“The Word is a gift. Other persons are a gift.”
Pope Francis delivered his message for Lent, focusing on the call to conversion, patience and forgiveness. The deepening of our spiritual lives, he writes, results in holiness through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, founded in the Word of God. Pope Francis uses the parable of the rich man and Lazarus taken from Luke 19:19-31 to exemplify a three fold reality of “attaining true happiness and eternal life.” This parable unveils a movement toward conversion: seeing others as a gift, understanding the darkness of sin and accepting the Word of God as truth.
The gift of accepting others is knowing they have value. All people are valuable because they are created by God. It is in recognizing the foundation of goodness in others that we are able to treat them with love, patience and forgiveness. The parable describes Lazarus as “one of great misery, disgraced and pitiful.” The nameless rich man is notably ignorant of the goodness in Lazarus. He cannot “see” Lazarus because of his self-centered nature. His blindness is caused by pride, greed and self-absorption. He can only see himself, thus living large and at the same time as an individual, worshiping himself and the material goods which encapsulate his life.
The role of these two characters reverses in death. Lazarus is taken to heaven, whereas the rich man is in eternal turmoil. He now becomes the beggar. Recognizing Lazarus after the veil of sin is lifted, the rich man cries out for help to him, only to be left to his own self-made isolation constructed on earth and lived-out in eternity. The rich man wishes to warn those still living, but his plea is rejected by Abraham, stating they have already been shown the way but are also blinded by their sinfulness. Like them, the rich man did not “heed God’s word.” Thus, he rejected God and his neighbor, only to end up alone in the afterlife. Pope Francis writes, “When we close our heart to the gift of God’s word, we end up closing our heart to the gift of our brothers and sisters.”
Pope Francis closes his message with a hopeful expectation of “renewing our encounter with Christ, living His word, in the sacraments and in our neighbor.” As we take the first step into Lent today remember the journey is two-fold: to walk toward God and to accompany our neighbor along the way. We are to open the doors of our hearts, minds and souls to God, as our Creator and to our neighbors who are in need of support, mercy and love. Pope Francis concludes, “May the Holy Spirit lead us on a true journey of conversion, so that we can rediscover the gift of God’s word, be purified of the sin that blinds us, and serve Christ present in our brothers and sisters in need.” Amen.
Dina Dow
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