One discussion that I find most appropriate during this Lenten season, as we approach Maundy Thursday and Good Friday before the culminating Easter Sunday celebration, was mentioned in the Pope’s Lenten message with an appropriate reference for those who want to follow.
Pope Francis gave this powerful message by saying that, “Let us not underestimate the power of so many voices united in prayer!” As Filipinos, we are not indifferent to this statement.
How many times have we been witnesses to the power of a nation united in faith and prayer? We have seen prayer warriors congregate during times when natural disasters have been forecasted, and somehow, the damage indeed is lessened.
Or in the aftermath of a huge catastrophe, we pray for strength to lift weary and downtrodden spirits, and somehow, the optimism returns and the morning after is no longer as burdensome.
Truly, Filipinos understand too well that prayers can help transgress human suffering and intercept the depression of being caught in the spiral of distress and powerlessness.
Call for conversion
Pope Francis, in his Lenten message this year, mentions the “24 Hours for the Lord” initiative, which was started by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization last year, during which Pope Francis presided at a Penance service and received the Sacrament himself in St. Peter’s Basilica.
The Holy Father, during last year’s observance of the 24 Hours for the Lord, best expounds on this initiative: “In the period of Lent, the Church, in the name of God, renews the call to conversion. It is the call to change one’s life. Conversion is not a matter of a moment or a year, it is a commitment that lasts a lifetime. Who among us can be assumed not to be a sinner? No one.”
Held this year on March 13 to 14, the initiative reinforces the need for prayers and to promote the availability of accessing the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Churches all over the world were encouraged to devise their own activities to support the two-day initiative.
Pope Francis had also described the initiative as a “celebration of forgiveness,” thus inspiring dioceses around the world to emphasize confessions as part of the cleansing ritual during the Lenten week.
Forgiveness and reconciliation
The Sacrament of Penance is considered the central meaning and message of Lent, and to encounter God’s healing forgiveness enables us as human beings to embrace the monumental experience of God’s compassion and love.
Forgiveness is a Christian virtue that is easy to mouth, but requires the most amount of Christianity of us. In the conduct of right and wrong, it is easier to admit a mistake than it is to accept and forgive the wrong that others do to us.
Forgiving others, and even forgiving one’s self, requires a full acceptance of God’s will in spite of the hurt that has been inflicted on us. We all know how difficult it is to understand why others have hurt us or our loved family members and friends.
Forgiveness is the first step to reconciliation, one that can be taken on a more global scope. In Columbia last year, for example, “24 Hours” became one of the important steps towards healing the country and its people of all the strife of civil war.
According to Colombia’s Bishop Luis José Rueda Aparicio of Montelíbano, the day and night of prayer last year was devoted to reconciliation, life and peace.
“It is a call to all the violent, to all the community in general, to us the baptized, to feel the mercy of God. It is an opportunity for us to be truly reconciled, accompanying the renewal of the hearts of men and women, some of whom have been the victims and other who have been the victimizers” of the violence, he said.
Living in God’s image
Let the closing days of this week be guided by the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation to cleanse our minds and souls. Just as God forgives us without hesitation and reservation, so should we towards those who have aggrieved us.
And just as God unconditionally takes us back in his fold after we have expressed our desire to repent of our sins towards him, so should we learn to accept others who have sinned us and to open our arms in unconditional love.
Only then can we truly live in God’s image.
A time of renewal
Pope Francis in the opening lines of his Lenten message says: “Lent is a time of renewal for the whole Church, for each community and every believer. Above all it is a ‘time of grace’ (2 Cor 6:2). God does not ask of us anything that he himself has not first given us.
“‘We love because he first has loved us’ (1 Jn 4:19). He is not aloof from us. Each one of us has a place in his heart. He knows us by name, he cares for us and he seeks us out whenever we turn away from him. He is interested in each of us; his love does not allow him to be indifferent to what happens to us.
“Usually, when we are healthy and comfortable, we forget about others (something God the Father never does): we are unconcerned with their problems, their sufferings and the injustices they endure… Our heart grows cold. As long as I am relatively healthy and comfortable, I don’t think about those less well off. Today, this selfish attitude of indifference has taken on global proportions, to the extent that we can speak of a globalization of indifference. It is a problem which we, as Christians, need to confront.”
The Holy See then offers three biblical texts to ponder on. For the Church: “If one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Cor 12:26). For parishes and communities: “Where is your brother?” (Gen 4:9). And for individual Christians: “Make your hearts firm!” (James 5:8).
Visit the Vatican website (w2.vatican.va) for the complete message of the Pope this Lent as well as the guiding principle and related activities on the initiative called 24 Hours for the Lord.
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