Vatican City, Mar 1, 2017 / 09:43 am
At Ash Wednesday Mass, Pope Francis spoke about the bad habits, negativity, and sin present in our lives which cause us to be choked off from the life-giving breath of God – supernatural grace.
"The breath of God's life saves us from this asphyxia that dampens our faith, cools our charity and strangles every hope," he said March 1. "To experience Lent is to yearn for this breath of life that our Father unceasingly offers us amid the mire of our history."
Marking the start of the Lenten season, Pope Francis prayed the Stations of the Cross at St. Anselm Church in Rome before processing the short way to the Basilica of Santa Sabina for the celebration of Mass, benediction, and the imposition of ashes.
Francis said that as we set out from the church, the mark of the ashes reminds us of our origin: "we were taken from the earth, we are made of dust."