Short Reflection on Lent
Thinking about Lent...
We have now entered Lent. But what does “entering Lent” really mean? Pope Benedict XVI explained it this way. “It means we enter a season of special commitment in the spiritual battle to oppose the evil present in the world, in each one of us and around us. It means not off-loading the problem of evil onto others, onto society or onto God but rather recognising one’s own responsibility and assuming it with awareness.”
As practicing Catholics we commonly, throughout Lent, either give something up that is dear to us, or do something extra that is probably difficult. What we choose is personal. Yet, we really do have a responsibility to do something.
You could heed those crucial words of Pope Benedict, making them central to anything else you do for Lent, through the following prayer.
“Dear Lord, reading Pope Benedict’s words starkly show the reality of what is happening on earth. Please guide and strengthen me to identify evil and to fight it. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Parishioner Teresa O’Driscoll, author of Pray Then Listen, A heart-to-heart with God
