Lent A New Beginning Spiritual Reflections by Pope
First Sunday of Lent: A time for Combat
“The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan.” - Mark 1:12-13
In Jesus’ 40 days of solitude in the wilderness, he confronts Satan and unmasks his temptations and conquers him. Lent is a time of combat! A spiritual combat against the spirit of evil. We place ourselves decisively on the path of Jesus, the road that leads to life. Jesus’ path passes through the desert, the place where the voice of God and the voice of the tempter can be heard, where our destiny is truly played out, life or death. And how do we hear God’s voice? We hear it in his Word. For this reason, it is important to know scripture, because otherwise we do not know how to react to the snares of the Evil One. So read the Gospel every day! Meditate on it for a little while, for 10 minutes. And also carry it with you in your pocket or in your purse. The Lenten desert helps us to say “no” to the worldliness, and to the “idols,” it helps us to make courageous choices in accordance with the Gospel and to strengthen solidarity with others.
How might I better rely on scripture to follow the example of Jesus’ courage to confront evil?
Second Sunday of Lent A Time for Change
“And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.” – Matthew 17:2
Transfigured on Mount Tabor, Jesus wanted to show his disciples his glory, not for them to circumvent the cross, but the show where the cross leads. Those who died with Jesus, shall rise again with Jesus. The cross is the door to resurrection. Whoever struggles alongside him will triumph with him. This is the message of hope contained in Jesus’ cross, urging us to be strong in our existence. The Christian cross is not the furnishings of a house or adornments to wear but rather a call to the love with which Jesus sacrificed himself to save Humanity from Evil and Sin. In this Lenten season, we contemplate with devotion the image of the crucifix, Jesus on the cross: this is the symbol of Christians faith, the emblem of Jesus who died and rose for us. Let us ensure that the cross marks the stages of our Lenten journey in order to understand ever better the seriousness of sin and the value of the sacrifice by which the savior has saved us all.
How does Jesus’ example in suffering help me deal with my suffering?
Third Sunday of Lent A Time to Cleanse our Hearts
“Give up your faults and direct your hands rightly, and cleanse your heart from all sin” -Sirach 38:10
In this time of Lent we are preparing for the celebration of Easter, when we will renew the promises of our baptism. Let us walk in the world as Jesus did, and let us make our whole existence of sign of our love for others, especially the weakest and poorest. Let us build for God a temple of our lives and make it approachable for those who we find along our journey. If we are witnesses of the living Christ, so many people will encounter Jesus in us, in our witness. But does the Lord feel at home in my life? Do we allow him to “cleanse” our hearts and to drive out the idols, those attitudes of cupidity, jealousy, worldliness, envy, hatred, those habits of gossiping and tearing down others. Do I allow him to cleanse all the behaviors that are against God, against our neighbor, and against ourselves? Jesus cleanses with tenderness, mercy, love. Mercy is his way of cleansing. Let us, each of us, let us allow the Lord to enter with his mercy to cleanse our hearts.
What most hinders God from coming to dwell in the temple of my heart?
4th Sunday of Lent A Time to Bond with Jesus
"Whoever who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." -Matthew 10:37
Jesus underscores two essential aspects for the life of a missionary disciple: the first, that his bond with Jesus is stronger than any other bond; the second, that the missionary brings not himself, but Jesus, and through him the love of the heavenly father. These two aspects are connected, because the more Jesus is at the center of the heart and of the life of a disciple, the more this disciple is transparent to his presence. The two go hand in hand. The condition of a disciple demands an all-absorbing relationship with the teacher. Perhaps the first question that we must ask is: "Do you meet with Jesus? Do you pray to Jesus?" Those who allow themselves to be drawn into this bond of love and of life with the Lord Jesus become his representatives, his ambassadors, above all in their way of living, to the point that Jesus himself, in sending his disciples on mission, say to them: "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me." (Mt 10:40). It is important that the people be able to perceive that for a disciple Jesus is truly "the Lord." He is truly the center of his or her life.
What has most helped me strengthen my bond of love with Jesus this Lent?
5th Sunday of Lent
A Time to be Forgiven
" We had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found." - Luke 15:32
Jesus' parable of the prodigal son and the loving father presents the true face of God, who with open arms deals with sinners with tenderness and compassion. The parable manifests the infinite love of God who enfolds in a close embrace the son who has been found. The path to return home is the path of hope and new life. God always expects us to resume our journey, awaiting us with patience, seeing us when we are still a long way off, running to meet us, embracing us, kissing us, forgiving us. That is how God our father is. God's forgiveness cancelsthe past and regenerates us in love. When God embraces us, God forgives us and forgets the past. When we convert and let ourselves be re-encountered by God, reproach and sternness do not await us, because God saves and welcomes us home again with joy and prepares a feast. This fills us with a great hope because there is no sin into which we may have fallen, from which, with the grace of God, we cannot rise up again. There is never a person who can't be recovered. No one is irrecoverable because God never stops wanting our good-even when we sin!
When have I most experienced God' forgiveness and loving mercy?
Palm Sunday A time to Follow Jesus
“If any want to become my followers let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23
Holy Week begins with a festive procession with olive branches as all the people welcome Jesus. But this week continues to the mystery of Jesus' death and resurrection. But what does living Holy Week mean to us? What does following Jesus on his journey to Calvary on his way to the cross and the resurrection mean? In his earthly mission Jesus walked the roads of the Holy Land. He called 12 regular people to stay with him, to share his journey and to continue his mission. He chose them from among the people full of faith in God's promises. He spoke to all without distinction: the great and the lowly, the rich young man and the poor widow, the powerful and the weak. He brought God's mercy and forgiveness. He healed, comforted, understood, gave hope, brought to all the presence of God who cares for every man and every woman, just as a good father and a good mother care for each one of their children. God does not wait for us to go to him but it is he who moves towards us, without calculation, without quantification. That is what God is like. God always takes the first step, God comes towards us .
What cross my Jesus be asking me to take up now in my life ?
Easter Sunday A Time for New Life
“Go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen.” Matthew 28:7
We feel as if this invitation is also directed to us to announce to the men and women of our times this message of joy and hope because Jesus who was crucified, is raised. Death no longer has the last word. The tomb does not have the last word. Life does! This is our certainty. In light of this event which constitutes the true and real news of history and the cosmos, we are called to be new men and women in accordance with the Spirit, confirming the value of life. We will be men and women of Resurrection, men and women of life, if in the mist of events that afflict the world today, in the midst of worldliness which distances us from God, we will know how to offer gestures of solidarity and gestures of welcome, strengthening the universal desire for peace and the hope for an environment free from degradation. These are common and human signs, which if supported and kept alive by faith in the risen Lord, acquire a power that is well beyond our abilities. And this is so because Christ is alive and working in history through his holy spirit. he redeems our shortcomings and reaches each human heart and gives back hope to whomever is oppressed and suffering.
How have I most experienced Christ alive and working in me and my life now through his holy spirit?