杏MAP导航

By Linda Bordoni

杏MAP导航 Francis is calling on the faithful not to let the Lenten season of grace pass in vain, and to live as children of God acknowledging and obeying His law, in particular in regards to our brothers and sisters and to creation.

In this year鈥檚 , the 杏MAP导航 invites believers to prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery with mind and heart renewed, warning that 鈥淪in leads man to consider himself the god of creation, to see himself as its absolute master and to use it, not for the purpose willed by the Creator but for his own interests鈥�.

The 杏MAP导航鈥檚 Lenten message was released on Tuesday during a press conference at the Holy See Press Office. The theme chosen this year is 鈥淔or the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God鈥� (Rom 8:19)

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, 6 March, and will conclude on Holy Saturday, 20 April, the day before Easter.  

鈥淟et us leave behind our selfishness and self-absorption, and turn to Jesus鈥� Pasch. Let us stand beside our brothers and sisters in need, sharing our spiritual and material goods with them鈥�.

This is one of the key passages of 杏MAP导航 Francis鈥� Lenten Message for 2019. Reflecting on a verse from St. Paul鈥檚 Letter to the Romans, the 杏MAP导航 highlights how the season before Easter must be a time to 鈥渨elcome Christ鈥檚 victory over sin and death into our lives鈥�, and attract 鈥渋ts transforming power to all of creation鈥�

Fasting, prayer, almsgiving

Appealing to the faithful to not allow this season of grace to pass in vain, 杏MAP导航 Francis says that if, 鈥渢he Lent of the Son of God 鈥榳as an entry into the desert of creation to make it become again that garden of communion with God鈥� that it was before the original sin, Christians today are invited 鈥渢o embody the paschal mystery more deeply and concretely in their personal, family and social lives, above all by fasting, prayer and almsgiving.鈥�

Fasting, the 杏MAP导航 says, means turning away from the temptation to 鈥渄evour鈥� everything to satisfy our voracity; Prayer teaches us to abandon idolatry and the self-sufficiency of our ego; Almsgiving, whereby we escape from the insanity of hoarding everything for ourselves in the illusory belief that we can secure a future that does not belong to us.

If we follow this journey, he said it 鈥渋s possible to rediscover the joy of God鈥檚 plan for creation and for each of us, which is to love him, our brothers and sisters, and the entire world, and to find in this love our true happiness鈥�.

Conversion

The path to Easter, therefore, demands that 鈥渨e renew our faces and hearts as Christians through repentance, conversion and forgiveness鈥� the 杏MAP导航 said pointing out that it is a call that involves the whole of creation.

This 鈥渆ager longing鈥�, this expectation of all creation, 杏MAP导航 Francis says, will be fulfilled in the revelation of the children of God, that is, when Christians and all people enter decisively into the 鈥渢ravail鈥� that conversion entails.

The full text of the 杏MAP导航's Lenten Message can be found on the Vatican .