Lenten Reflections #15
After witnessing the barren shelves at the grocery store and the scramble for paper products, I was reminded of the words of Gandhi and how he and Pope Francis share an unpretentious, humble approach to life…
At the beginning of Lent, Pope Francis referred to these 40 days as a desert and acknowledged that it is not easy to make space for silence in one’s heart, but invited everyone to imagine themselves in the desert, surrounded by a great silence, with “no noises, apart from the wind and our breath.”
Pointing again to the image of the desert, Pope Francis said it recalls what is essential, and how often in life people become surrounded by many useless things.
“We chase a thousand things that seem necessary and in reality are not. How good it would be for us to get rid of so many superfluous realities, to rediscover what matters, to find the faces of those around us!” he urged.
He also said fasting is a way of seeking a simpler life by giving up superfluous, vain things. But, he warned, it is not about “slimming down.”
“In the desert one finds intimacy with God, the love of the Lord,” he stated. “The road that leads us from death to life opens up in the desert. We enter the desert with Jesus, we will go out savoring Easter…”
So have courage each day to live simply, unplug and listen to those around you.
We need each other.
Together we have hope.
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