LENT IS A TIME OF CONVERSION, PRAYER AND FASTING

VATICAN CITY, MAR 9, 2000 (VIS) - Yesterday, Ash Wednesday, in the Basilica of St. Sabina, the Holy Father presided at an evening celebration of the Liturgy of the Word, during a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Jozef Tomko, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

In his homily, the Pope said that through today's traditional rite of the imposition of ashes, "the Church reminds man, believer and sinner, of his frailty in the face of evil and, especially, of his total dependence on God's infinite majesty."

"From its very start, earthly existence forms part of the context of death. Our bodies are mortal, marked by the inescapable prospect of death."

John Paul II indicated that believers "know they are not merely bodies condemned to die because of sin, but that they also have an immortal soul."

Jesus' call at the start of His preaching to "convert and believe in the Gospel," the Pope continued, "is our introduction to the period of Lent, a time that must be especially dedicated to conversion and renewal, to prayer, fasting and works of charity."

"Following these weeks of penance, we will experience the joy of Easter. Our eyes, purified by prayer and penance, will be able to see more clearly the face of the living God, towards whom Man makes his personal pilgrimage along the paths of earthly existence."

After the homily and the blessing, the Pope received ashes from Cardinal Tomko, titular bishop of St. Sabina, and then imposed ashes on some members of the faithful.

HML;ASH WEDNESDAY;...;ST SABINA; TOMKO;VIS;20000309;Word: 270;