As the Lenten season begins, Pope Francis has reflected on the significance of Ash Wednesday, emphasizing how ashes serve as both a reminder of human frailty and a symbol of hope in Christ.
Delivering his homily at Rome’s Basilica of Saint Sabina, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary, read the Pope’s prepared message, as the Holy Father is currently receiving treatment for bilateral pneumonia in the hospital. Before reading the homily, Cardinal De Donatis expressed solidarity with Pope Francis, acknowledging his suffering as an offering for the Church and the world.
A Call to Reflection
Pope Francis highlighted the humbling nature of the imposition of ashes, urging the faithful to look inward.
“We bow our heads to receive the ashes,” he said, “as if to look at ourselves, to look within ourselves. Indeed, the ashes remind us that our lives are fragile and insignificant: we are dust, from dust we were created, and to dust we shall return.”
The Pope pointed out that human fragility manifests in various forms—weariness, failures, fears, suffering, and ultimately, mortality. Yet, instead of avoiding these realities, he urged the faithful to embrace them, as they serve to keep us grounded, humble, and open to one another.
Ashes as a Sign of Hope
Despite the somber reminder of mortality, Pope Francis stressed that ashes also represent hope.
“They remind us of the hope to which we are called in Jesus, the Son of God, who has taken upon himself the dust of the earth and raised it to the heights of heaven.”
Without this hope, he warned, we risk merely enduring the struggles of life instead of finding meaning in them. Faith in Christ transforms our human fragility into a path toward renewal and resurrection.
Return to God with All Your Heart
Concluding his homily, Pope Francis issued a heartfelt call to repentance:
“Let us return to God with all our hearts. Let us place Him at the centre of our lives, so that the memory of what we are—fragile and mortal as ashes scattered upon the wind—may finally be filled with the hope of the Risen Lord.”
His message serves as a powerful reflection for the faithful, inviting them to embrace both the humility of ashes and the promise of resurrection this Lenten season.
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