Pope Benedict XVI - Lent with Pope Benedict XVI: Meditations for Every Day

LENT WITH
POPE BENEDICT XVI

MEDITATIONS FOR EVERY DAY

Compiled by Jeanne Kun

the WORD

among us

press

Copyright 2012 Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Compilation Copyright 2012 The Word Among Us Press

All rights reserved

Published by The Word Among Us Press
7115 Guilford Road
Frederick, Maryland 21704
www.wau.org

16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5

ISBN: 978-1-59325-198-7
eISBN: 978-1-59325-433-9

Scripture texts used in this work, as well as Pope Benedict XVI's homilies
and addresses, are taken from the Vatican translation and can be found on
the Vatican Web site, www.vatican.va. Used with permission of Libreria
Editrice Vaticana.

Cover design by John Hamilton Design
Cover photo 2009 Getty Images
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical,
photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed
reviews, without the prior permission of the author and publisher.

Made and printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Benedict XVI, Pope, 1927

Lent with Pope Benedict XVI : meditations for every day / compiled by

Jeanne Kun.
p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-59325-198-7 (alk. paper)

1. Lent--Prayers and devotions. 2. Catholic Church--Prayers and
devotions. I. Kun, Jeanne, 1951- II. Title.
BX2170.L4B46 2012
242'.34dc23

2011034186

CONTENTS

Ash Wednesday
A Call to Conversion

Thursday after Ash Wednesday
The Path of True Happiness

Friday after Ash Wednesday
The Forty Days of Lent

Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Listening to the Word of Truth

First Sunday of Lent
Deliverance from the Slavery of Sin

Monday of the First Week of Lent
Overcoming Temptation

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
Entering Lent

Wednesday of the First Week of Lent
Spiritual Combat

Thursday of the First Week of Lent
The Value of Fasting

Friday of the First Week of Lent
Almsgiving: The Generosity of Love

Saturday of the First Week of Lent
What It Means to Follow Christ

Second Sunday of Lent
Transfigured in Hope

Monday of the Second Week of Lent
Light from Light

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent
Praying in the Light of Christ

Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Daring to Say Yes to God

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
Preparing for the Fight

Friday of the Second Week of Lent
The Humility of Christ

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
Eyes Fixed on Christ

Third Sunday of Lent
Quenching Our Thirst

Monday of the Third Week of Lent
The Need to Change

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
Faith Is Born from Encounter

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
God Is Love

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent
Fasting Opens Our Eyes

Friday of the Third Week of Lent
Let Us Become Friends of Jesus

Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
For God's Glory, Not Our Own

Fourth Sunday of Lent
The Light of Faith

Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
The Merciful Heart of the Father

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Be Reconciled by Christ

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Cleansed by Christ's Love

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent
The Joy of Giving

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Give Us a Heart of Flesh!

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent
God's Love Made Visible

Fifth Sunday of Lent
Justice Personified

Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Resurrection: The New Reality

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
The Triumph of Love

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Life in Abundance

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Christ's Eucharistic Sacrifice

Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Finding Our Place in the Way of the Cross

Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Clean Hands and a Pure Heart

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
Professing the Kingship of Jesus

Monday of Holy Week
The Cross: Unlimited Hope

Tuesday of Holy Week
Christ, Victim and Priest

Wednesday of Holy Week
The Battle between Light and Darkness

Holy Thursday
The Basin of Love

Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord
The Truth of Good Friday

Holy Saturday / Easter Vigil
The Sacrament of Illumination

Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord
The Radiance of Christ's Resurrection

Monday within the Octave of Easter
My Lord and My God!

Tuesday within the Octave of Easter
Alleluia! Rejoice!

Wednesday within the Octave of Easter
The Risen Lord Walks beside Us

Thursday within the Octave of Easter
It's Always Easter

Friday within the Octave of Easter
The Resurrection: A Fundamental Truth

Saturday within the Octave of Easter
I Am Risen and I Am with You Always

Second Sunday of Easter or Sunday of the Divine Mercy
Mercy and Divine Goodness

PREFACE

The Lenten journey of forty daysis a favorable time when the Church invites Christians to have a keener awareness of the redeeming work of Christ and to live their baptism in greater depth.

Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, Ash Wednesday, March 1, 2006

T he season of Lent is a collective retreat with our fellow Christians, during which we are urged to clear away the distractions and spiritual clutter in our lives and deepen our relationship with the Lord. It is a time to focus on conversion of heart and spiritual renewal. In fact, the word Lent fittingly comes from the Anglo-Saxon lencten, meaning springtime and sharing the same root as the word lengthen. In the realm of nature, the hours of daylight become longer as winter turns into spring, a season of new births and new awakenings. So too, as we plant ourselves more deeply into Christ during this liturgical season of the Church year, will we experience spiritual enlightenment and new growth.

The reflections in this book have been chosen from homilies, messages, and addresses that Pope Benedict XVI has given during the Lenten seasons since the beginning of his pontificate, as well as from several of his encyclical letters. A reflection for each day of Lent is provided, as well as for the Triduum, Easter Day, and the Octave of Easter. These reflections are short enough to be read in a few minutes but deep enough to provide nourishment for an hour's worth of prayer and meditation. Pope Benedict is a gifted guide who will help us drink deeply from the well of Scripture in order to lead us to a deeper encounter with Christ.

With Pope Benedict accompanying us through Lent, may we come to a greater understanding and appreciation of all that has been won for us through Jesus passion and death on the cross. And as we complete our journey and celebrate the risen Christ, may we be filled with profound gratitude and share in his joy and victory.

Jeanne Kun

Ash Wednesday

A CALL TO CONVERSION

T oday, Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of the Church's Lenten journey toward Easter. Lent reminds us, as St. Paul exhorts,not to accept the grace of God in vain (cf. 2 Corinthians 6:1), but to recognize that today the Lord calls us to penance and spiritual renewal. This call to conversion is expressed in the two formulas used in the Rite of the Imposition of Ashes. The first formulaTurn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospelechoes Jesus words at the beginning of his public ministry (cf. Mark 1:15). It reminds us that conversion is meant to be a deep and lasting abandonment of our sinful ways in order to enter into a living relationship with Christ, who alone offers true freedom, happiness, and fulfillment. The second, older formulaRemember, man, that you are dust, and to dust you shall returnrecalls the poverty and death which are the legacy of Adam's sin while pointing us to the resurrection, the new life, and the freedom brought by Christ, the Second Adam. This Lent, through the practice of prayer and penance and an ever more fruitful reception of the Church's sacraments, may we make our way to Easter with hearts purified and renewed by the grace of this special season.