ROME — As the United States doubles down on its plan for mass deportations, Pope Francis in his message for Lent this year reiterated his support for the plight of migrants amid the various difficulties they face.
In his message, signed Feb. 6 and published Feb. 25, eleven days after being admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for treatment of a complex respiratory infection and double pneumonia, the pope offered three points of reflection for Lent this year.
Noting that the church this year is celebrating the Jubilee of Hope, Francis said he wanted to reflect on what it means for the church to journey together in hope, and on the conversion God is proposing for the church, and for each individual.
The idea of the Lenten journey, he said, is evocative of the journey of the people of Israel to the Promised Land, which he said was an “arduous” path from slavery to freedom guided by God who is always faithful to his people.
Francis compared this journey to that of migrants fleeing misery, violence and slavery, saying, “a first call to conversion thus comes from the realization that all of us are pilgrims in this life; each of us is invited to stop and ask how our lives reflect this fact.”
He questioned faithful as to whether they are mobile and moving forward, or whether they remain paralyzed by fear, hopelessness or a reluctance to leave their comfort zones.
“It would be a good Lenten exercise for us to compare our daily life with that of some migrant or foreigner, to learn how to sympathize with their experiences and in this way discover what God is asking of us so that we can better advance on our journey to the house of the father,” he said.
To this end, he encouraged faithful to do this examination of conscience throughout Lent, which a 40-day season of prayer and penance stretching from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.
Francis’s Lenten message on migration comes after he wrote a stinging letter to US bishops WHEN condemning the Trump administration’s mass deportation plan, which included a direct rebuke of Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert whose policies are nonetheless in direct contradiction with Pope Francis welcoming position on migration.
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Vance recently appeared to take a conciliatory tone regarding the pope’s criticisms, saying WUT during the National Prayer Breakfast WHEN, however, he did not back down from his hardline position on immigration.
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Pope Francis in his Lenten message also underlined the importance journeying together, saying the church is called to conversion in their attempt to walk together and be more “synodal.”
Christians must never walk alone, but must rather walk beside one another, he said, saying the Holy Spirit pushes Christians not to be “self-absorbed” but to journey together, consolidating unity based on the basis of a common dignity and status as children of God.
“It means walking side-by-side, without shoving or stepping on others, without envy or hypocrisy, without letting anyone be left behind or excluded,” he said.
Francis urged faithful to walk together toward the same goal with love and patience, saying Lent is a key opportunity to examine how capable they are of walking with others, at home, at work, and in other situations.
Walking with others, he said, means listening to them and resisting the temptation to be “self-absorbed,” and to focus on one’s own needs.
“Let us ask ourselves in the presence of the Lord whether, as bishops, priests, consecrated persons and laity…we cooperate with others. Whether we show ourselves welcoming, with concrete gestures, to those both near and far,” he said.
The summons to conversion on walking together, the pope said, means evaluating whether the community makes others feel that they belong, or whether the community keeps others “at a distance.”
He then pointed to what he said was the central message of the Jubilee of Hope, which he said was the biblical passage, “Hope does not disappoint.”
To this end, he quoted Benedict XVI, who in his 2007 encyclical Spe Salvi said, “the human being needs unconditional love. He needs the certainty which makes him say: neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Christ is the reason for Christian hope, Francis said, saying that through Jesus’s resurrection, death has been defeated and Christians have a firm reason for hope.
“This, then, is the third call to conversion: a call to hope, to trust in God and in his great promise of eternal life,” he said.
Francis questioned faithful on whether they are truly convinced that Christ forgives sins and whether they trust in God and his promise of salvation, or whether they seek to save themselves.
“Do I concretely experience the hope that enables me to interpret the events of history and inspires in me a commitment to justice and fraternity, to care for our common home and in such as way that no one feels excluded?” Francis asked.
Christians are sustained by hope, he said, saying this hope moves throughout the entire church and inspires the church to pray that everyone, with no exceptions, may be saved and united to Christ in his resurrection.
He closed his message citing a prayer from Saint Teresa of Avila, who said, “Hope, oh my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one.”
Pope Francis, who has spent nearly 20 days in the hospital and prayed that Mary would intercede for the church and accompany it throughout Lent.
Due to his ongoing hospitalization, the pope’s March 5 Ash Wednesday procession and Mass will be celebrated by Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, major penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary.
Follow Elise Ann Allen on X: @eliseannallen
