Lent During the Holy Year of Hope:
Uncovering Signs of Hope – Becoming Beacons of Hope
The Sixth Week of Lent:
But you, O LORD, be not far from me; O my help, hasten to aid me.
(Ps. 22:20)
In Spes Non Confundit or “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5), the Papal Bull that officially established the Holy Year of Jubilee 2025, Pope Francis invites us on the one hand to discover signs of hope in our world and on the other hand to be “tangible signs of hope for those brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind.” Among the people who are in desperate need of hope, he mentioned migrants, “the people who leave their homelands behind in search of a better life for themselves and their families.”
What we now know as the World Day of Migrants and Refugees originates in a request for prayers by Pope Pius X for the many Italians who moved abroad due to duress. He did this in 1914, months before the outbreak of World War I. Pope Benedict XV formalized this request by establishing the Day of Migrants. In 2004 this became the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
Starting with Saint John Paull II in 1985, a yearly message has been issued by the pope to mark the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Since 2018 this day has been observed on the last Sunday of September.
In his message for the most recent World Day of Migrants and Refugees in 2024, Pope Francis wrote that the encounter with the migrant, as with every brother and sister in need, “is also an encounter with Christ. He himself said so. It is he who knocks on our door, hungry, thirsty, an outsider, naked, sick and imprisoned, asking to be met and assisted.”
He went on to say that “the final judgment in Matthew 25 leaves no doubt: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (v. 35); and again “truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me” (v. 40).” Therefore, Pope Francis wrote that “every encounter along the way represents an opportunity to meet the Lord; it is an occasion charged with salvation, because Jesus is present in the sister or brother in need of our help. In this sense, the poor save us, because they enable us to encounter the face of the Lord.”
During Holy Week let’s open our hearts to our sisters and brothers who had to leave their homes in search of a better life and let us become beacons of hope to them while providing them with reasons to hope, lifting them out of anguish and despair.
Abstinence (fasting):
Putting ourselves first as an individual and even as a nation is rather popular these days, here and abroad. In his address 2020 address on the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, Pope Francis expressed his concern that individualism and nationalism are celebrated by many, also by some Christians even though both are antithetical to Christianity.
Christianity is rooted in Jesus’ willingness to give his life for others. This is as far removed from individualism and nationalism as one can possibly imagine. In the words of St. Francis: “…it is in giving that we receive…and in dying that we are born to eternal life.”
Holy Week is the perfect time to practice fasting from putting ourselves first by considering the needs of others.
Appeal (prayer):
In his message on the 110th World Day of Migrants and Refugees in 2024 Pope Francis invited all people to “unite in prayer for all those who have had to leave their land in search of dignified living conditions.”
He concluded by stating that “every encounter along the way represents an opportunity to meet the Lord; it is an occasion charged with salvation, because Jesus is present in the sister or brother in need of our help. In this sense, the poor save us, because they enable us to encounter the face of the Lord.”
As we journey with Christ during Holy Week and remember his suffering and death, let us pray for and with our sisters and brothers who had to leave their home in search for a better life.
Action (almsgiving):
In his 2023 message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees Pope Francis he again touched on a familiar theme, referencing a well-known Biblical passage: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me” (Mt 25:35-36). “These words,” he continued “are a constant admonition to see in the migrant not simply a brother or sister in difficulty, but Christ himself, who knocks at our door. Consequently, we are called to show maximum respect for the dignity of each migrant.”
In the same way as Simon of Cyrene helped Jesus carry his cross let us find ways to assist our migrant sisters and brother and help them carry their cross.
And please remember to be patient with yourself. Lent is neither an endurance test nor a demonstration of Christian heroism. Instead, it is a period for reflection on the core aspects of our faith and mend our lives accordingly. It is important to proceed at a manageable pace and to be patient with yourself and others.
Blessed Lent,
Johan van Parys, PhD
Managing Director of Ministries/ Director of Liturgy & Sacred Arts