Comments on the Holy Father’s Lenten Reflection

In his Lenten reflection for 2010 the Holy Father reminds us that we are tempted to look “outside” for the source of injustice in the world, but that “its origin lies in the human heart, where the seeds are found of a mysterious cooperation with evil.” Egoism seduces our natural tendency to share freely so that we affirm ourselves above and against others.

Selflessness, not selfishness is the hallmark of true justice. The ultimate act of selflessness is that which we will celebrate on Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. Our redemption won by the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ. Our redemption was far more than giving us our due. As the Holy Father observes “here we discover divine justice, which is so profoundly different from its human counterpart.”

What enables us to recognize our egoism, and the fact that we are unable to move from selfishness to selflessness on our own, is God’s grace especially in the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.

Lent then is a time for us look inside, not outside for the causes of injustice, disquietude and uncertainty and accept that we are “not a self-sufficient being, but in need of Another “ in order to realize our self fully.

Here is a link to the full text of the Holy Father’s Lenten Reflection. Click Here for Pope’s Lenten Message

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