Archdiocese of Bombay - Pope Francis' Message for Lent 2022 | Bishop Allwyn D'silva

[Music] dear sisters and brothers in jesus christ we will soon begin the season of lent and i'm here to share with you the message of pope francis some of you must have read his message in the examiner well i would like to share with you because it's such a beautiful message especially for those who have not come across this message in the examiner in the introduction pope francis uh begins with two lines which has which have struck me first of all he says that length is invites us to conversion to a change in mindset i think this is very important we all know that as soon as lens starts we begin to think of how we can sacrifice how we can give up so it is it is true that length is a time for conversion uh time to change our our mindset but pope francis tells us that this has to be done throughout the year not only during length of course land reminds us of conversion which we may forget during the year the second thing that the second line that pope francis emphasizes is that length is a conversion not only of an individual but of a community and i think that is very important these days as we prepare for the synod that it is true sometimes during length we think only of ourselves how i can change and how i can be better but we also have to ask ourselves how the community can change how your how our parish communities can change is there a conversion during length of our parish communities that's a question that pope francis wants us to reflect the theme of the message of the holy father is let us not grow tired of doing good for in due time we shall reap our harvest if we do not give up so then while we have the opportunity let us do good to all galatians chapter 6 verses 9 to 10 and that is the main theme of the message of the holy father let us not grow tired of doing good he mentions on a number of people who sometimes may get tired of doing good he mentions the youth the youth get tired sometimes they get weary they stumble they fall as mentioned in isaiah chapter 40 verse 30. yet i think god gives us the strength not only to the youth but to all of us who stumble who fall during the year he gives us the strength so that in isaiah the same chapter 40 verse 29 and 31 the youth will regain their strength and will soar on the wings like eagles though they run they will not go get very another point that he mentions let let us not get tired of praying sometimes maybe in during the pandemic we realized that you know our own lives were in danger and sometimes we depended on ourselves but many times we during the pandemic we ran to god and we found strength in god and without him we realized that we cannot do anything so pope francis says continue praying we need to pray because because we need god if we do not have god then in a way we are helpless so he says do not get tired of praying then another point that he emphasizes in his message is let us not grow tired of uprooting evil from our lives it's not only during the season of length but uh throughout the year but uh sometimes we get tired we try we try to uh you know to get rid of a bad habit but again we fall and again we fall but he tells us let us not get tired of uprooting evil from our lives and especially he says uh let us not get tired of fighting against concupiscence the weakness which induces selfishness and all evil and one of the addictions that he mentions and i think all of us have experienced during the pandemic but also before the pandemic so one of the addictions is the digital media and why uh i mean the mobile and the digital media played a very important role during the pandemic especially for school children they could they could attend classes and he could have meetings online but he says be careful of this digital media when it impoverishes human relationship and i think that is the temptation we all uh we all like to send whatsapp messages and use the mobile but then we do not meet people face to face and uh that robs us of a authentic encounter pope francis says that we need to have face to face relationships then we really come close to the person then we really understand the person so he says give up this this craze it was very helpful during the pandemic but he says give up this craze of this digital media another thing that he mentions is uh let us not get tired of doing good towards our neighbor sometimes when the same person comes to us and he or she wants help we feel uh we feel tired we feel the uh we feel that how long is this person going to depend on me but pope francis says that let us not get tired of sharing he says this season of length we need to come close to our brothers and sisters especially those who are disadvantaged those who are marginalized we need to come close to them we need to encounter their sufferings he mentions that we need time to love the poor and needy those abandoned and rejected those discriminated against and marginalized so he's so this is the main message of pope francis uh pope francis's message uh for length let us not get tired sometimes we who are working all of us working working working we get in our way burnt out and we need rest we need uh some sort of uh strength to recuperate but he reminds us let us not get tired of praying of listening to the word of god of reaching out to others let us not get tired but continue the good work pope francis as he concludes he reminds us that we we have to reap our harvest in due time now when we sow a tree grows and so he says we have to reap this harvest but what is this harvest he's talking about he reminds us that every harvest bears fruit and therefore uh the first fruit that we have to look for is in ourselves is this period of length bearing fruit in ourselves in our own lives we will we will be blessed when we see the fruits in our own lives so god is sowing this harvest the first fruit as pope francis says the first fruit of the goodness we saw appears in ourselves and our daily lives even in our little acts of kindness just as we recognize a tree if we have a mango tree we have a coconut tree we recognize the tree by its fruits so also people will recognize us by our fruits whether we are really prayed whether we have really listened to the word of god whether we have really reached out to others but uh it's not only the fruits in ourselves we have to look for the fruits in the world in society and this gives us a new vision the word of god broadens and elevates our vision he tells us it tells us that the real harvest is eschatological the harvest of the life of the last undying day but this is very important and i would like to end this talk this sharing with this idea of archbishop oscar romero pope francis tells us that we may so but sometimes we may not see the fruit but that doesn't mean that we have to stop doing good we continue doing good for the harvest is still plentiful and so this is i think very important that we sow we do some good sometimes we get discouraged because we are not seeing the end but we will not see the end we will not see the final day our role or our job is to sow we may see just a little