On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015 Pope Francis walked in a solemn procession between churches on Rome’s ancient Aventine Hill, calling on Catholics to humbly remember their human limits as they began the annual 40 day penitential Lenten period leading to Easter on April 5th. He carried his pastoral staff and chanted prayers along with the others during the few minutes’ walk down the street. He wore a purple cloak, in keeping with the somber Lenten mood. Pope Francis lowered his head and received ashes on his forehead during the ceremony inside St. Sabina’s Basilica, a church which dates to the early 5th century. The ashes symbolize mortality. Then Francis, along with other priests, sprinkled ashes on the foreheads of the faithful. He said the ritual of the ashes was a “reminder of the truth of human existence. We are limited creatures, sinners always in need of penitence and conversion.” Pope Francis encouraged church hierarchy, starting with himself, to be humble enough to cry, so that their prayer will be “ever more authentic and without hypocrisy.” On Sunday Feb. 22 at his Sunday Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said Lent is a time where we struggle against the temptations of Satan and worldliness. He recalled how Jesus went into the solitude of the wilderness for 40 days where he successfully overcame temptations in “a hand-tohand combat” with Satan. And through his victory over Satan, he said, “we have all triumphed but we need to protect this victory in our daily lives.” He went on to explain how in the wilderness we can listen to God’s voice and that of the tempter. And we listen to God’s voice through his words and that why it’s important to read the Holy Scriptures because otherwise we’re unable to resist the lure of the evil one. The Pope said it was for this reason that he wanted to renew his advice to the faithful to read the Gospel every day and reflect on its meaning. The Lenten wilderness, he continued, “helps us to say ‘no’ to worldliness, to “idols”, it helps us to make courageous choices in line with the Gospel and to strengthen our solidarity with our brothers and sisters.” At the end of his address 50,000 free copies were distributed of a pocket sized booklet called “Safeguard your Heart” containing reflections on Jesus’ teachings. Pope Francis said many of the volunteers distributing the booklets were homeless people. He told the tens of thousands that he and top aides will begin a spiritual renewal retreat until Friday morning. They will be located in a Rome suburb and spend time listening to reflections, meditating and praying. He said during the retreat “we can listen to the voice of Jesus and also correct so many defects we all have.”
Chuck Ludwig
Sources: ABC news, News.VA, huffingtonpost.com