The pope likens Lenten penance, which the Church begins this Wednesday, to the synodal journey that is already well underway.
It seems like it was only a few weeks ago that we took down our Christmas trees and put away our Nativity scenes… But, lo and behold, Lent is already upon us. And as the Church officially opens the 40 day penitential season this week on Ash Wednesday, Pope Francis has a couple of pointers to encourage us on journey towards Easter.
“Lenten penance is a commitment, sustained by grace, to overcoming our lack of faith and our resistance to following Jesus on the way of the cross,” the pope says in his just-released message for Lent 2023. In the brief message, he likens the Lenten journey to the Church’s “synodal experience”, the “walking together” that has become a defining feature of his pontificate.
“For it is in togetherness that we follow Jesus. Together too, as a pilgrim Church in time, we experience the liturgical year and Lent within it, walking alongside those whom the Lord has placed among us as fellow travelers,” the 86-year-old Francis says.
We journey together
The pope uses the Gospel passage of Jesus’ Transfiguration — which will be proclaimed liturgically on the Second Sunday of Lent (March 5) — to illustrate the connection between Lent and synodality.
Like the ascent of Jesus and the disciples to Mount Tabor, we can say that our Lenten journey is “synodal”, since we make it together along the same path, as disciples of the one Master. For we know that Jesus is himself the Way, and therefore, both in the liturgical journey and in the journey of the Synod, the Church does nothing other than enter ever more deeply and fully into the mystery of Christ the Savior.
And, as Church, we all go together or we don’t go at all. The Lord calls us to follow as one people, as a community. The disciples — Peter, James and John — are a symbol of this, as they ascend the mountain with Jesus and are shown his glory. Pope Francis says this provides a metaphor for our Lenten and synodal journeys.
“The Lenten journey of penance and the journey of the Synod alike have as their goal a transfiguration, both personal and ecclesial. A transformation that, in both cases, has its model in the Transfiguration of Jesus and is achieved by the grace of his paschal mystery,” the Jesuit pope says.
Listening to the Word and each other
And he then suggests two “paths” for us to follow this Lent in order to better experience this transfiguration. The first path is “listening” to Jesus — in the sacred scriptures (Word of God) and the lives of our fellow travelers on the journey.
“Lent is a time of grace to the extent that we listen to (Jesus) as he speaks to us.” the pope says. “And how does he speak to us? First, in the word of God, which the Church offers us in the liturgy. May that word not fall on deaf ears; if we cannot always attend Mass, let us study its daily biblical readings, even with the help of the internet.”
But it is not just by meditating on scripture passages alone. “The Lord speaks to us through our brothers and sisters, especially in the faces and the stories of those who are in need,” Francis reminds us.
“Let me say something else, which is quite important for the synodal process: listening to Christ often takes place in listening to our brothers and sisters in the Church. Such mutual listening in some phases is the primary goal, but it remains always indispensable in the method and style of a synodal Church,” he adds.
Facing reality
And the pope’s second suggestion or path to follow for this Lent might be summed up in this short phrase — keep it real.
“Do not take refuge in a religiosity made up of extraordinary events and dramatic experiences, out of fear of facing reality and its daily struggles, its hardships and contradictions,” he tells us.
“The light that Jesus shows the disciples is an anticipation of Easter glory, and that must be the goal of our own journey, as we follow ‘him alone’. Lent leads to Easter: the ‘retreat’ is not an end in itself, but a means of preparing us to experience the Lord’s passion and cross with faith, hope and love, and thus to arrive at the resurrection,” says Francis.
He then relates this to the synodal journey the Church has undertaken, warning us that “when God gives us the grace of certain powerful experiences of communion, we should not imagine that we have arrived”. Rather, we have to leave the mountain and go back down to “plain” of our daily lives and be “artisans of synodality” together with the fellow travelers in our communities.
“We need to set out on the journey, an uphill path that, like a mountain trek, requires effort, sacrifice and concentration,” the pope says.
During any strenuous mountain trek, we must keep our eyes firmly fixed on the path; yet the panorama that opens up at the end amazes us and rewards us by its grandeur. So too, the synodal process may often seem arduous, and at times we may become discouraged. Yet what awaits us at the end is undoubtedly something wondrous and amazing, which will help us to understand better God’s will and our mission in the service of his kingdom.
Pope Francis ends his Lenten pep talk, as it were, by praying that the Holy Spirit “inspire and sustain us” during these 40 days leading to the great celebration of Easter, so that we may experience the “divine splendor” of Jesus “and thus, confirmed in faith, persevere in our journey together with him, glory of his people and light of the nations”.
Reproduced with permission from La Croix International.
