Scottish Catholic Observer

In his message for Lent, the Holy Father said that the preparations for Easter, in the context of the Year of Faith, offer ‘a valuable opportunity to meditate on the relationship between faith and charity: between believing in God—the God of Jesus Christ—and love, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit and which guides us on the path of devotion to God and others.’

He also expressed concern that the virtues of Faith and charity may be presented as mutually exclusive.

This year’s Lenten message explains that it is an error to reduce charity to ‘vague humanitarianism.’

“It is equally unhelpful to overstate the primacy of charity and the activity it generates, as if works could take the place of faith,” the Pope says. “For a healthy spiritual life, it is necessary to avoid both fideism and moral activism.”

The Pope added that, ‘as we prepare to celebrate the event of the Cross and resurrection’ he expresses his wish ‘that all of you may spend this precious time rekindling your faith in Jesus Christ, so as to enter with Him into the dynamic of love for the Father and for every brother and sister that we encounter in our lives.’

“For this intention, I raise my prayer to God, and I invoke the Lord’s blessing upon each individual and upon every community,” he said.

The Lenten period this year begins on Wednesday February 13, Ash Wednesday.

—[email protected]