In preparation for this holy season, I read the special message written by Pope Francis for Lent 2022. The Holy Father begins his message by quoting from St. Paul: “Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up. So then, while we have the opportunity let us do good to all.”(Gal. 6:9-10) Pope Francis goes on to say, “Lent invites us to conversion, to a change in mindset, so that life’s truth and beauty may be found not so much in possessing as in giving, not so much in accumulating as in sowing and sharing goodness.”
Meditating on St. Paul’s words, “Let us not grow tired of doing good,” Pope Francis gives specific applications of these words. He writes, “Let us not grow tired of praying,” adding that “we need to pray because we need God.” Then the Holy Father writes, “Let us not grow tired of uprooting evil from our lives,” adding two specific areas of concentration: “Let us not grow tired of asking for forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, knowing that God never tires of forgiving”; and “Let us not grow tired of fighting against concupiscence,” in particular the temptation to “addiction to the digital media, which impoverishes human relationships.”Finally, Pope Francis says, “Let us not grow tired of doing good in active charity towards our neighbors,” adding that “Lent is a favorable time to seek out—and not to avoid—those in need; to reach out—and not to ignore—those who need a sympathetic ear and a good word; to visit—and not to abandon—those who are lonely.”
By quoting these points from the message of Pope Francis, I hope to invite you to find specific ways in which you can apply these words to your lives, as I also seek to apply them to mine.May this Lent be a time in which we never grow tired of doing good!
Gratefully Yours,
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