During the Season of #Lent, the Holy Spirit drives us too, like Jesus, into the desert (Mk 1:12-15). It is not a physical place, but rather an existential dimension in which we can be silent and listen to the word of God, so that a true conversion might be effected in us.

May the example of so many doctors and healthcare workers who have risked their life to the point of losing it due to the #pandemic move us to feeling truly grateful for how generously, and sometimes heroically, they carry out their profession.

In this #LentenSeason, accepting and living the truth revealed in Christ means, first of all, opening our hearts to God’s word, which the Church passes on from generation to generation.

Lord, Our God, grant that we Christians may live the Gospel, and recognize Christ in each human being, so as to see him crucified in the sufferings of the abandoned and forgotten of our world, and risen in each brother or sister who makes a new start. #WorldDayOfSocialJustice

Fasting, prayer and almsgiving, as preached by Jesus (cf. Mt 6:1-18), enable and express our conversion. #Lent

#Lent is precisely the season of hope when we turn our gaze back to the God who is patient. Saint Paul passionately urges us to place our hope in reconciliation: “Be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20).

Let us return to the Holy Spirit, the Giver of Life, to the Fire that resurrects our #ashes. Let us pray once more to the Spirit and rediscover the fire of praise, which consumes the ashes of lamentation and resignation. #Lent

We are now embarking on our #LentenJourney, which opens with the words of the prophet Joel. They point out the path we are to follow. We hear an invitation that arises from God: “Return to me with all your heart” (Joel 2:12). Lent is a journey of return to God.