Vatican City, 26 January 2016 (VIS) –
A press conference was held in the Holy See Press Office this morning
to present the Holy Father's Message for Lent 2016. The panel was
composed of Cardinal Francesco Montenegro, archbishop of Agrigento,
Italy and member of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum";
Msgr. Giampietro Dal Toso and Msgr. Segundo Tejado Munoz,
respectively secretary and under-secretary of the same dicastery.
Cardinal Montenegro explained that the
Message is divided into three parts, focusing on mercy in the light
of the Word of God, insistence on the works of mercy and the
relationship between Lent and the Jubilee itinerary.
The first part examines the theme of
mercy in the Scripture and helps us to recover the fundamental
meanings of this term that Pope Francis has previously described as
"the very foundation" of both the Trinitarian mystery and
the life of the Church". In particular, since Lent looks towards
the Paschal mystery, we focus on the fact that Christ's Cross is the
culmination of the revelation of the Father's mercy, and Jesus is the
face of this mercy. "During Lent, the Church has always
encouraged greater nourishment from the Word of God, and the Pope
invites all Christians to explore the theme of mercy through the
pages of the Bible and the prophets, as these are not simply limited
to repeating that God is merciful, but rather indicate clearly that
His children must be merciful too, practising a greater love
especially by caring for children, the poor and the helpless".
The works of mercy, the second key
point of the Message, form part of the treasury of the Christian
tradition. While during Lent we fix our gaze on the crucified Christ
and in the liturgy we relive all that He suffered for our love, "we
certainly cannot think that face, unique as it is, has stopped being
present in our history", added Cardinal Montenegro. The Pope
hopes that during Lent all Christians will feel the need to be
nurtured by the Word of God and will at the same time open their
heart to those who suffer by performing works of mercy. "As a
pastor of a Church which experiences several forms of poverty and
faces various challenges such as that of immigration, I would like to
add something", he continued. "At times we tend to think
that faith can be lived only by participating in the sacraments or
praying in the most varied ways, excluding from spiritual life the
needs of man, and especially those of the poorest. The result is that
this type of faith sooner or later becomes sterile or insipid.
Instead, when we listen and put this into practice, faith then
becomes a joyful and contagious experience, enriching and
stimulating. We have experienced this, for example, in Lampedusa with
the arrival of thousands of people, and in many other communities who
have accepted the challenge of opening up to the different forms of
poverty in their area. ... It is clear that this is not easy, as at
times it is necessary to deal with entrenched mentalities that do not
easily open up to the new. However, in my limited experience, I feel
able to say that the way is possible and it is, above all, the way
Jesus shows to us in the Gospel".
Finally, the Message considers the
Jubilee itinerary. "The Paschal mystery is the heart of the
liturgical year, and this Lent is right at the heart of the Jubilee.
The strong time of the Jubilee is interlinked with Lenten time,
constituting an extraordinary richness for the conversion and the
spiritual growth of every Christian and for the Church as a whole.
From this perspective the message we are presenting has a very
stimulating backdrop of questions on the current historical and
cultural context, and how the Christian is located within it". …
From this there derives the prophetic proposal of the Jubilee path
and of the Lenten period as a time for reviewing the path of one's
own life, and for hearing the cry of the poor, the same Christ Who
knocks on the door of our heart in the hope that we decide to open it
and, welcoming Him, sample real life. In these first months of the
Jubilee, especially through the sign of the door, we have been able
to experience the beauty of mercy made accessible to all. Not only
the door of the St. Peter's Basilica, or the major Basilicas, but
also the cathedrals in the dioceses and, in particular, places that
symbolise poverty, such as the Caritas hostel in Rome and prison
cells. Through these powerful choices the Pope is inviting all the
Church to set out towards every person, and towards the suffering and
the poor in particular. In this way, the Jubilee path is not only the
one we find in the calendar, but rather the one we are all called to
undertake, supported by God's mercy, to recognise Him in the poor so
as to place ourselves by their side to listen and serve".
Msgr. Del Toso spoke about the
initiatives of "Cor Unum" during the Lenten period. The
first, in response to a request from the Holy Father, is a spiritual
retreat for those who work in the service of charity in the Church,
so that they too may "experience God's mercy". The second
is a major international conference to commemorate ten years since
the publication of Pope emeritus Benedict XVI's first encyclical,
"Deus caritas est", to be held on 25 and 26 February in the
New Synod Hall.
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