The Word of God during Lent

Pope Benedict XVI’s message for Lent 2011, which starts today, includes three elements which, in the words of Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, represent “a road map to rekindle the supernatural life that was given to us in Baptism”.

Firstly, the Pope “fixes for us concrete appointments with specific persons and events on the five Sundays of Lent. He puts before us the Word of God proclaimed on those Sundays. By doing so, he wishes us to experience a personal encounter with Christ, the answer to the deepest longings of the human person and the world”.

Secondly, “the encounter with Christ in His Word and the sacraments manifests itself in concrete works of mercy”.

Finally, Lent is presented to us as “a path or journey, a span of time to bring to fruition the seed planted at Baptism”.

The Holy Father’s message says that the Church, in the Gospel texts of the Sundays of Lent, “leads us to a particularly intense encounter with the Lord, calling us to retrace the steps of Christian initiation: for catechumens, in preparation for receiving the sacrament of rebirth; for the baptised, in light of the new and decisive steps to be taken in the sequela Christi (the following of Christ) and a fuller giving of oneself to him”.

The Pope’s points on these Gospel texts are:

The First Sunday of the Lenten journey reveals our condition as human beings here on earth. The victorious battle against temptation, the starting point of Jesus’s mission, is an invitation to become aware of our own fragility in order to accept the grace that frees from sin and infuses new strength in Christ – the way, the truth and the life (cf. Ordo Initiationis Christianae Adultorum, n.25). It is a powerful reminder that Christian faith implies, following the example of Jesus and in union with him, a battle “against the ruling forces who are masters of the darkness in this world” (Eph 6: 12), in which the devil is at work and never tires – even today – of tempting whoever wishes to draw close to the Lord: Christ emerges victorious to open also our hearts to hope and guide us in overcoming the seductions of evil.

The Gospel of the transfiguration of the Lord puts before our eyes the glory of Christ, which anticipates the resurrection and announces the divinisation of man. The Christian community becomes aware that Jesus leads it, like the Apostles Peter, James and John “up a high mountain by themselves” (Mt 17: 1), to receive, once again, in Christ, as sons and daughters in the Son, the gift of the grace of God: “This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favour. Listen to him” (Mt 17: 5). It is the invitation to distance oneself from the noisiness of everyday life in order to immerse oneself in God’s presence. He desires to hand down to us, each day, a Word that penetrates the depths of our spirit, where we discern good from evil (cf. Heb 4:12), reinforcing our will to follow the Lord.

The request Jesus makes to the Samaritan woman: “Give me a drink” (Jn 4: 7) is presented to us in the liturgy of the third Sunday. It expresses the passion of God for every man and woman and wishes to awaken in our hearts the desire for the gift of “a spring of water within, welling up for eternal life” (Jn 4: 14 this is the gift of the Holy Spirit, who transforms Christians into “true worshippers” capable of praying to the Father “in spirit and truth” (Jn 4: 23). Only this water can quench our thirst for goodness, truth and beauty! Only this water, given to us by the Son, can irrigate the deserts of our restless and unsatisfied soul until it “finds rest in God”, as per the famous words of St Augustine.

The Sunday of the man born blind presents Christ as the light of the world. The Gospel confronts each one of us with the question: “Do you believe in the Son of man?” “Lord, I believe!” (Jn 9: 35. 38), the man born blind joyfully exclaims, giving voice to all believers.

The miracle of this healing is a sign that Christ wants not only to give us sight but also open our interior vision so that our faith may become ever deeper and we may recognise him as our only Saviour. He illuminates all that is dark in life and leads men and women to live as “children of the light”.

On the fifth Sunday, when the resurrection of Lazarus is proclaimed, we are faced with the ultimate mystery of our existence: “I am the resurrection and the life… Do you believe this?” (Jn 11: 25-26). For the Christian community, it is the moment to place with sincerity – together with Martha – all of our hopes in Jesus of Nazareth: “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world” (Jn 11: 27).

Communion with Christ in this life prepares us to overcome the barrier of death so that we may live eternally with him. Faith in the resurrection of the dead and hope in eternal life open our eyes to the ultimate meaning of our existence: God created men and women for resurrection and life and this truth gives an authentic and definitive meaning to human history, to the personal and social lives of men and women, to culture, politics and the economy. Without the light of faith, the entire universe ends up shut within a tomb devoid of any future, any hope.

The Holy Father says the Lenten journey finds its fulfilment in the Paschal Triduum, especially in the Great Vigil of the Holy Night: “renewing our baptismal promises, we reaffirm that Christ is the Lord of our life, that life which God bestowed upon us when we were reborn of ‘water and Holy Spirit’, and we profess again our firm commitment to respond to the action of the grace in order to be his disciples.”

The Pope appeals: “This Lent, let us renew our acceptance of the Grace that God bestowed upon us” at the moment of baptism “so that it may illuminate and guide all of our actions”.

Benedict XVI’s also says that through the traditional practices of fasting, almsgiving and prayer, which are an expression of our commitment to conversion, Lent teaches us how to live the love of Christ in an ever more radical way.