It is certainly not merely ritualistic, but something very deep that touches our hearts. These rites retain their value, despite the passing centuries, because they recall how important it also is in our day to accept Jesus’ words without compromises: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Lk 9: 23).Īnother symbolic rite, an exclusive gesture proper to the first day of Lent, is the imposition of ashes. In this way, all those who bore witness to Christ with their blood are commemorated, and calling them to mind then becomes an incentive for each Christian to renew his or her own adherence to the Gospel. In the Basilicas where their relics are exposed, Holy Mass is celebrated, preceded by a procession during which the litanies of the Saints are sung. The penitential procession with which we began today’s celebration has helped us enter the typical atmosphere of Lent, which is a personal and community pilgrimage of conversion and spiritual renewal.Īccording to the very ancient Roman tradition of Lenten stationes, during this season the faithful, together with the pilgrims, gather every day and make a stop – statio – at one of the many “memorials” of the Martyrs on which the Church of Rome is founded. Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
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