| Pope Benedict XVI last mass |
124. Lent precedes and prepares for Easter. It is a time to hear
the Word of God, to convert, to prepare for and remember Baptism, to be
reconciled with God and one's neighbour, and of more frequent recourse to the
"arms of Christian penance"(134): prayer, fasting and good works (cf. Mt 6, 1-6.
16-18).
Popular piety does not easily perceive the mystical aspect of Lent
and does not emphasize any of its great themes or values, such a relationship
between "the sacrament of forty days" and "the sacraments of Christian
initiation", nor the mystery of the "exodus" which is always present in the
lenten journey. Popular piety concentrates on the mysteries of Christ's
humanity, and during Lent the faithful pay close attention to the Passion and
Death of Our Lord.
125. In the Roman Rite, the beginning of the forty days of penance
is marked with the austere symbol of ashes which are used in the Liturgy of Ash
Wednesday. The use of ashes is a survival from an ancient rite according to
which converted sinners submitted themselves to canonical penance. The act of
putting on ashes symbolizes fragility and mortality, and the need to be redeemed
by the mercy of God. Far from being a merely external act, the Church has
retained the use of ashes to symbolize that attitude of internal penance to
which all the baptized are called during Lent. The faithful who come to receive
ashes should be assisted in perceiving the implicit internal significance of
this act, which disposes them towards conversion and renewed Easter
commitment.
Notwithstanding the secularisation of contemporary society, the
Christian faithful, during Lent, are clearly conscious of the need to turn the
mind towards those realities which really count, which require Gospel commitment
and integrity of life which, through self denial of those things which are
superfluous, are translated into good works and solidarity with the poor and
needy.
Those of the faithful who infrequently attend the sacraments of
Penance and the Holy Eucharist should be aware of the long ecclesial tradition
associating the precept of confessing grave sins and receive Holy Communion at
least once during the lenten season, or preferably during Eastertide(135).
126. The existing divergence between the liturgical idea of Lent
and the outlook of popular piety need not prevent an effective interaction
between Liturgy and popular piety during the forty days of Lent.
An example of such interaction is to be seen in fact that popular
piety often encourages particular observances on certain days, or special
devotional exercises, or apostolic or charitable works which are foreseen and
recommended by the lenten Liturgy. The practice of fasting, characteristic of
the lenten season since antiquity, is an "exercise" which frees the faithful
from earthly concerns so as to discover the life that comes from above: "Man
does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of
God" (cf. Dt 8,3; Mt 4, 4; Lk 4,4; antiphon for the first Sunday of Lent).
Veneration of the Crucified Christ
127. The journey of Lent ends with the Easter Triduum, initiated
by the celebration of the Coena Domini Mass. During the Triduum, Good
Friday which is dedicated to the celebration of the Lord's Passion, is eminently
suited for the "Adoration of the Holy Cross".
Popular piety tends to anticipate the cultic veneration of the
Cross. Throughout Lent, every Friday is observed, since very ancient times, as a
commemoration of the Lord's Passion and the faithful easily direct their
devotions towards the mystery of the Cross.
They contemplate the crucified Saviour, they sense more easily the
great suffering which Jesus, the Holy and Innocent One, suffered for the
salvation of mankind. They understand his love and the effectiveness of his
redemptive sacrifice.
128. The various and numerous devotions to the crucified Christ
acquire a special significance in those churches dedicated to the mystery of the
Cross or where authentic relics of the true cross are venerated. The "invention
of the Cross" in the early fourth century, and the subsequent diffusion
throughout the Church of particles of the true Cross, gave notable impulse to
devotion to the Cross.
Devotions to the crucified Crist contain many elements usually
found in popular piety: hymns and prayers, acts such as the unveiling and
kissing of the Cross, processions and blessing with the Cross. These can lead to
the development of pious exercises often containing many valuable formal and
material elements.
Devotion to the Cross, however, sometimes requires a certain
enlightenment. The faithful should be taught to place the Cross in its essential
reference to the Resurrection of Christ: the Cross, the empty tomb, the Death
and Resurrection of Crist are indispensable in the Gospel narrative of God's
salvific plan. In the Christian faith, the Cross is an expression of the triumph
of Christ over the powers of darkness. Hence, it is adorned with precious stones
and is a sign of blessing when made upon one's self, or on others or on
objects.
129. The Gospel texts of the Passion are especially detailed.
Coupled with a tendency in popular piety to isolate specific moments of the
narrative, this has induced the faithful to turn their attention to specific
aspects of the Passion of Christ, making of them specific devotions: devotion to
the "Ecce Homo", Christ despised, "crowned with thorns and clothed in a purple
cloak" (John 19, 5), and shown to the multitude by Pilate; devotion to the five
sacred wounds of Christ, especially to the side of Christ from which flowed
blood and water for the salvation of mankind (John 19, 34); devotion to the
instruments of the Passion, the pillar at which Christ was scourged, the steps
of the Praetorium, the crown of thorns, the nails, the lance that pierced Him;
devotion to the Holy Shroud.
Such expressions of piety, often promoted by persons of great
sanctity, are legitimate. However, in order to avoid excessive fragmentation in
contemplation of the mystery of the Cross, it is always useful to emphasise the
whole event of the Passion, as is the case in biblical and patristic
tradition.
Reading of the Lord's Passion
130. The Church exhorts the faithful to frequent personal and
community reading of the Word of God. Undoubtedly, the account of the Lord's
Passion is among the most important pastoral passages in the New Testament.
Hence, for the Christian in his last agony, the Ordo untionis informorum
eorumque pastoralis curae suggests the reading of the Lord's Passion either
in its entirety, or at least some pericopes from it(136).
During Lent, especially on Wednesdays and Fridays, love for our
Crucified Saviour should move the Christian community to read the account of the
Lord's Passion. Such reading, which is doctrinally significant, attracts the
attention of the faithful because of its content and because of its narrative
form, and inspires true devotion: repentance for sins, since the faithful see
that Christ died for the sins of the entire human race, including their own;
compassion and solidarity for the Innocent who was unjustly condemned; gratitude
for the infinite love of Jesus for all the brethren, which was shown by Jesus,
the first born Son, in his Passion; commitment to imitating his example of
meekness, patience, mercy, forgiveness of offenses, abandonment to the Father,
which Jesus did willingly and efficaciously in his Passion.
Outside of the liturgical celebration of the Passion, the Gospel
narrative can be "dramatized", giving the various parts of the narrative to
different persons; or by interspersing it with hymns or moments of silent
reflection.
Source:www.vatican.va
