In his message for Lent in 2023, Pope Francis invited believers to follow Jesus and gain a deeper understanding and acceptance of His mystery of salvation. In his message, he points out the journey of Lent and the relationship of fellowship, which we, as the Church, should realize with tradition and an attitude open to new things. The Pope’s Lent message was published by the Holy See on February 17.
(Vatican News Network)The Holy See Press Office held a press conference on February 17 to introduce Pope Francis’ 2023 Lent message. The title of the proclamation is, “The hardships of Lent, a journey of fellow-men”. In his message, the Pope urged everyone to be “craftsmen of the spirit of the multitude” in everyday life, warning “not to hide behind religious sentiments made of unusual events and beautiful experiences for fear of facing reality and daily toil, difficulties and contradictions.” middle”.
The Pope’s message for Lent in 2023 was inspired by the transfiguration of Jesus on the mount, as recorded in the Gospels. He writes, “During this time of the liturgical year, the Lord leads us to a place with Him. Even if the responsibilities of the day keep us where we are, often in the same way and even tiresomely.” work, during Lent we are invited to climb a high mountain with Jesus, to experience a special kind of painstaking experience with God’s holy people”.
In this affliction accompanied by God’s grace, we are able to transcend our psychological resistance to following Jesus. To do this, the Pope warned, “we must allow ourselves to be led by him, out of mediocrity and vanity” and embark on the path of mountaineering, which “requires effort, sacrifice and concentration, just like climbing a mountain”.
Jesus led three disciples up Mount Tabor. “Follow Jesus, follow him all together,” said the Pope. When they went up to the heights, the three disciples were given the grace to behold the glory of the Lord and see him radiate with supernatural radiance. The Pope pointed out that “any mountaineering activity that requires hard work must focus on watching the path when going up the mountain; but we are amazed by the beauty that unfolds before us, and its magnificence is a reward for us. Likewise , the journey of fellowship is often difficult and sometimes frustrating”, but something wonderful awaits us that “will help us to better understand God’s will and our mission to serve his Kingdom”.
On Tabor, next to Jesus, Moses and Elijah also appear, the two representatives of the Law and the Prophets. “Jesus’ novelty,” explained the Pope, “fulfills the Old Testament and reveals its deeper meaning. Likewise, the journey of fellowship is rooted in the tradition of the Church, while at the same time open to novelty. Tradition is the search for new paths by man, avoiding being trapped in A wellspring of inspiration for the lure of stagnation and temporary experience”.
In his message for Lent, the Pope proposes two paths to follow, namely, “to climb the mountain with Jesus, to reach the goal with him: listen to him” and “to face reality and the daily toil, difficulties and contradictions “. Jesus, the Pope explained, speaks to us through the Word of God, which the Church offers in the liturgy, which can also be read on the Internet “if we cannot attend Mass as often as possible”. Jesus also speaks to us through those most in need and through our brothers and sisters in the Church: mutual listening is “the style of a like-minded Church”.
Finally, the Pope exhorts us that “we should not think that we have reached the end when God has given us some intense experiences of communion”. “Let us go down to the ground, may we experience the grace that sustains us and be artisans of the spirit of the people in our community and in our daily life”.
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