CV NEWS FEED // Pope Francis released his Message for Lent 2024, calling on the faithful to approach the season of Lent as the path away from slavery.
The Holy Father’s Message released on Thursday morning poses a reflection on the season of Lent as the path to freedom, drawing from themes in the Book of Exodus and the Church’s current “synodal form.”
“Just as Israel in the desert still clung to Egypt – often longing for the past and grumbling against the Lord and Moses – today too, God’s people can cling to an oppressive bondage that it is called to leave behind,” said Francis.
For our observance of Lent to be “concrete,” the Holy Father asserted, “the first step is to open our eyes to reality,” of suffering around us—just as God recognised the suffering of Israel.
Indeed, he continued, a concrete observance of Lent requires us to overcome “the globalization of indifference,” which has made us long for slavery. “Earth, air, and water are polluted,” by this indifference, said Francis in reference to climate change, adding: “But so are our souls.”
In a world where slavery is made appealing to us, and “human dignity is trampled upon and authentic bonds are denied,” Francis called on members of the faithful to ask themselves, “Do I want a new world? Am I ready to leave behind my compromises with the old?”
Referencing the Church’s current “synodal form,” Francis asserted that Lent should also be considered “a time of communitarian decisions,” that are “capable of altering the daily lives of individuals and entire neighborhoods, such as the ways we acquire goods, care for creation, and strive to include those that go unseen or are looked down upon.”
The Holy Father encouraged Catholics to “rethink their lifestyles” and “examine their presence in society and the contribution they make to its betterment,” adding:
Woe to us if our Christian penance were to resemble the kind of penance that so dismayed Jesus. […] Instead, let others see joyful faces, catch the scent of freedom and experience the love that makes all things new, beginning with the smallest and those nearest to us. This can happen in every one of our Christian communities.
Francis concluded by urging the faithful to keep seeking after “the courage of conversion, born of coming up from slavery,” and to hope for a better world.
“For faith and charity take hope, this small child, by the hand. They teach her to walk, and at the same time, she leads them forward. I bless all of you and your Lenten journey.
