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Lent is an invitation to conversion. It comes to awaken us, to rouse us from torpor and from the risk of moving forward by inertia. The exhortation which the Lord addresses to us through the prophet Joel is strong and clear: Return to me with all your heart (Joel 2:12).
Why must we return to God? Because something is not right in us, not right in society, not right in the Church. We need to change, to give it a new direction. This is what conversion means.
Once again Lent comes to remind us that it is possible to create something new within ourselves and around us, simply because God is faithful, always faithful. He continues to be rich in goodness and mercy, and he is always ready to forgive and start afresh. With this filial confidence, let us set out on the journey!
Excerpted and adapted from the pope’s homily, Basilica of St. Sabina, Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2014
