Lima, Peru, Oct 7, 2004 / 22:00 pm
The Archbishop of Lima, Peru, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, has delivered a special message to the faithful this week, as Catholics mark the beginning of the month of October, traditionally dedicated to the devotion of Our Lord of the Miracles.
According to the Cardinal, the month of October, know as "Lima's Lent," "traditionally provides us the opportunity to contemplate the merciful gift of the Our Lord of the Miracles to the Church in Lima."
The statue of the Crucified Christ, which is carried in procession throughout the month, reminds us of the story of salvation, "the amazing story of reconciliation: that by which God, who is Father, reconciles the world to Himself through the blood and the cross of His Son made man," recalled the Cardinal, quoting John Paul II.
Cardinal Cipriani reminded the faithful of the different means of reconciling oneself with the Lord: "Faithful and loving attentiveness to the Word of God, personal and communal prayer, and above all, the sacraments, true signs and instruments of reconciliation, especially the Sacrament of Penance."