Leo’s Lenten lessons

Pope Leo XIV’s first Lenten message is a great gift for those looking for a roadmap to the season.

Reading the communication — his first such as pontiff — reminded me of the importance of taking on the real work necessary for deeper union with Christ for the life of the world.

It was a reminder, too, of the annual challenge of the season to take up the Church’s invitation “to place the mystery of God back in the center of our lives, in order to find renewal in our faith and keep our hearts from being consumed by the anxieties and distractions of daily life.”

Lent isn’t supposed to be effortless. And it’s supposed to have a positive effect. Obscuring these realities can be easy today. When taking on the penances of Lent, Pope Leo directs us to keep our eyes on the goal of conversion, of embracing the afforded “opportunity to heed the voice of the Lord and renew our commitment to following Christ.”

In drafting his short, yet substantive, Lenten message, it would appear that Pope Leo understands the fractured focus and fragmented existence so many of us experience in today’s culture.

We live in a world with so much noise, with so many competing voices and forces all vying for our attention and resources. With the resounding gongs and clanging symbols all around us, it’s easy to become counted among them ourselves.

Nearing the end of what’s been a long winter for many, including those of us in our home, I started thinking about how the need for listening advocated by Pope Leo in his Lenten message comes, providentially, after a season of being cooped up at home for a long wintry stretch.

As a homeschooling family, sometimes too much of each other can present challenges in practicing virtue. As soon as I read Pope Leo’s message for Lent, I knew I had to share some of it with our children. Any family should consider doing the same.

I was drawn to Leo’s interest in fostering listening. How often does the simple absence of listening to one another lead to struggles and divisions? Too often. Scrolling through social media or listening to the news drives home the point.

Closer to home, just after I read Leo’s Lenten lessons, the toddler and his at-times overly motherly older sister were feuding over a still-popular Christmas toy — Lord, have mercy — before breakfast.

“The willingness to listen is the first way we demonstrate our desire to enter into relationship with someone,” Pope Leo observes.

I thought of this as the kids were descending into a battle of words and wills. Describing God as “one who seeks to involve us,” I thought, why not involve the kids in trying to live Leo’s Lenten call?

God “even today … shares with us what is in his heart,” Leo explains. What could be better than helping children this Lent begin to do the same? Leo draws to our attention “listening to the word in the liturgy” since it “teaches us to listen to the truth of reality.”

He continues, “In the midst of the many voices present in our personal lives and in society, Sacred Scripture helps us to recognize and respond to the cry of those who are anguished and suffering. In order to foster this inner openness to listening, we must allow God to teach us how to listen as he does.”

To take this on with kids this Lent seems like a worthy challenge, and one that will hopefully assist them in seeing the positive effects of undertaking greater virtue. As Pope Leo explains, Lent’s call to conversion “refers not only to one’s conscience, but also to the quality of our relationships and dialogue. It means allowing ourselves to be challenged by reality and recognizing what truly guides our desires.”

These undertakings are necessary for any of us who endeavor to let Christ dwell in us more fully. Going about living so more fruitfully in our family this Lent undoubtedly won’t be easy. But that’s not what Lent is supposed to be.

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