, people must not only show generosity through charitable
giving, but they should also work for a real structural change to today's
"economic life," the pope said in his annual message for Lent, which
began Feb. 26 for Latin-rite Catholics.
The text of the pope's message was released by the Vatican Feb.
24.
Contemplating the great mystery of the death and resurrection of
Jesus and putting it at the center of one's life "means feeling compassion
toward 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," the pope said in his message.
These wounds 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," he said.
Not only are Christians called to generously share the richness
of the Gospel and gifts from God, "today, too, 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 said.
"Charitable giving makes us more human, whereas hoarding
risks making us less human, imprisoned by our own selfishness," he said.
"We can and must go even further, and consider the
structural aspects of our economic life," he said.
That is why, the pope said, he called for a meeting during Lent
with "young economists, entrepreneurs and change-makers with the aim of
shaping a more just and inclusive economy." The meeting was set to take
place in Assisi March 26-28, but was postponed due to the coronavirus.
The theme of the pope's message, "We implore you on behalf
of Christ, be reconciled to God," was taken from the Second Letter of St.
Paul to the Corinthians (5:20), which reflects the invitation to return to God
through constant conversion and reconciliation, and experience new life in
Christ.
"Life is born of the love of God our father, from his desire
to grant us life in abundance," Pope Francis wrote.
"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 said.
"Despite the sometimes tragic presence of evil in our lives
and in the life of the church and the world," he wrote, "this
opportunity to change our course expresses God's unwavering will not to
interrupt his dialogue of salvation with us" and his desire that people
also engage in fruitful dialogue with each other.
God's dialogue with humanity "has nothing to do with empty
chatter," which "characterizes worldliness in every age; in our own
day, it can also result in improper use of the media," he said. At
a news conference to present the message, Cardinal Peter Turkson further
elaborated on what an improper use of media would look like.
The head of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human
Development told reporters that different forms of communication can either
promote content that is "empty" or "rich" in that it helps
build up human character and society or fosters new ideas.
For example, he said, when media outlets cover certain tragic
events, like the coronavirus or wars and conflict, they might actually be
setting up a kind of "barrier" between the event and the people
hearing about it.
"You see something is happening but at the same time you can
see that you are not involved," as if the person is above it all and
untouched by others' circumstances, the cardinal said.
Instead what is needed is a situation where after seeing and
hearing about such events, people feel inspired or driven to try to get
involved or do something useful to help the situation, he said.
Pope Francis asked in his message that the Lenten season lead to
people opening their 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" so that everyone become "what Christ
asks his disciples to be: the salt of the earth and the light of the
world."
Read the full text
The text of the pope's message in English is online at: w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/lent/documents/papa-francesco_20191007_messaggio-quaresima2020.html
The text of the pope's message in Spanish is online at:
w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/es/messages/lent/documents/papa-francesco_20191007_messaggio-quaresima2020.html