In his message for Lent 2021, Pope Francis calls on the faithful to “renew our faith, draw from the living waters of hope and receive with an open heart the love of God.”
By Christopher Wells
Pope Francis focuses on the three theological virtues of his Lenten message for 2021, inviting the faithful to “renew our faith, draw from the living waters of hope, and receive with an open heart the love of God.”
Based on his reflection on the Paschal Mystery, the Pope says, “This Lenten journey … even now is illuminated by the light of the resurrection, which inspires the thoughts, attitudes and decisions of the followers of Jesus.” .
He goes on to say that the journey of conversion, through fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, “allows us to live lives of sincere faith, living hope, and effective charity.”
Accept and bear witness to the truth
The Holy Father explains that “accepting and living the truth revealed in Christ means, first of all, opening our hearts to the word of God.” Through fasting, “experienced as a form of personal abandonment,” we are able to “rediscover God’s gift and recognize that, created in His image and likeness, we find our fulfillment in Him.” Fasting too, helping us to recognize our own poverty, helps us to love both God and our neighbor.
“Lent is a time to believe,” says the Pope, “to welcome God into our lives and allow Him to ‘make His home’ in us.”
The living water that helps us on the journey
Pope Francis relates the virtue of hope to the living water that Jesus promises to the Samaritan woman in the well. This is not the physical water that awaits women, but the Holy Spirit that is given through the paschal mystery.
While hope may seem challenging in fragile and uncertain times, “Lent is precisely the time of hope, when we return to God.”
He says that hope “is given to us as inspiration and inner light” through “silent recollection and prayer.” He says that the experience of hope in Lent “means receiving the hope of Christ, who gave his life on the cross and was resurrected by God on the third day.”
Love, the highest expression of faith and hope
“Love is a leap of the heart,” says Pope Francis. “It takes us out of ourselves and creates bonds of sharing and communion.”
The Holy Father emphasizes the need for a “social love” to build “a civilization of love.”
“Love is a gift that gives meaning to our lives,” he says. Love helps us to see all men and women as our brothers and sisters. Charity multiplies when it is given with love, as we see not only in the Scriptures, but also in our own lives, when we give alms “with joy and simplicity.”
“Living Lent with love,” says Pope Francis, “means caring for those who suffer or feel abandoned because of the Covid-19 pandemic.” He invites us to “say words of reassurance and help others realize that God loves them as sons and daughters.”
A journey of conversion
After reminding us that “every moment of our lives is a time to believe, wait and love,” Pope Francis concludes by saying:
“The call to experience Lent as a journey of conversion, prayer and sharing of our possessions helps us, as communities and as individuals, to relive the faith that comes from the living Christ, the hope inspired by the breath of the ‘Holy Spirit and the love that springs from the merciful heart of the Father.’