In These Times Of Suffering Prayer Is

Lent Is A Fitting Time For Self-denial; We Would Do Well To Ask Ourselves What We Can Give Up In Order To Help And Enrich Others By Our Own Poverty. Let Us Not Forget That Real Poverty Hurts: No Self-denial Is Real Without This Dimension Of Penance. I Distrust A Charity That Costs Nothing And Does Not Hurt.

Created Half To Rise, And Half To Fall; Great Lord Of All Things, Yet A Prey To All; Sole Judge Of Truth, In Endless Error Hurled; The Glory, Jest, And Riddle Of The World!

Creation Is Not A Property, Which We Can Rule Over At Will; Or, Even Less, Is The Property Of Only A Few: Creation Is A Gift, It Is A Wonderful Gift That God Has Given Us, So That We Care For It And We Use It For The Benefit Of All, Always With Great Respect And Gratitude.

I Would Like To Ask You All To See A Ray Of Hope As Well In The Eyes And Hearts Of Refugees And Of Those Who Have Been Forcibly Displaced. A Hope That Is Expressed In Expectations For The Future, In The Desire For Friendship, In The Wish To Participate In The Host Society Also Through Learning The Language, Access To Employment And The Education Of Children. I Admire The Courage Of Those Who Hope To Be Able Gradually To Resume A Normal Life, Waiting For Joy And Love To Return To Brighten Their Existence. We Can And Must All Nourish This Hope!

Do Not Lose Hope; St. Joseph Also Experienced Moments Of Difficulty, But He Never Lost Faith And Was Able To Overcome Them, In The Certainty That God Never Abandons Us.