Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“They shall look on Him whom they have pierced” (John 19:37)

With these words the Supreme Pontiff Benedictus XVI began His message for this year’s lent. Lent is a favorable time to stay with Mary and John, the disciple, close to Jesus who on the Cross, sacrificed His life for all mankind (cf. John 19:25). In this time of penance and prayer, let us direct our gaze at Christ crucified, Who by dying for our salvation, revealed for us the self-giving love of God and the irresistible power of love of our Heavenly Father. After sinning and being far from Him, God, once again wanted to win back the love of man. For this He paid a very high price: the life of His only begotten Son. Is there more ‘mad love’ than that which led Jesus to become one with us to the point that He carried our sins and suffered the consequences to the extent of dying on the Cross? This is God’s love indeed.

Dear brothers and sisters let us look at Christ pierced and dead on the Cross. This scene inspired many Christians to bitterly cry their sins, others to follow Christ willingly and some others to completely devote themselves to Him by expiating the sins and offences of others instead of condemning them, for Jesus condemned none and loved everyone. On the Cross as if Jesus begs the love of His creatures, for the love of every one of us. The Apostle Saint Thomas recognized Jesus when he put his hand into the wound of His side and called out “O Lord, O God”. It is not a surprise that through following the example of saints, many Christians found in the Heart of Jesus a touching and a deep expression of this mystery of love.

The Blessed sister Mother Theresa, who was the most recognized figure in the 20th century, had one wish and that was to satisfy the thirst of the love of Jesus not through words but through practical deeds by helping and serving the poor. As we all know, Her message was spread all over the world.

Dear brothers and sisters, what does Jesus expect from us? To accept His love and let Him draw us towards Him. He has already said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32). However, accepting His love is not enough. We need to respond to His love and pass it on to others.

“They shall look on Him whom they have pierced”. For a moment let us look with trust at the pierced side of Jesus from which flow “blood and water” as mentioned in the Gospel (John 19:34).The Fathers of the Church considered the blood and the water as symbols of the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist.

Truly, through Baptism God’s love was revealed to us, it transformed us from sinners to His children. The Lenten journey is a memorial of our Baptism, during which we are called to come out of ourselves and to open up to the merciful embrace of the Father as said by Saint John Chrysostom. This is how we can live the lent period, very close to Jesus, continuously welcoming His love and spreading it around us with every word and deed especially to those who need to recognize the love of Jesus most, those who are sad and in despair. This is how we can live the lent in a useful and meaningful way. 


Receive trust from Jesus and spread it among those who are in despair and lonely.

Receive generosity from Jesus and spread it among the poor and the deprived.

Receive smile from Jesus and spread it among the sad children and the elderly.

Receive mercy from Jesus and spread it among the sinners and the guilty.

Receive love from Jesus and spread it among everybody.


And then you will have treasure in Heaven.


“Him whom they have pierced” will move us to open our hearts and hands to others, it will move us to fight every kind of contempt and exploitation that inflict the human dignity and it will move us in a particular way to alleviate all those who are lonely and abandoned. Lent, for every Christian is a new experience of God’s love, a love that each day we, in turn, must give to others, especially to the ones who suffer most. Only this way we will be able to participate in the joy of Easter.

O Mary, Mother of Christ, guide us in this Lenten journey so that it would be a period of embrace and union with the love of Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters, I wish the coming forty days will be a fruitful journey of prayer and penance, full of grace and good deeds.

Amen.