In his first sermon for Lent 2021, the preacher of the papal house, the newly created Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap., Gives an overview of the season and reflects on Jesus ’call to repentance.
By Vatican News staff reporter
Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, who was created cardinal by Pope Francis at the town hall on November 28, 2020, delivered his first sermon for Lent in 2021 in the Paul VI Hall of the Vatican. The theme of this year’s Lenten reflections is “Who do you say I am?”, Excerpt from the Gospel of St. Matthew.
For his introductory sermon, the Papal House Preacher offered an overview of the Lenten season, focusing on the passage “Repent and believe in the gospel!”
Three moments of conversion
Repentance or conversion, said Cardinal Cantalamessa, is mentioned in “three different moments and contexts” of the New Testament, corresponding to different moments in our own lives.
The first is based on the words of Jesus at the beginning of his ministry: “Repent and believe in the gospel!” This does not have a primarily moral meaning, according to Cardinal Cantalamessa, but consists first of all in having faith, in believing, in changing our way of seeing our relationship with God.
The second call to New Testament conversion comes when Jesus invites his disciples to “turn around and become children.” Here, “Jesus proposes a real revolution,” calling them and us “to change the center of yourselves and refocus on Christ.” Becoming like children, said Cardinal Cantalamessa, means going back to the time when we first met Jesus.
Finally, in the book of Revelation, Jesus calls on those who are neither hot nor cold to “be serious … and repent.” “The focus here,” Cardinal Cantalamessa said, is the conversion from being mediocre and lukewarm to being fervent. He insisted, it is not a work of ours, but of the Holy Spirit.
From being lukewarm to fervent
Cardinal Cantalamessa recalled the experience of the disciples when they were filled with the spirit at the first Pentecost. The Church Fathers described this experience in the image of a “sober drunkard”: the disciples were not drunk with wine, as people imagined, but were drunk on receiving the Holy Spirit. spiritually.
“How can we take on this ideal of sober drunkenness and embody it in the current situation of history and the Church?” Asked Cardinal Cantalamessa. Beyond the ordinary means of the Eucharist and the Scriptures, the cardinal, quoting St. Ambrose, points to a third means, “extraordinary”, which is not institutional, but involves reviving the experience of the apostles on the day of Pentecost. ”.
One way of this occurs, he said, in the so-called “Baptism in the Spirit,” which implies “a renewal with a new awareness not only of Baptism and Confirmation, but also of the whole Christian life.” .. the most important fruit is the discovery of what it means to have a “personal relationship” with the risen and living Jesus. “
Cardinal Cantalamessa stressed the importance of a “true conversion from being lukewarm to fervent, inviting his listeners to pray for Mary’s intercession for that grace.
You can read the full text of Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa’s sermon in his book website.