Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Pope: Lent, time of listening to the Word, austere life, conversion and charity

» 02/25/2009 19:01
VATICAN

Benedict XVI has celebrated Ash Wednesday in the basilica of Santa Sabina. As part of the Pauline Year, he indicated the example of Christian life given by the apostle to the Gentiles. "We are urged not to give our members up to sin, meaning not to concede, so to speak, room for sin to make a comeback."

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Following the example of St. Paul, Lent should be marked by a more frequent listening to the word of God, "by more intense prayer, by an austere and penitential style of life, it should be an encouragement to conversion and sincere love for our brothers, especially those who are most poor and in need." In the Pauline Year, the life of the Apostle of the Gentiles was offered by Benedict XVI as a model of how the Christian should live Lent, in today's celebration of Ash Wednesday at the ancient Roman basilica of Santa Sabina.

The ceremony was preceded, according to tradition, by a moment of prayer at the nearby church of Sant’Anselmo all’Aventino. From there the pope, together with the cardinals, bishops, priests and faithful, went in penitential procession to Santa Sabina. During the Mass, Benedict XVI distributed the ashes to some of those present. His were given to him by Cardinal Jozef Tomko, the titular of the basilica.

In the homily, the pope focused especially on a phrase from the second Letter to the Corinthians: "We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." (5:20). " Paul," he commented, "experienced in an extraordinary manner the power of God's grace, the grace of the Paschal mystery that is the vital force of Lent itself. He presents himself to us as an 'ambassador' of the Lord. Who better than him, then, to help us travel in a fruitful way this path of interior conversion?
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 4:42 PM