tree growing we can't be impatient because we have not seen uh the end i would like to uh pray the the prayer of oscar romero saint oscar romero because i think it's important especially the leaders and animators and other people it's important to keep this in mind this prayer is it helps now and then to step back and take a long view the kingdom is not only beyond our efforts it is even beyond our vision we accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is god's work nothing we do is complete which is a way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us no statement says all that could be said no prayer fully expresses our faith no confession brings perfection no pastoral visit brings wholeness no no program accomplishes the church's mission no set of goals and objectives includes everything this is what we are about we plant the seed that one day will grow we water seeds already planted knowing that they hold future promise we lay foundations that will need further development we provide ease that produces effects far beyond our capabilities we cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that this enables us to do something and to do it very well it may be incomplete but it is a beginning a step along the way an opportunity for the lord's grace to enter and do the rest we may never see the end results but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker we are workers not master builders ministers not messiahs we are prophets of a future that is not our own my dear friends i pray in a very special way that this period of length may be a bit different from the other lens that we have experienced sometimes we are caught up in a routine yes now during this period of length we have to do the same things that we have done in the previous period of length but i invite you as pope francis has mentioned have a conversion of heart by not being tired of doing good don't get tired of praying don't get tired of listening to the word of god don't get tired of reaching out to others or doing good to others but in all our efforts let us remember the prayer of say oscar romero this is orbit in establishing the kingdom of god the kingdom of god has not been established but we can contribute a little bit in establishing the kingdom of god may god bless you bless your families bless the youth bless the children and may you have a meaningful period of let [Music] so [Music] surrendering [Music] before [Music] my surrender [Music] [Laughter] i hunger [Music] speak to me now [Music] i surrender i surrender [Music] is [Music] i [Music] in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen dear brothers and sisters we have heard in the talk about the preparation for lent which is a period of renewal both at personal level as as together as community this year holy father has recently asked us to fast and pray for peace in ukraine in his 2022 lenten message pope francis invites us to reflect on sin paul's exaltation to the galatians let us listen to the reading taken from paul's letter to galatians chapter 6 verses 9 and 10. so let us not grow weary in doing what is right for we will reap and harvest if we have an opportunity let us work for the good of all and especially for those of the family of faith the word of the lord thanks be to god if you had paid attention to the talk it was based on this passage from galatians and we were invited to reflect on three specific areas that is about sowing and reaping second to not to go grow tired of doing good and finally if we do not give up we shall reap a harvest in due time dear brothers and sisters at the same time the archdiocese of bombay for all the people of the archdiocese are archbishop oswald gracious this year too suggested various alternate forms of penance that we are encouraged to practice in our preparation for lent which you will find easily in this week's examiner issue they are based on three pillars of land that is prayer fasting and arms giving while many of us engage in fasting and various other forms of charity one of the area that suffers is or neglected is prayer many of us do not pray enough if we approach this land as we approach this let us see how much importance are we giving to personal prayer as well as community prayer apart from fasting and arms giving let us take a firm decision as lend approaches that we will spend enough time in practicing all the forms of prayers finance and charity during this land at the same time a cardinal invites us to specially care for our environment too so let us not exclude care for earth from lenten preparation [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] us everywhere [Music] there's no way to measure [Music] rejected [Music] me [Music] let us now offer our petitions and pray for god's grace let us pray for god's grace in the area of personal prayer dear lord help me to make time to pray more during this lent to improve in my personal prayer in areas such as adoration in the blessed sacrament chapel silently spending time with you praying the rosary reading the scriptures for this we pray to the lord lord hear our prayer let us pray for god's grace in the area of community prayer dear jesus encouraged me to take part in community prayer such as attending the eucharist the way of the cross lenten missions for this we pray to the lord lord hear our prayer let us pray for god's grace in the area of fasting and abstinence jesus you overcame all the temptations in the desert during this lent motivate me to fast and abstain from things that takes me away from you as well as things that gives me pleasure from things that affect me as well as things that affect others for this we pray to the lord lord hear our prayer let us pray for god's grace the area of charity dear jesus inspire my heart to share my blessings with others so that i engage in works of charity such as voluntary service in the church as well as in the society offer meals and money from my earning to those deprived for this we pray to the lord lord hear our prayer in the silence of our heart let us offer other areas we need to focus on let us pray dear lord jesus we pray that let our prayer fasting and penance during the season of lent help us turn to you enable us to leave our selfishness and self-absorption and impel us to stand beside our brothers and sisters in need sharing our spiritual and material goods with them may we radiate the transforming power of your victory over sin and death to all creation we ask this in your name amen the lord be with you and with your spirit blessings almighty god father son and holy spirit remain upon you always amen [Music] is [Music] is [Music] so despised by [Music] is [Music] i [Music] you

Channel: Archdiocese of Bombay

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Keywords: archdiocese of bombay, archdiocese of mumbai, mumbai, india, pope francis, cardinal oswald gracias, catholic, church, jesus christ, bombay diocese, journeying together in faith, catechesis, youth, love, holy eucharist, 125 years, I am catholic I am alive

Id: M1hxFlJXEuI

Length: 31min 0sec (1860 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 01 2022